“A love letter to Harlem and hope. I Rise is smart and funny and full of heart.*” Fourteen-year-old Ayo who has to decide whether to take on her mother’s activist role when her mom is shot by police. As she tries to find answers, Ayo looks to the wisdom of her ancestors and her Harlem community for guidance. Ayo's mother founded the biggest civil rights movement to hit New York City in decades. It’s called ‘See Us’ and it tackles police brutality and racial profiling in Harlem. Ayo has spent her entire life being an activist and now, she wants out. She wants to get her first real kiss, have a boyfriend, and just be a normal teen. When her mom is put into a coma after a riot breaks out between protesters and police, protestors want Ayo to become the face of See Us and fight for justice for her mother who can no longer fight for herself. While she deals with her grief and anger, Ayo must also discover if she has the strength to take over where her mother left off. This impactful and unforgettable novel takes on the important issues of inequality, systemic racism, police violence, and social justice. *Kwame Alexander, New York Times bestselling author

Maya Angelou’s unforgettable collection of poetry lends its name to the documentary film about her life, And Still I Rise, as seen on PBS’s American Masters. Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size But when I start to tell them, They think I’m telling lies. I say, It’s in the reach of my arms, The span of my hips, The stride of my step, The curl of my lips. I’m a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That’s me. Thus begins “Phenomenal Woman,” just one of the beloved poems collected here in Maya Angelou’s third book of verse. These poems are powerful, distinctive, and fresh—and, as always, full of the lifting rhythms of love and remembering. And Still I Rise is written from the heart, a celebration of life as only Maya Angelou has discovered it. “It is true poetry she is writing,” M.F.K. Fisher has observed, “not just rhythm, the beat, rhymes. I find it very moving and at times beautiful. It has an innate purity about it, unquenchable dignity. . . . It is astounding, flabbergasting, to recognize it, in all the words I read every day and night . . . it gives me heart, to hear so clearly the caged bird singing and to understand her notes.”

Another remarkable collection of poetry from one of America's masters of the medium. The first part gathers together poems of love and nostalgic memory, while Part II portrays confrontations inherent in a racist society.

The highly anticipated, mind-blowing New York Times bestselling sequel to Kiersten White’s New York Times bestseller, AND I DARKEN—the series that reads like HBO’s Game of Thrones . . . if it were set in the Ottoman Empire. A SISTER FILLED WITH RAGE Lada Dracul has no allies. No crown. All she has is what she’s always had: herself. After failing to secure the Wallachian throne, Lada is out to punish anyone who dares cross her. She storms the countryside with her men, but brute force isn’t getting Lada what she wants. And thinking of Mehmed, the defiant Ottoman sultan, brings little comfort to her thorny heart. There’s no time to wonder whether he still thinks about her, even loves her. She left him before he could leave her. HER BROTHER CAUGHT IN THE CROSSHAIRS Lada needs the support of her diplomatic younger brother, Radu. But Mehmed has sent him to Constantinople—and it’s no diplomatic mission. Mehmed wants control of the city, and Radu has earned an unwanted place as a double-crossing spy behind enemy lines. And for the first time in his life, when Lada asks him for help, he refuses . . . leading his sister to make the darkest of choices. THE ULTIMATE POWER PLAY Torn between loyalties to faith, to the Ottomans, and to Mehmed, Radu knows he owes Lada nothing. If she dies, he could never forgive himself—but if he fails in Constantinople, would Mehmed ever forgive him? As nations fall around them, the Dracul siblings must decide: what will they sacrifice to fulfill their destinies? Empires will topple, thrones will be won . . . and souls will be lost. Fans of Victoria Aveyard’s THE RED QUEEN and Sabaa Tahir’s A TORCH AGAINST THE NIGHT won’t want to miss this riveting and gorgeously written novel—the second in the And I Darken series. ★ "Gorgeous, rich, and rewarding."—Booklist, starred review ★ "Absolutely devastating in the best way."—Kirkus, starred review “A+, 5 knives.”—Amie Kaufman, New York Times bestselling co-author of the STARBOUND and ILLUMINAE FILES trilogies “Fierce, epic, and crazy fun.”—Melissa Albert, New York Times bestselling author of THE HAZEL WOOD A Teen Choice Book Award nominee! Praise for And I Darken: “A dark jewel of a story, one that gleams with fierce, cunning characters—absolutely riveting.” —Alexandra Bracken, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Passenger “A dark, gritty, and seriously badass epic that will have you dying for more . . . required reading for every feminist fantasy fan.” —BuzzFeed “Evocative . . . this book takes no prisoners.” —NPR

