While Meggie and David Blue are from another planet, they're a lot like Earth kids, with similar hopes and dreams, and can't wait to grow up. BUT they also have GROSSLY UNIQUE qualities, such as blue streaks in their hair that pop up randomly and language skills that sound like nothing on this planet. The story takes these alien kids, along with their mother and grandfather, by accident, to a far planet in which the society is not only oppressive but hostile to individual freedom. People are kept submissive through drugs and brainwashing. The Blues, who have spent time in free societies recognize the upside-down-ness of this world. They're almost helpless to do anything, but do what they can, plan their escape, and vow to help others.

A high-spirited humorous look at a special land, and the challenges of living in a remote region with more trees than people, long winters and two-track roads. Visitors are warned about the climate, insects, wildlife, local resdients and other potential "dangers." In a more serious epilogue, the author asks that visitors tread gently on the land and fold themselves into the Upper Peninsula way of life that its residents hold dear.

"The greatest part about your role in leadership is that it matters. The hardest part is that it matters every day. For years, Emmy Award winning speaker Clint Pulver has been the Undercover Millennial, gathering the secrets of great management from companies of all sectors and sizes. Now, he is ready to reveal the insights he has from his undercover interviews with more than 10,000 employees across the country, and show you exactly what you can do to generate higher staff engagement and retention--and build true loyalty that lasts. I Love It Here is not another leadership book written by a self-proclaimed leadership expert; rather, it's the data-driven product of intensive research with employees who knew exactly when their leaders were getting it right--and getting it wrong. By pulling back the cover on tired, "too tried and not true" leadership strategies that just aren't cutting it anymore, Clint will open your eyes to the mentorship qualities that are earning genuine employee loyalty in the world of today, along with the behaviors that--whether you know it or not--are triggering a rush for the door. By reading this book, you'll learn what one shocking factor is the number one driver of employee turnover (spoiler: it has everything to do with you!), what you can do to stop the leak, and how you can start building a team that works, right from the moment a prospective employee walks through the door. Using real-world examples from companies he has visited as an undercover retention agent, Clint will reveal in detail the best, most proven methods he has seen for identifying talent, building a sense of ownership, and developing staff in a way that helps them recognize and realize their own individual dreams. Through thoughtful and engaging chapter-by-chapter exercises, he'll guide you through each strategy, moving you seamlessly toward building an authentic culture of valuing and empowering the individual in your own workplace. Soon, you'll be recognizing possibility where others see problems, and capturing the power of small moments to create a meaningful legacy. I Love It Here is a vision of leadership that reaches beyond career to become almost like a calling: a day-by-day, moment-to-moment journey toward becoming the best for the world. Let Clint's inspiring personal stories, deep knowledge, and unique challenges help you become that beloved Mentor Manager who is remembered forever, and who knows how to bring out true passion and commitment in the people on your team. This book is your key to the solutions-based principles behind every organization that people never want to leave. Your company can be more than simply a fancy facade. It can be a place that has an authentic core built on valuing the individual--a place where people don't just survive, but thrive. I Love It Here will show you how."--

In the first decade of the 20th century, the state of Massachusetts established itself as a leader in the education of individuals with disabilities. The third state school for the feebleminded was built in rural Belchertown, in the western part of the state. Opened in 1915, Belchertown State School would eventually encompass almost 900 acres of land and would become the largest employer in town. For nearly 60 years, the state school educated individuals with disabilities who were otherwise excluded from public education, training the "residents" to become independent members of their families and of society. The model was a success until reports of abuse and neglect began to surface, culminating in the landmark 1972 Ricci v. Greenblatt case, which ultimately led to the state school's closure in 1992. The state school's rich history, maintained and curated by the late Donald LaBrecque, chronicles the rise of special education and developmental services and the ultimate collapse of the state school system.

Sometimes it takes losing everything to truly find yourself... Since Sandy Shortt's childhood classmate disappeared twenty years ago, Sandy has been obsessed with missing things. Finding what is lost becomes her single-minded goal--from the lone sock that vanishes in the washing machine to the car keys she misplaced. It's no surprise, then, that Sandy's life's work becomes finding people who have vanished from their loved ones. Sandy's family is baffled and concerned by her increasing preoccupation. Her parents can't understand her compulsion, and she pushes them away further by losing herself in the work of tracking down these missing people. She gives up her life in order to offer a flicker of hope to devastated families...and escape the disappointments of her own. Jack Ruttle is one of those devastated people. It's been a year since his brother Donal vanished into thin air, and he has enlisted Sandy Shortt to find him. But before she is able to offer Jack the information he so desperately needs, Sandy goes missing too...and Jack now finds himself searching for his brother and the one woman who understood his pain. One minute Sandy is jogging through the park, the next, she can't figure out where she is. The path is obscured. Nothing is familiar. A clearing up ahead reveals a camp site, and it's there that Sandy discovers the impossible: she has inadvertently stumbled upon the place -- and people -- she's been looking for all her life, a land where all the missing people go. A world away from her loved ones and the home she ran from for so long, Sandy soon resorts to her old habit again, searching. Though this time, she is desperately trying to find her way home . . .

After a year spent at a boarding school for her past mistakes, Ashlyn is ready to reconnect with her friends, restart her life, and enter senior year. But when family trouble hits home and she is forced to help out at her estranged cousin’s wilderness retreat center, Ashlyn struggles between returning to the girl she was or growing into someone new. Ashlyn Zanotti has big plans for the summer. She's just spent a year at boarding school and can't wait to get home. But when Ashlyn's father is arrested for tax evasion and her mother enters a rehab facility for "exhaustion," a.k.a. depression, her life is turned upside down again. Things go from bad to worse when Ashlyn's father sends her to work with a cousin she doesn't even know at a rustic team-building retreat center in the middle of nowhere. A self-proclaimed "indoor girl," not even Ash's habit of leaving breadcrumb quotes--inspirational sayings she scribbles everywhere--can help her cope. With a dangerously careless camp manager doling out grunt work, an overbearing father trying to control her even from prison, and more than a little boy drama to struggle with, the summer is full of challenges. And Ashlyn must make the toughest decision of her life: keep quiet and follow her dad's marching orders or find the courage to finally stand up to her father to have any hope of finding her way back home. A modern twist on Hansel and Gretel, No Place like Here features: A strong female lead who doesn’t shy away from difficult parent-teen relationships A clean and wholesome love triangle, romcom vibes, and feel-good fuzzy emotions Returning cast of characters from Christina June’s It Started With Goodbye Perfect for fans of Elise Bryant, Morgan Matson, and Sarah Dessen