Nominated for the Lambda Literary Award! “An evocative story of the thrills of first love and the anguish of first loss. This will break you and heal you.” —Julie Murphy, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dumplin’ Not to be missed by fans of Nina LaCour and Becky Albertalli, this powerful novel—from the acclaimed author of Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit—paints a poignant portrait of love in the past, grief in the now, and the healing power of art. Before: Jess has always struggled with the fire inside her. But when she meets Vivi, everything changes. As they fall for each other, Vivi helps Jess deal with her anger and pain and encourages her to embrace her artistic talent. And suddenly Jess’s future is a blank canvas, filled with possibilities. After: When Vivi unexpectedly dies, Jess’s perfect world is erased. As she spirals out of control, Jess pushes away everyone around her and throws out her plans for art school. Because art is Vivi and Vivi is gone forever. Right when Jess feels at her lowest, she makes a surprising friend who just might be able to show her a new way to channel her rage, passion, and creativity. But will Jess ever be able to forge a new path for herself without Vivi? A beautiful exploration of first love and first loss, this novel effortlessly weaves together past and present to tell a profound story about how you can become whole again when it seems like you’ve lost the most important part of yourself.

One of our most eloquent nature writers offers a passionate and informative celebration of birds and their ability to help us understand the world we live in. As well as exploring how birds achieve the miracle of flight; why birds sing; what they tell us about the seasons of the year and what their presence tells us about the places they inhabit, The Meaning of Birds muses on the uses of feathers, the drama of raptors, the slaughter of pheasants, the infidelities of geese, and the strangeness of feeling sentimental about blue tits while enjoying a chicken sandwich.From the mocking-birds of the Galapagos who guided Charles Darwin toward his evolutionary theory, to the changing patterns of migration that alert us to the reality of contemporary climate change, Simon Barnes explores both the intrinsic wonder of what it is to be a bird—and the myriad ways in which birds can help us understand the meaning of life.

Behold the power of nature with this illustrated field guide to recognizing and understanding the messages that the universe sends us through the birds we see in our daily lives! Birds are all around us—pecking at the sidewalk, perching on a nearby tree branch, flying in the sky above our heads. But do you ever feel like a bird might be trying to connect with you—or even tell you something? The Hidden Meaning of Birds can help you decipher the special message your avian oracle is trying to share. The Hidden Meaning of Birds isn’t just your typical field guide to birds. In addition to a physical description of a variety of common bird species, it also includes the folklore and unique symbolism associated with each to help you understand the changes these mystical creatures want you to make in your life. With this enlightening volume as your inspiration, get ready to reexamine your life from a bird’s eye view—one robin, crow, and hummingbird at a time!

As spiritual guides, otherworldly allies, and magical companions, birds have been revered for millennia. From eagles and owls to hummingbirds and wrens, this lovely and lyrical guide to bird spirituality explores the rich beliefs and practices surrounding more than forty different birds—and reveals how these venerated creatures can guide us today. Drawing on mythology and traditions of worldwide shamanic cultures—from modern times to the Bronze Age—this book examines avian spirituality from all angles: What birds have symbolized through the ages and why How to decipher bird messages in your life Bird deities from Aphrodite to the Valkyries Avian presence in ancient cave art, shapeshifting rituals, magic practices, and religion How to discover and work with your totem bird From exploring the five stages of soul alchemy to helping protect our feathered companions, The Healing Wisdom of Birds offers a variety of practical ways to connect with these sacred creatures.

Behind Sami, the Syrian skyline is full of smoke. The boy follows his family and all his neighbours in a long line, as they trudge through the sands and hills to escape the bombs that have destroyed their homes. But all Sami can think of is his pet pigeons - will they escape too? When they reach a refugee camp and are safe at last, everyone settles into the tent city. But though the children start to play and go to school again, Sami can't join in. When he is given paper and paint, all he can do is smear his painting with black. He can't forget his birds and what his family has left behind. One day a canary, a dove, and a rose finch fly into the camp. They flutter around Sami and settle on his outstretched arms. For Sami it is one step in a long healing process at last. A gentle yet moving story of refugees of the Syrian civil war, My Beautiful Birds illuminates the ongoing crisis as it affects its children. It shows the reality of the refugee camps, where people attempt to pick up their lives and carry on. And it reveals the hope of generations of people as they struggle to redefine home.

This classic holiday book that brings together nature, the nativity, and the celebration of the first Christmas, Jesus's birth, makes a perfect gift or stocking stuffer for toddlers, boys and girls from 3 to 5 years old, and the young at heart! “Let there be peace on Earth.” A timeless message of how peace can spread from one person to another, ideal for Christmas time, and throughout the year. Long ago a special child was born, and the animals heard a song of blessing and good will for all the creatures of the earth. But now the birds wonder why no one sings the song anymore. And so they fly far and wide, singing the song of joy and peace. Here is a beautiful story about the powerful role we all play in passing on the timeless message: “Let there be peace. Peace on Earth.”

What is it like to be a swift, flying at over one hundred kilometres an hour? Or a kiwi, plodding flightlessly among the humid undergrowth in the pitch dark of a New Zealand night? And what is going on inside the head of a nightingale as it sings, and how does its brain improvise?Bird Sense addresses questions like these and many more, by describing the senses of birds that enable them to interpret their environment and to interact with each other. Our affinity for birds is often said to be the result of shared senses - vision and hearing - but how exactly do their senses compare with our own? And what about a birds' sense of taste, or smell, or touch or the ability to detect the earth's magnetic field? Or the extraordinary ability of desert birds to detect rain hundreds of kilometres away - how do they do it?Bird Sense is based on a conviction that we have consistently underestimated what goes on in a bird's head. Our understanding of bird behaviour is simultaneously informed and constrained by the way we watch and study them. By drawing attention to the way these frameworks both facilitate and inhibit discovery, it identifies ways we can escape from them to seek new horizons in bird behaviour.There has never been a popular book about the senses of birds. No one has previously looked at how birds interpret the world or the way the behaviour of birds is shaped by their senses. A lifetime spent studying birds has provided Tim Birkhead with a wealth of observation and an understanding of birds and their behaviour that is firmly grounded in science.