Social Credit

The world’s most reluctant reader, Charlie Joe Jackson, is becoming an expert in extra credit. How is that possible? His report card is so grim that Charlie Joe has promised his parents that he’ll get straight As so they won’t send him to an academic summer camp. Now, instead of finagling ways to get out of reading, Charlie Joe is staying late after school, posing for art class, and even acting in a school play about the inventor of paper towels...all while falling for the new girl in town! If there’s one thing Charlie Joe is discovering, it’s that extra credit can definitely make your life extra complicated.

Daughters often grow up believing their role in the family is simple: love your parents, help out when you can, and carry on the traditions that bind you together. But adulthood reveals a more complicated reality—one where women take on the invisible labor of emotional caregiving, crisis management, and unspoken expectations that leave them stretched thin and unseen.

Nothing feels greater than taking your 10 first steps in America. The biggest step is getting here to America. Now that you’re here and learned America’s language, the third most important step is here inside this book. The third most important step is credit. Credit is going to determine what you will make out of your time here in America. Life can be hard, especially without any guidance. But life is always better with credit and I’m here to offer a guide to you.

No margin--no mission! What does it take to bring financial justice to communities of color? Cliff Rosenthal, shaped by the movements of the 1960s, fought for decades against government indifference and systemic bias finally seeing change come after the death of George Floyd. Michael McCray, a renowned whistle-blower, led an unprecedented court challenge to the unjust federal termination of his fraternity's Kappa Alpha Psi Federal Credit Union.

Plastic surgery has become the answer for many Americans, and in American Plastic sociologist Laurie Essig explores how we arrived at this particular solution. Over the last decade there has been a 465 percent increase in cosmetic work, and we now spend over $12 billion annually on procedures like liposuction, face-lifts, tummy tucks, and boob jobs.

Maxed Out exposes the recent history and culture of debt for all of its absurdities and contradictions. The world's largest financial institutions are trolling for customers - from the nouveau riche to the poorest members of society, who counter-intuitively make for the largest profits. By turns hilarious, fascinating, and deeply disturbing, Maxed Out is ultimately one observer's answer to the question, "Why can't we get out of debt?"

For decades, immigrants have flocked to the United States of America, inspired by its spirit of freedom and equal opportunity. However, many fail to consider the barriers they may have to face when looking for entrepreneurial avenues. Financial Literacy for Immigrant Entrepreneurs is grounded in research, taking its roots from the state of financial literacy in immigrants of African descent in the United States. It lays out the financial system, which hurdles one might encounter, and possible resources that may aid immigrants during their quest for upward social mobility.

Lucy is over-the-moon excited when her aunt gives her a card—the plastic kind!—for her birthday. She knows just what to spend it on. But using the card isn’t as easy as Lucy thought, and she leaves the store empty-handed. Can Lucy and her best friend, Julian, figure out how to fix her financial crisis?