"Hysterical. I couldn’t put it down.” (Nic Stone) "I laughed, I gasped, I church grunted through every chapter." (Tiffany D. Jackson) "Heartfelt and hilarious on every page!" (Justin A. Reynolds) 4 starred reviews! * An Indie Next List Pick! * Named one of Bank Street College of Education's Best Children’s Books of the Year! Two-time Edgar Award finalist Lamar Giles spotlights the consequences of societal pressure, confronts toxic masculinity, and explores the complexity of what it means to be a “real man.” Del has had a crush on Kiera Westing since kindergarten. And now, during their junior year, she’s finally available. So when Kiera volunteers for an opportunity at their church, Del’s right behind her. Though he quickly realizes he’s inadvertently signed up for a Purity Pledge. His dad thinks his wires are crossed, and his best friend, Qwan, doesn’t believe any girl is worth the long game. But Del’s not about to lose his dream girl, and that’s where fellow pledger Jameer comes in. He can put in the good word. In exchange, Del just has to get answers to the Pledgers’ questions…about sex ed. With other boys circling Kiera like sharks, Del needs to make his move fast. But as he plots and plans, he neglects to ask the most important question: What does Kiera want? He can’t think about that too much, though, because once he gets the girl, it’ll all sort itself out. Right? "With true-to-life characters and a straightforward handling of sex, including often ignored aspects of male sexuality, Giles’s thoughtful, hilarious read offers a timely viewpoint on religion, toxic masculinity, and teen sexuality." (Publishers Weekly, "An Anti-Racist Children's and YA Reading List")

Discover how natural, unprocessed foods can help you live a happier, healthier, and slimmer life with this book featuring over sixty recipes. In Pure and Simple, Pascale Naessens shares her method for staying happy, healthy, and slim, with more than sixty recipes. She recommends a lifestyle that embraces only natural, unprocessed foods, but she is not advocating for a diet dominated by restrictions. Instead she celebrates delicious meals, pleasure, and health. Her approach has only one rule—no carbohydrates with protein. So, you can eat anything you want, but not together. She works with a basic series of food combinations: meat or fish + vegetables; carbohydrates + vegetables; or dairy + vegetables. And her mouthwatering recipes for appetizers, mains, and desserts make adopting this eating style entirely uncomplicated. You don’t need to count calories or restrict portion sizes. If you are overweight, you will lose the extra pounds. You will cook delicious food simply and easily. You can drink wine. You will be satisfied. And you will enjoy your food with relish. “Forget calories, focus on food quality, and let your body do the rest! Pascale Naessens shows how to put this prescription into practice with delicious recipes in her beautiful book Pure & Simple,” —David S. Ludwig, MD, PhD, author of Always Hungry?

Through countless lives, seventeen-year-olds Tamar and Fayard have fallen in love, fought to be together, and died but when they discover what it will take to break the cycle, will they be able to make the sacrifice?

Lamar Giles takes readers on a wild and dark ride in this contemporary Witness Protection thriller, perfect for fans of James Patterson, Harlan Coben, and John Grisham. Nick Pearson is hiding in plain sight. In fact, his name isn't really Nick Pearson. He shouldn't tell you his real name, his real hometown, or why his family just moved to Stepton, Virginia. And he definitely shouldn't tell you about his friend Eli Cruz and the major conspiracy Eli was uncovering when he died. About how Nick had to choose between solving Eli's murder with his hot sister, Reya, and "staying low-key" like the Program said to do. But he's going to tell you—unless he gets caught first. . . .

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Especially murder. Nikki Tate is infamous, even by Las Vegas standards. Her dad is sitting on death row, convicted of killing his best friend in a gambling dispute turned ugly. And for five years, he's maintained his innocence. But Nikki wants no part of that. She's been working on Operation Escape Vegas: playing in illegal card games so she can save up enough money to get out come graduation day.Then her dad's murder conviction is overturned. The new evidence seems to come out of nowhere and Nikki's life becomes a mess when he's released from prison. Because the dad who comes home is not the dad she remembers. And he's desperately obsessed with finding out who framed him-and why.As her dad digs into the seedy underbelly of Vegas, the past threatens everything and Nikki is drawn into his deadly hunt for the truth. But in the city of sin, some sinners will do anything to keep their secrets, and Nikki soon finds herself playing for the biggest gamble ever-her life.

This is the third book in a three volume series celebrating and examining about the work of 11 of the most prominent African American authors since 2000. The eleven identified authors are Andrea Davis Pinkney, Coe Booth, Sheila P. Moses, Kwame Alexander, Kekla Magoon, Jason Reynolds, Varian Johnson, Renee Watson, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nnedi Okorafor, and Lamar Giles. These authors build on the work of the authors in books two and three. The chapter authors—librarians and established and emerging scholars in the field of young adult literature--survey the work of each author, their accolades, and how audiences responded to their work. Each chapter highlights a single work and discusses how it might be taught in a classroom with a focus on introductory, during, and concluding activities for individuals, small groups and the whole class. This volume is a resource for classroom teachers, teacher educators, reading specialists, librarians, and other educators who study, research, and read young adult literature. Even more importantly it can be resource for students who read and study these authors at the secondary and collegiate level. This is especially true when the current moment in the U. S. shows facing anew concerns of voting rights and discussion of how and when Critical Race Theory or any discussion of Race might take place in a classroom.