Come along as to meet Drayden. Drayden's siblings will be sharing what a typical day with Drayden is like. Autism is a complex neurobehavioral disorder characterized by impairment in reciprocal social interaction, impairment in communication, and the presence of repetitive and stereotypic patterns of behaviors, interests, and activities. Drayden has Autism and is completely awesome! We hope you enjoy getting to know Drayden .
Queen Peydra ascends to the throne, but has a mere 12 years until Ruling Council will murder her. Can she escape the “Curse of Royalty”? Peydra must decide what she will do as she nears her coronation in a kingdom whose ruling body has used something they call the Protection Dictum to justify murdering the royal family for more than two centuries. Instead of being the warning against tyranny it was intended to be, the practice has become commonplace and threatens not only her life, but destabilizes the kingdom. How does one fight against centuries of barbaric ritualism? Newly crowned and grieving the loss of her mother, Queen Peydra decides to lead her court on an inaugural tour to introduce herself to the populace. But the new queen soon finds that she has risked the lives of the whole ruling body as the tour caravan faces invaders and imminent war. Drayden’s Queen is the first installment of Fleming’s four book series, Curse of Royalty. Follow the queen as she grows through loss, struggles against the darkness of the curse, discovers how weighty the crown can be, and experiences the baffling loyalty of a secretive attendant she calls First Boy. Curse of Royalty is about the inevitability of death, back lit by the hope of true salvation, and surprising loyalty of others despite considerable obstacles, both from without and within.
Having survived the Initiation and expedition, one battle remains: the fight for the heart and soul of New America. Drayden and his friends, enlisting the help of Professor Worth, must find a way back to New America before the Guardians imperil their return. But for these teens, their problems are only beginning. The Bureau, which never expected them to survive the expedition, will do everything in their power to prevent New America’s darkest secrets from getting out. Drayden’s only hope is the insurrection led by ally Kim Craig. The David versus Goliath battle between good and evil, between truth and lies, will push Drayden to his breaking point and require bravery, self-acceptance, and above all, belief in himself. Backed by the will of the citizens, he’ll need to engineer an ingenious strategy to defeat the all-powerful authoritarians. The question is, will it be enough?
As autistic self-advocates, our personal stories hold a lot of power: they are sources of strength, tales of overcoming barriers and adversity, and a way for us to assert agency and receive the support we might need. But how do you actually disclose your diagnosis? How do you tell teachers, support staff, colleagues, friends, or anybody else about your disability and account for their varied reactions? Or, if you're a parent or ally, how do you tell the person you're supporting about their own neurodivergent identity and culture? Disclosure is often a thorny topic, but in this powerful and supportive book, Haley Moss explores the language, history, and stigmas that influence how people perceive autism, breaking down ways to approach conversations about neurodivergence in different contexts. By deconstructing fears around disclosure, Talking the Talk About Autism shows how the experience can be made more impactful, safe, and less nerve-wracking for all those involved.
"This book is for anyone who has ever felt the need for a wiggle, stomp, or squeeze!" This is a story about sensory differences and how some children experience their world, told from a child's perspective. The vibration in her feet when she runs, the tap-tap-tap of her fork on the table at mealtime, the trickle of cool water running over her hands---these are the things that calm her jitters down. This book is for anyone who has ever felt the need for a wiggle,s tomp, or squeeze! Wiggles, Stomps, and Squeezes playfully validates the unique sensory experiences of children, written from their own perspective. I'm excited for every kid that will see themselves in this beautiful book!" - Mark Loewen, Author of What Does a Princess Really Look Like? "I have worked in special education for 12 years and have not ccome across a book that explains these jittery feelings until now. This book will capture the hearts of families and children with unique needs as well as educate those unfamiliar with sensory differences." - Bridget Martinez, Special Education Teacher "I often find myself trying to explain to parents why their child needs wiggles, stomps, and squeezes to get through their day while experiencing sensory input in ways that are different and often more intense. This is the first book I have come across that provides a very real glimpse into the lived experience of a child with sensory differences. What a wonderful book that so many families can benefit from!? - Caitlyn Berry, Occupational Therapist
"Don't be alarmed - that dizzy pleasurable sensation you're experiencing is just your brain slowly exploding from all the wild magnificent worldbuilding in Nicky Drayden's Escaping Exodus. I loved these characters and this story, and so will you." - Sam J. Miller, Nebula-Award-winning author of The Art of Starving and Blackfish City The Compton Crook award–winning author of The Prey of Gods and Temper returns with a dazzling stand-alone novel, set in deep space, in which the fate of humanity rests on the slender shoulders of an idealistic and untested young woman—a blend of science fiction, dark humor, and magical realism that will appeal to fans of Charlie Jane Anders, Jeff VanderMeer, and Nnedi Okorafor. Earth is a distant memory. Habitable extrasolar planets are still out of reach. For generations, humanity has been clinging to survival by establishing colonies within enormous vacuum-breathing space beasts and mining their resources to the point of depletion. Rash, dreamy, and unconventional, Seske Kaleigh should be preparing for her future role as clan leader, but her people have just culled their latest beast, and she’s eager to find the cause of the violent tremors plaguing their new home. Defying social barriers, Seske teams up with her best friend, a beast worker, and ventures into restricted areas for answers to end the mounting fear and rumors. Instead, they discover grim truths about the price of life in the void. Then, Seske is unexpectedly thrust into the role of clan matriarch, responsible for thousands of lives in a harsh universe where a single mistake can be fatal. Her claim to the throne is challenged by a rival determined to overthrow her and take control—her intelligent, cunning, and confident sister. Seske may not be a born leader like her sister, yet her unorthodox outlook and incorruptible idealism may be what the clan needs to save themselves and their world.
