Some of our strongest, most lasting relationships are hidden in plain view—those we have with objects. What do our possessions do for us? And how do they do it? In The Promise of Things, Ruth Quibell explores what our possessions say about us: who we think we are, what we long for and struggle against. It invites us to think about how we use things, what makes them precious, and why we find it so hard to throw these objects away.

*IPPY Award Silver Medalist Young Adult Fiction - General A medium desperate to save his town, a grieving brother wanting revenge, and a girl who's decided to end ghosts once and for all, converge in the town of St. Hilaire, where the spirits of the dead roam the streets and there's no such thing as resting in peace. Russ Griffin has always wanted to be a fantastic medium. Growing up in the town of St. Hilaire, where most residents make their living by speaking to the dead, means there's a lot of competition, and he's always held his own. But Russ knows the town he loves is corrupt, and he's determined to save it before the sinister ruling body, The Guild, ruins all he's ever wanted. Willow Rogers is St. Hilaire royalty. An orphan, raised by The Guild, she's powerful and mysterious. But she has secrets that might change everyone's fate. She's done with St. Hilaire, done with helping spirits move on. She wants to end the cycle for good and rid the town of ghosts, even if that means destroying the only home she's ever known. Asher Mullen lost his sister, and his parents can't get over her death. They sought answers in St. Hilaire and were turned away. Now they want revenge. Asher is tasked with infiltrating the town, and he does that by getting to know Russ. The only problem is, he might be falling for him, which will make betraying him that much harder. Russ, Willow, and Asher all have their own agendas for St. Hilaire, but one thing's for certain, no one will be resting in peace. Perfect for readers looking for: ghost town books young adult lgbt books atmospheric stories Praise for Prelude for Lost Souls: "Ghost story, love story, and mystery in equal measure, Helene Dunbar's Prelude for Lost Souls is filled with unforgettable characters who reveal the many ways a life can be haunted. Perfect for fans of The Raven Boys."—Lisa Maxwell, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Magician series "Dunbar invokes small-town intrigue and plentiful atmosphere with this haunting, romantic tale."—Publishers Weekly "A quietly compelling story."—Kirkus Reviews "Mesmerizing and haunting, Dunbar invites readers into a world of family secrets, anxious ghosts and a society's ruthless grasp for power that will leave you wanting more."—The Nerd Daily "Fantastic elements layered in with poignant, human moments of grief make this ghost story a solid sequel. "— Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (BCCB)

Winner, 2023 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Our relationship with things abounds with paradoxes. People assign value to objects in ways that are often deeply personal or idiosyncratic yet at the same time rooted in specific cultural and historical contexts. How do things become meaningful? How do our connections with the world of things define us? In Ming and Qing China, inquiry into things and their contradictions flourished, and its depth and complexity belie the notion that material culture simply reflects status anxiety or class conflict. Wai-yee Li traces notions of the pleasures and dangers of things in the literature and thought of late imperial China. She explores how aesthetic claims and political power intersect, probes the objective and subjective dimensions of value, and questions what determines authenticity and aesthetic appeal. Li considers core oppositions—people and things, elegance and vulgarity, real and fake, lost and found—to tease out the ambiguities of material culture. With examples spanning the late sixteenth to the mid-eighteenth centuries, she shows how relations with things can both encode and resist social change, political crisis, and personal loss. The Promise and Peril of Things reconsiders major works such as The Plum in the Golden Vase, The Story of the Stone, Li Yu’s writings, and Wu Weiye’s poetry and drama, as well as a host of less familiar texts. It offers new insights into Ming and Qing literary and aesthetic sensibilities, as well as the intersections of material culture with literature, intellectual history, and art history.

Seventeen-year-old Gwen is preparing to audition for New York City’s top music schools when her grandfather mysteriously disappears, leaving Gwen only a phone message telling her not to worry. But there’s nothing more stressful than practicing for her auditions, not knowing where her grandfather is, and being forced to lie about his whereabouts when her insistent great-uncle demands an audience with him. Then Gwen meets Robert, also in town for music auditions, and the two pair up to brave the city without supervision. As auditions approach and her great-uncle becomes more aggressive, Gwen and Robert make a startling discovery. Suddenly Gwen’s hopes are turned upside down, and she and Robert are united in ways neither of them could have foretold. . . .

Bestselling author Morgan applies the remarkable words of Romans 8: 28 and other related Bible verses to real-life stories of hope overcoming heartache.

Over twenty-two months in 1979 and 1981 nearly two dozen children were unspeakably murdered in Atlanta despite national attention and outcry; they were all Black. James Baldwin investigated these murders, the Black administration in Atlanta, and Wayne Williams, the Black man tried for the crimes. Because there was only evidence to convict Williams for the murders of two men, the children's cases were closed, offering no justice to the families or the country. Baldwin's incisive analysis implicates the failures of integration as the guilt party, arguing, "There could be no more devastating proof of this assault than the slaughter of the children." As Stacey Abrams writes in her foreword, "The humanity of black children, of black men and women, of black lives, has ever been a conundrum for America. Forty years on, Baldwin's writing reminds us that we have never resolved the core query: Do black lives matter? Unequivocally, the moral answer is yes, but James Baldwin refuses such rhetorical comfort." In this, his last book, by excavating American race relations Baldwin exposes the hard-to-face ingrained issues and demands that we all reckon with them.

The NIV is the world's best-selling modern translation, with over 150 million copies in print since its first full publication in 1978. This highly accurate and smooth-reading version of the Bible in modern English has the largest library of printed and electronic support material of any modern translation.