True Girl

'The only way to comprehend this tragic story of mine is to write it.' On the 10th of February 2017, there was a sentencing hearing for murder in the Victorian Supreme Court. The young woman in the dock, who sat quietly with her hands in her lap, had perfect skin and light-brown hair tied back as neatly as a private school prefect's. When the judge asked her to confirm her plea, the young woman answered in a clear and polite voice. 'Guilty, Your Honour.' That killer is Mary K. Pershall's beloved daughter, Anna.

"The Girl of Many Crowns" is the true and inspiring story of Judith, the first princess of France, who is a pawn in a complex political game of chess as her father, King Charles, tries to hold on to his kingdom. King Charles, grandson of Emperor Charlemagne, is beset on every side by Vikings, rebel lords, and greedy neighboring monarchs. He marries 12-year-old Judith to Aethelwulf, the aging King of Wessex, for political advantage. When she is widowed, less than two years later, he arranges a second marriage for her.

Shattered Justice, bearing the title chosen by Paul Smith (Sheriff of Mayes County, OK, from 1981 to 1985), describes Smith’s squelched efforts to get justice for three little Girl Scouts murdered deep in the woods just outside Locust Grove, OK, on June 13, 1977. Lori Farmer, 8, Doris “Denise” Milner, 10, and Michelle Gusé, 9, were bludgeoned and strangled while sharing a tent during their first night of summer camp.

Sex. Lies. Romance. Love. My life has it all. I do what I want, when I want and no one can stop me. This isn't a story of how I found my prince. Or my how my prince found me. I'm that girl that everyone wants to hate, but they don't know my story. This is my chance to let everyone know the real me. The shocks in my life. The highs in my life. The lows in my life. I had a lover and a friends with benefits when I met the man I thought was 'The One'. Only thing is he had a bigger secret than I did. I sure didn't see that coming.

Since the night of her brutal attack and unwilling transformation into a vampire, Merit has stood as Sentinel and protector of Chicago's Cadogan House. She's saved the Windy City from the forces of darkness time and again with her liege and lover, Ethan Sullivan, by her side. When the House is infiltrated and Merit is attacked by a vampire who seems to be under the sway of dark magic, Merit and Ethan realize the danger is closer than they could have imagined.

Maria Pepe loved baseball. When Little League formed in her hometown in 1972, she was eager to prove herself as a competitor. There was only one problem: Little League was not open to girl players. This didn’t stop Maria. She took her glove and joined her friends, Nicky and Louie, at tryouts. She could hit, pitch, and catch as good as any of the boys—better than many, even, and it was no surprise that Maria made the team. Little did she know, she would make history when the Little League officials refused to let her play because she was a girl.

At nine years old, Eugenie Clark developed an unexpected passion for sharks after a visit to the Battery Park Aquarium in New York City. At the time, sharks were seen as mindless killing machines, but Eugenie knew better and set out to prove it. Despite many obstacles in her path, Eugenie was able to study the creatures she loved so much. From her many discoveries to the shark-related myths she dispelled, Eugenie made wide scientific contributions that led to her being nicknamed Shark Lady.

On a moonless night in the summer of 1793 a crime was committed in the back room of a New York brothel—the kind of crime that even victims usually kept secret. Instead, seventeen-year-old seamstress Lanah Sawyer did what virtually no one in US history had done before: she charged a gentleman with rape. Her accusation sparked a raw courtroom drama and a relentless struggle for vindication that threatened both Lanah’s and her assailant’s lives.

When a figure from Ethan's dark past makes a splashy debut in Chicago, Merit and her master don't know whether he's friend or foe. But they'll have to figure it out soon because trouble is brewing in the Windy City. At an exclusive society soirée attended by the upper echelons of the human and supernatural worlds, Merit and Ethan barely stop the assassination of a guest. When the target turns out to be a shady businessman with a criminal edge, Merit suspects a human vendetta. But the assassins have fangs.