Gay fashion advertiser Blaine Dunhill has everything he wants in life except for a family, but when his friend Gretchen offers to help him out, Blaine finds himself on a wild ride of baby names and fashion gossip. Original. 10,000 first printing.
Published two years before Covid, The Initiation is set a generation after an apocalypse that featured a global pandemic, a mass exodus from NYC, strict quarantines, riots over inequality, and federal forces brought in to restore order. Want to know what happens next? Manhattan is now known as New America, a fully walled-in society based on equality. But the perfect facade hides a dark truth. A timid math geek, sixteen-year-old Drayden watches his life crumble when his beloved mother is exiled. The mystery of her banishment leads him to a sinister secret: New America is in trouble, and every one of its citizens is in jeopardy. With time running out, he enters the Initiation. It’s a test within the empty subway tunnels—-a perilous journey of puzzles and deadly physical trials. Winners join the ruling Bureau and move to its safe haven. But failure means death. Can Drayden conquer the Initiation, or is salvation out of his grasp?
Drayden and his friends thought nothing could be harder than the Initiation. Little did they know it had only been a warmup for the challenge that lay ahead. With New America’s situation dire, Drayden and the pledges venture into the unexplored world beyond the walls, escorted by a team of elite Guardians. The group seeks to contact another civilization in what remains of Boston, but Drayden has secret goals of his own. Dangers abound in the outside world, including Aeru, the deadly superbug that wiped out humanity. While they battle the elements of a desolate landscape, a power struggle emerges within their ranks. The Guardians seem to be carrying out a covert mission themselves, and the quest turns everything they thought they knew about New America upside down.
Blending fantasy and science fiction, N. E. Davenport’s fast-paced, action-packed debut kicks off a duology of loyalty and rebellion, in which a young Black woman must survive deadly trials in a racist and misogynistic society to become an elite warrior. It’s all about blood. The blood spilled between the Republic of Mareen and the armies of the Blood Emperor long ago. The blood gifts of Mareen’s deadliest enemies. The blood that runs through the elite War Houses of Mareen, the rulers of the Tribunal dedicated to keeping the republic alive. The blood of the former Legatus, Verne Amari, murdered. For his granddaughter, Ikenna, the only thing steady in her life was the man who had saved Mareen. The man who had trained her in secret, not just in martial skills, but in harnessing the blood gift that coursed through her. Who trained her to keep that a secret. But now there are too many secrets, and with her grandfather assassinated, Ikenna knows two things: that only someone on the Tribunal could have ordered his death, and that only a Praetorian Guard could have carried out that order. Bent on revenge as much as discovering the truth, Ikenna pledges herself to the Praetorian Trials—a brutal initiation that only a quarter of the aspirants survive. She subjects herself to the racism directed against her half-Khanaian heritage and the misogyny of a society that cherishes progeny over prodigy, all while hiding a power that—if found out—would subject her to execution…or worse. Ikenna is willing to risk it all because she needs to find out who murdered her grandfather…and then she needs to kill them. Mareen has been at peace for a long time… Ikenna joining the Praetorians is about to change all that. Magic and technology converge in the first part of this stunning debut duology, where loyalty to oneself—and one’s blood—is more important than anything.