Chronicles achievements made since the time of slavery, including contributions to the arts, science, literature, and politics through the election of President Barack Obama.

The companion book to the PBS series—a timeline and chronicle of the fifty years of black history in the U.S. in more than 350 photos. Beginning with the assassination of Malcolm X in February 1965, And Still I Rise explores a half-century of the African American experience. More than fifty years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the birth of Black Power, the United States has had a black president and black CEOs running Fortune 500 companies—as well as a large black underclass beset by persistent poverty, inadequate education, and an epidemic of incarceration. Harvard professor and scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. raises disturbing and vital questions about this dichotomy. How did the African American community end up encompassing such profound contradictions? And what will “the black community” mean tomorrow? Gates takes readers through the major historical events and untold stories of the years that have irrevocably shaped both the African American experience and the nation as a whole, from the explosive social and political changes of the 1960s into the 1970s and 1980s—eras characterized by both prosperity and neglect—through the turn of the century to today, taking measure of such racial flashpoints as the Tawana Brawley case, OJ Simpson’s murder trial, the murders of Amadou Diallo and Trayvon Martin, and debates around the NYPD’s “stop and frisk” policies. Even as it surveys the political and social evolution of black America, And Still I Rise is also a celebration of the accomplishments of black artists, musicians, writers, comedians, and thinkers who have helped to define American popular culture and to change our world. “The chronology is richly illustrated with images both iconic and seldom seen, making this especially useful as a visual reference for readers too young to have scenes from the early years burned into their memories. . . . a poignant reminder of how far we have come—and have yet to go.” —Kirkus Reviews

Heartbreak is an exquisitely seering pain with its never ending nausea, obsessive thinking, and crushing depression. Quite literally a personal prescription for living in hell. Trust me, I know it well and wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy.The pain of a broken heart is universally understood and experienced, but what is not universal however, is what is done with it. For most people it's an emotional death sentence but can be quite the opposite.The pain can break you down, or break you open. It can keep you bitter, or finally remove all of your heart's armor? Could heartbreak actually be the greatest opportunity ever handed to any of us?I believe it be just that - the greatest of opportunites - yet it's the one no one wants to use. My philosophy is quite simple: this horrendous pain isn't going anywhere, at all, so why not turn it into the catalyst for every change we've ever wanted in our lives. Why not use it instead of letting it destroy us. I know because I did just that.After using the two and half year odyssey of my own divorce to very publicly change every aspect of my life, something interesting began to happen - people started reaching out to me and asking how they could do the same. People just like you who wanted to lose weight, quit smoking, get sober, or rebuild their entire identity.When a close friend had her husband walk out, I made the commitment to speak with her for 90 straight days, telling her exactly what I wished someone had told me the moment my own wife walked out.Every morning I'd send her an email with a story from my own hellacious experience, giving her something inspirational to focus on and an action step to get her from heartbroken back to thriving - as fast as possible.These letters were compiled into an email series with thousands of readers already using them to navigate the darkest chapter of their lives. My goal was simple - to get her just a little bit stronger each and every day and it worked. And worked. And worked.This book is the compliation of those exact letters, with no punches pulled. The raw truth of my experience, the truth of you're facing with no punches pulled, and the best ways to get through it all. To survive, revive, and then thrive.Here's to you. Getting past today and on to tomorrow. One day at a time - one day stronger.