Chicago, 1924. There was nothing surprising about men turning up dead in the Second City. Life was cheaper than a quart of illicit gin in the gangland capital of the world. But two murders that spring were special - worthy of celebration. So believed Maurine Watkins, a wanna-be playwright and a "girl reporter" for the Chicago Tribune, the city's "hanging paper".

The chilling true story of the heinous murder of Karlie Pearce-Stevenson and daughter Khandalyce and how the case was cracked. How did two girls go missing for seven years and nobody noticed? In August 2010, dirt bike riders discovered human bones in the notorious Belanglo State Forest, where Ivan Milat had so cruelly tortured and slain seven young backpackers. The remains were those of a young woman, who the police dubbed 'Angel' after a T-shirt emblazoned with the word 'Angelic' that was found near the body.

Engrossed by the short lives of innocent victims, Stowers uses The Girl in the Grave...and Other True Crime Stories to tell the tales of devastated parents dealing with evil forces and unanswered questions that invaded their once normal lives, and the effect on the law enforcement officers duty-bound to involve themselves in such evil and troubling situations, investigating and seeking resolve and justice.

In this compelling memoir, teenaged eagle hunter Aisholpan Nurgaiv tells her own story for the first time, speaking directly with award-winning and New York Times best-selling author Liz Welch (I Will Always Write Back), who traveled to Mongolia for this book. Nurgaiv's story and fresh, sincere voice are not only inspiring but truly magnificent: With the support of her father, she captured and trained her own golden eagle and won the Ölgii eagle festival. She was the only girl to compete in the festival.

In April 2014, the world awoke to the shocking news that the terrorist group Boko Haram had kidnapped nearly 300 school-aged girls and taken them deep into the forests of Nigeria. When veteran journalist Mellissa Fung travelled to Nigeria, she discovered that the scope of the kidnappings had been vastly under-reported. Hundreds—possibly thousands—more girls had been taken against their will and forced to become child brides to soldiers and leaders of Boko Haram. Some of the captives escaped and returned to their villages, many with children in tow.

An almost true memory of a young man who has grown up on a small farm. The summer swelters, but the harvest is ready. A young man helps his farming father grapple with the weight of the tasks. The fields are dry and dusty, and the day-to-day struggles loom large. Yet amidst the dust and dirt, he sees Emily. She is radiant and apparently carefree while sunbathing nearby. Seeing her ignites a longing for something more than this life of hard labour. Can he break free from the chains of his reality? Will he find the courage to chase a future filled with hope?

After Zaila Avant-garde became the first African American student to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 2021, she turned into an overnight sensation. People wanted to know who she was and how she'd achieved so much while so young. Zaila shares about her family, her accomplishments, her experience of being homeschooled, and so much more in order to motivate and uplift other kids who have small-, medium-, and even big-sized dreams.

Anna had a perfect life. The perfect job and the perfect apartment, but something was missing. As the young, stunning blonde Meg catches Anna’s eye, she knows exactly who she wants to be her perfect baby girl. As their relationship takes form, will Meg be the girl Anna has always dreamed of?

A Holocaust historian, archivist, and history blogger adds a new dimension to the story of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising during World War II, shining a long overdue spotlight on five young, Polish Jewish women—champions who helped lead the resistance, sabotage the Nazis, and aid Jews in hiding across occupied Poland and Eastern Europe.

On December 30, 1999, in rural Oklahoma, 16-year-old Ashley Freeman and her best friend, Lauria Bible, were having a sleepover. The next morning, the Freeman family trailer was in flames and both girls were missing. While rumors of drug debts, revenge, and police collusion abounded in the years that followed, the case remained unsolved, and the girls were never found.

When she was 15, Jennifer Mee developed an unrelenting case of the hiccups - hiccupping as many as 50 times a minute for months. Soon the Florida teen's strange story went viral. Dubbed the "Hiccup Girl" by the media, she gained international sympathy and appeared on a slew of popular TV shows. Eventually Jennifer's hiccups went away, and so did her fame.