Difficult Times

They have nothing but time...to hate each other. In Julian, California, every day is April 23rd—and in a time loop, there are no rules. Eating endless slices of fresh apple pie? Yes. Partner swapping? Why not. Being trapped inside the plot of a sci-fi film would almost be inspiring for LA...

Every salesperson has heard it—the dreaded words: “I’m just looking.” But what if you could turn those hesitant browsers into eager buyers? In I’m Just Looking... The Secret to Selling the Difficult Customer, master automotive trainer Amid Jones unveils SPARC—The Strategic Automotive Sales System, a game-changing approach designed to help sales professionals connect, engage, and close more deals without pressure or gimmicks.

We all long for certainty in life, yet things often don't go as we expect. When facing illness, job loss, strained relationships, and other struggles, our impulse is to question God and strive to fix things ourselves. In this book, Shelly Miller, a trusted ministry leader, explores how difficult times can actually be purposeful times of spiritual growth.

When school bullies go too far, some students snap! Lester Lopkins is a below-average kid who wants to be noticed for something other than being the best target for bullies. His only possibility for fame is to become the chess champion of the school. But on the day before the big chess match, Austin, the school’s number one bully, stuffs Lester in his locker. Something happens to the claustrophobic Lester during his time in his locker, and he gains the power to snap his fingers and stop time.

Aunt Trudy never wanted kids. Now that she’s Richie’s guardian, she makes his life miserable. Richie just wants to escape, so he seeks refuge in the deep Missouri woods he loves so much. Suddenly it’s not summer, but late fall. How did that happen? Did the trucker who just gave him a ride somehow whisk him back 50 years in time? The woods aren’t for Richie the haven they used to be. After a freak storm, he finds himself at the mercy of Morris, a mysterious Black man who also calls the woods home. Is Morris a savior? Or someone to fear?

My heart is a kaleidoscope, and when we kiss it makes my world unravel.... Last summer, Gottie's life fell apart. Her beloved grandfather, Grey, died, and Jason left her - the boy to whom she lost her virginity (and her heart) - and he wouldn't even hold her hand at the funeral! This summer, still reeling from twin heartbreaks, Gottie is lost and alone and burying herself in equations. Until, after five years' absence, Thomas comes home: former boy next door. Former best friend. Former everything.

It's 1986 and 16-year-old Zoe Brenner's world revolves around Depeche Mode, Judd Nelson, exercise-obsessed parents, and her best friend Jonah. Then one day, in a freak Fun-Dip choking accident, Zoe falls unconscious, and awakes in the year 2016. So much has changed, and Zoe needs Jonah to help her make sense of it all. But in this life, Zoe is the most popular girl in school, and she soon realizes this Zoe doesn't associate with nerds like Jonah.

Grandpa is dying. He can barely move his hands any more but, stubborn as ever, refuses to stay in hospital. He's determined to finish his last painting, 'River Boy', before he goes. At first Jess can't understand his refusal to let go, but then she too becomes involved in the mysterious painting. And when she meets the river boy himself, she finds she is suddenly caught up in a challenge of her own that she must complete - before it's too late...

Thirteen-year-old Charity can escape her unpleasant reality by stepping through the parlor closet of her mother’s new home, a mansion built in the 1800s. In her hometown of Talbot, New York, in the year 1880, she doesn’t have to worry about her depressed father skipping his medications or her mother flirting with her coworker. Instead, she gets to know the hatter’s son, who shows her a lifestyle of manners and pride. Few have ever accepted Charity’s old-fashioned ways…until now.

Two nine-year-old boys named Oreo and Braun accidentally discover a time portal when they attempt to return a walking cane to an old man in the restroom of a restaurant. They step back into 1941, but they are unable to return to their own time (1996) when they carry the cane through the doorway. In the process, the boys meet a series of characters, and some important lessons are learned about discrimination.

