Real stories. Real teens. Real crimes. A backyard brawl turned media circus filled with gang accusations turns a small, quiet town upside down in this second book in the new Simon True series. On May 22, 1995 at 7 p.m. sixteen-year-old Jimmy Farris and seventeen-year-old Mike McLoren were working out outside Mike’s backyard fort. Four boys hopped the fence, and a fight broke out inside the dark fort made of two-by-four planks and tarps. Within minutes, both Mike and Jimmy had been stabbed. Jimmy died a short time later. While neighbors knew that the fort was a local hangout where drugs were available, the prosecution depicted the four defendants as gang members, and the crime as gang related. The accusations created a media circus, and added fuel to the growing belief that this affluent, safe, all-white neighborhood was in danger of a full-blown gang war. Four boys stood trial. All four boys faced life sentences. Why? Because of California’s Felony Murder Rule. The law states that “a death is considered first degree murder when it is commissioned during one of the following felonies: Arson, Rape, Carjacking, Robbery, Burglary, Mayhem, Kidnapping.” In other words, if you—or somebody you are with—intends to commit a felony, and somebody accidentally dies in the process, all parties can be tried and convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life without parole, even if nobody had any intention of committing a murder. What really happened that day? Was it a case of robbery gone wrong? Gang activity? Or was it something else?

An astonishing novel about pain, release, and recovery from two-time National Book Award finalist, Patricia McCormick. A tingle arced across my scalp. The floor tipped up at me and my body spiraled away. Then I was on the ceiling looking down, waiting to see what would happen next. Callie cuts herself. Never too deep, never enough to die. But enough to feel the pain. Enough to feel the scream inside. Now she's at Sea Pines, a "residential treatment facility" filled with girls struggling with problems of their own. Callie doesn't want to have anything to do with them. She doesn't want to have anything to do with anyone. She won't even speak. But Callie can only stay silent for so long...

Imagine for a moment that you are 6-years-old and you are woken in the early hours, bathed and then dressed in rags before being led down to an ominous looking tent at the end of your garden. And there, you are subjected to the cruellest cut, ordered by your own mother. Forced down on a bed, her legs held apart, Hibo Warderewas made to undergo female genital cutting, a process so brutal, she nearly died. As a teenager she moved to London in the shadow of the Somalian Civil War where she quickly learnt the procedure she had undergone in her home country was not 'normal' in the west. She embarked on a journey to understand FGM and its roots, whilst raising her own family and dealing with the devastating consequences of the cutting in her own life. Today Hibo finds herself working in London as an FGM campaigner, helping young girls whose families plan to take them abroad for the procedure. She has vowed to devote herself to the campaign against FGM. Eloquent and searingly honest, this is Hibo's memoir which promises not only to tell her remarkable story but also to shed light on a medieval practice that's being carried out in the 21stcentury, right on our doorstep. FGM in the UK has gone undocumented for too long and now that's going to change. Devastating, empowering and informative, this book brings to life a clash of cultures at the heart of contemporary society and shows how female genital mutilation is a very British problem.

When by-the-book meets off-the-record, the story’s just starting . . . Special Agent Ty Grady is pretty sure he’s about to get fired. His last perp skipped town before he could make an arrest, leaving him with a lot of means and precious few ends. When he’s called into the boss’s office, he expects the worst. And he isn’t exactly wrong. Chained to a desk in cybercrimes, Special Agent Zane Garrett dots his i’s and crosses his t’s. He doesn’t have much of a choice in the matter—his record can’t handle another black mark. When he learns he’s getting reassigned, he doesn’t miss the ironic pronunciation on “promotion.” Wherever he’s going, it’s nowhere good. When they’re partnered to solve a series of murders, their chances of success look low. They’re fantastic agents, but the case seems more like a punishment than an assignment. They can’t stop driving each other crazy. . . and not just in a bad way. This killer already took out the previous agents assigned to the case, and it’s not long before he’s on Ty and Zane’s trail, as well. They’ll have to set their frustrations aside, before it’s too late. *This is a limited re-release of the original series, without changes. Some aspects of the story are now dated, and an updated version will be published at a later date.* **See this title's page on RiptidePublishing.com for content warnings.**

From zines you can fold in a minute to luxurious leather journals and sumptuous sketchbooks, How to Make Books will walk you through the easy basics of bookmaking. Whether you’re a writer, a scrapbooker, a political activist, or a postcard collector, let book artist Esther K. Smith be your guide as you discover your inner bookbinder. Using foolproof illustrations and step-by-step instructions, Smith reveals her time-tested techniques in a fun, easy-to-understand way.

If you want to discover the fun of collage then this fabulous book is the perfect kit. Collage artist Maria Rivans has gathered hundreds of beautiful, quirky, and downright daft images, and they're all here for you to cut out and stick. Flowers, birds, cats, and butterflies can be combined with buildings, eyes, moustaches, and catalog models in dubious pants to create extraordinary original artworks and talking pieces! Maria provides an introduction to collage styles and tips on technique. An ideal activity for young and old, this book is a perfect gift or self-purchase for anyone seeking arty fun and a great deal of sticky silliness!