Imagine confidently handling difficult conversations while overcoming social anxiety and building genuine connections—without fear or awkwardness! Do you struggle to start conversations? Does social anxiety hold you back? Have you ever faced awkward silences, unsure of what to say next? You’re not alone. Many people find social interactions challenging, but the right strategies can turn those struggles into strengths. Introducing How to Talk With Anyone Anytime—your guide to transforming social anxiety into confidence, navigating conversations with ease, and building authentic relationships.

On the night Donovan Turner is thrown out of a car on a highway in the middle of nowhere, he can barely remember his own name, let alone the past 24 hours. Where is he? Where is his girlfriend, Bee? In an attempt to flag down the next passing car, he startles the driver, causing a fatal accident. With sirens in the distance and the lingering feeling that he's running from something - or someone - Donovan grabs the dead driver's briefcase and flees.

Blink, man, what were you thinking? Sneaking into the hotel for a hot breakfast  -  hot scraps of someone else’s breakfast, really. Couldn’t you just feel  that it was a wrong place/wrong time scenario? Even before you heard the banging and saw those dudes in suits jet it out of room 1616? Now you’re not only witness to a crime; you’re linked to it, thanks to the smartphone you were stupid enough to jack from the room. And then there’s Caution. As in “Caution: Contents Under Pressure.” She’s also on the run, from a skeezy drug-dealer boyfriend and from a nightmare in her past that won’t let her go.

In one moment Nicole Burns's life changes forever. The sound of gunfire at an Anne Frank exhibit, the panic, the crowd, and Nicole is no longer Nicole. Whiplashed through time and space, she wakes to find herself a privileged Jewish girl living in Nazi-occupied Paris during World War II.

Seventeen-year-old Peter Blankman is a math genius. He also suffers from devastating panic attacks. Pete gets through each day with the help of his mother - a famous scientist - and his beloved twin sister, Bel. But when his mom is nearly assassinated in front of his eyes and Bel disappears, Pete finds himself on the run. Dragged into a world where state and family secrets intertwine, Pete must use his extraordinary analytical skills to find his missing sister and track down the people who attacked his mother. But his greatest battle will be with the enemy he's fought his entire life: the constant terror that threatens to overwhelm him.

Kyle y Kimberly eran la pareja perfecta desde el instituto. Pero la noche de su graduación tienen un accidente de coche y Kimberly muere. La vida de Kyle cambia para siempre y no parece que nadie pueda entender cómo se siente. Hasta que llega Marley. Ella también está pasando por una situación similar y, cuando conoce a Kyle, todas sus emociones secretas y nunca dichas conectan inmediatamente.

In the modern world, as our conversations and tone become ever-more adversarial we can find ourselves alienated from those who don't share precisely our opinion. Climate change, diversity, TimesUp, Twitter spats, two-party political systems - the list of intense debate-generating topics goes on, but resolution often feels further away than ever. And it's not just in the public sphere where we can improve - at home, in our friendships, with our family, at work, we need to find a new way to talk productively.

On the verge of her thirteenth birthday, Tess's life is falling apart. Her mother is dead. Her father is like a zombie. And now her beloved cat, Alice, has started running into the street when cars go by, trying to get run over. The only thing Tess can think of that might help? Running away. As she ventures from home, Tess stumbles upon a crew of manga-loving goth kids hiding out in the local haunted house performing seances.

Fran Singer is a regular eighth grader relishing her role in the school play, enjoying hanging out with her best friend, and thinking of ways to steer clear of her annoying little brother...when suddenly, in a matter of seconds, everything changes. An unintentional tragic accident with major consequences shoots her out of her ordinary world into one racked with guilt, shame, and complete alienation. Starting over after all that is not easy...but is it possible? Will her life be better, the second time around?

We talk every day—and we often do it without thinking. But, as you well know, there are some things that are harder to talk about—especially issues pertaining to politics, culture, lifestyle, and diversity. This groundbreaking book will show you how to get to that important next level in difficult conversations, to talk in an authentic and straightforward way about culture and diversity, and to speak from the heart with tools from the head. You'll learn to navigate these difficult conversations, and take what you've learned beyond the conversation and out into the world.