When Jessica Wakefield wakes up in the middle of the night, her whole room is shaking. The next day at school, Jessica is a celebrity: she's the only one who witnessed Sweet Valley's own earthquake!
The earthquake destroyed Sweet Valley... and one of the twins' best friends is dead.... Twin sisters Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield have been ripped apart in the chaos following a devastating earthquake. Through the agony, fear, and despair, they must dig through the rubble to find each other again, hoping against hope that they haven't been separated for good. But as they search, tragedy surrounds them. Enid Rollins clings to life by a thread as Devon Whitelaw and Bruce Patman work to save her. Steven Wakefield risks his life to help his one true love. Most frightening of all, Todd Wilkins, Lila Fowler, Ken Matthews, and Olivia Davidson are missing and presumed dead. Can their friends find them before it's too late?
Jessica Alexander arrived in Rwanda in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide as an idealistic intern, eager to contribute to the work of the international humanitarian aid community. But the world that she encountered in the field was dramatically different than anything she could have imagined. It was messy, chaotic, and difficult—but she was hooked. In this honest and irreverent memoir, she introduces readers to the realities of life as an aid worker. We watch as she manages a 24,000-person camp in Darfur, collects evidence for the Charles Taylor trial in Sierra Leone, and contributes to the massive aid effort to clean up a shattered Haiti. But we also see the alcohol-fueled parties and fleeting romances, the burnouts and self-doubt, and the struggle to do good in places that have long endured suffering. Tracing her personal journey from wide-eyed and naïve newcomer to hardened cynic and, ultimately, to hopeful but critical realist, Alexander transports readers to some of the most troubled locations around the world and shows us not only the seemingly impossible challenges, but also the moments of resilience and recovery.
Vogue Best of 2017 Esquire 50 Best Books of 2017 Bustle Best Debut Novels Written by Women 2017 The Guardian Best Books of 2017 The Morning News 2018 Tournament of Books Pick Fifteen year old Eugenia is rudely yanked from her dreamy Roman existence by her filmmaker parents, who dream of fame and fortune, and transplanted to the strange, suburban world of the San Fernando Valley. It’s 1992, mere weeks after the Rodney King riots, and she has only the Virgin Mary to call on for guidance as she struggles to navigate the unfamiliar terrain of the LA high school experience—a world of gang rivalries and all-night-raves, fast food and sneakers. But the angst, ecstasy, and self-discovery of adolescence endure, no matter the backdrop. Frank, edgy, honest and raw, this irresistible debut is the love child of Jill Eisenstadt, Eve Babitz, Antonioni and Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
Our understanding of earthquakes and faulting processes has developed significantly since publication of the successful first edition of this book in 1990. This revised edition, first published in 2002, was therefore thoroughly up-dated whilst maintaining and developing the two major themes of the first edition. The first of these themes is the connection between fault and earthquake mechanics, including fault scaling laws, the nature of fault populations, and how these result from the processes of fault growth and interaction. The second major theme is the central role of the rate-state friction laws in earthquake mechanics, which provide a unifying framework within which a wide range of faulting phenomena can be interpreted. With the inclusion of two chapters explaining brittle fracture and rock friction from first principles, this book is written at a level which will appeal to graduate students and research scientists in the fields of seismology, physics, geology, geodesy and rock mechanics.
New York Times bestselling author Carol Edgarian delivers “an all-encompassing and enthralling” (Oprah Daily) novel featuring an unforgettable heroine coming of age in the aftermath of catastrophe, and her quest for love and reinvention. Meet Vera Johnson, fifteen-year-old illegitimate daughter of Rose, notorious proprietor of San Francisco’s most legendary bordello. Vera has grown up straddling two worlds—the madam’s alluring sphere, replete with tickets to the opera, surly henchmen, and scant morality, and the quiet domestic life of the family paid to raise her. On the morning of the great quake, Vera’s worlds collide. As the city burns and looters vie with the injured, orphaned, and starving, Vera and her guileless sister, Pie, are cast adrift. Disregarding societal norms and prejudices, Vera begins to imagine a new kind of life. She collaborates with Tan, her former rival, and forges an unlikely family of survivors, navigating through the disaster together. “A character-driven novel about family, power, and loyalty, (San Francisco Chronicle), Vera brings to life legendary characters—tenor Enrico Caruso, indicted mayor Eugene Schmitz and boss Abe Ruef, tabloid celebrity Alma Spreckels. This “brilliantly conceived and beautifully realized” (Booklist, starred review) tale of improbable outcomes and alliances takes hold from the first page, with remarkable scenes of devastation, renewal, and joy. Vera celebrates the audacious fortitude of its young heroine, who discovers an unexpected strength in unprecedented times.
The thrilling, cinematic story of a community shattered by disaster—and the extraordinary woman who helped pull it back together “A powerful, heart-wrenching book, as much art as it is journalism.”—The Wall Street Journal “A beautifully wrought and profoundly joyful story of compassion and perseverance.”—BuzzFeed (Best Books of the Year) In the spring of 1964, Anchorage, Alaska, was a modern-day frontier town yearning to be a metropolis—the largest, proudest city in a state that was still brand-new. But just before sundown on Good Friday, the community was jolted by the most powerful earthquake in American history, a catastrophic 9.2 on the Richter Scale. For four and a half minutes, the ground lurched and rolled. Streets cracked open and swallowed buildings whole. And once the shaking stopped, night fell and Anchorage went dark. The city was in disarray and sealed off from the outside world. Slowly, people switched on their transistor radios and heard a familiar woman’s voice explaining what had just happened and what to do next. Genie Chance was a part-time radio reporter and working mother who would play an unlikely role in the wake of the disaster, helping to put her fractured community back together. Her tireless broadcasts over the next three days would transform her into a legendary figure in Alaska and bring her fame worldwide—but only briefly. That Easter weekend in Anchorage, Genie and a cast of endearingly eccentric characters—from a mountaineering psychologist to the local community theater group staging Our Town—were thrown into a jumbled world they could not recognize. Together, they would make a home in it again. Drawing on thousands of pages of unpublished documents, interviews with survivors, and original broadcast recordings, This Is Chance! is the hopeful, gorgeously told story of a single catastrophic weekend and proof of our collective strength in a turbulent world. There are moments when reality instantly changes—when the life we assume is stable gets upended by pure chance. This Is Chance! is an electrifying and lavishly empathetic portrayal of one community rising above the randomness, a real-life fable of human connection withstanding chaos.
Deirdre Langeland's Meltdown explores for middle grade readers the harrowing story of the deadly earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown that caused the 2011 Fukushima power plant disaster On March 11, 2011, the largest earthquake ever measured in Japan occurred off the northeast coast. It triggered a tsunami with a wall of water 128 feet high. The tsunami damaged the nuclear power plant in Fukushima triggering the nightmare scenario--a nuclear meltdown. For six days, employees at the plant worked to contain the meltdown and disaster workers scoured the surrounding flooded area for survivors. This book examines the science behind such a massive disaster and looks back at the people who experienced an unprecedented trifecta of destruction.
A New York Times Bestseller! “Before there was Gossip Girl, there was Sweet Valley High...Sweet Valley Confidential makes a compelling enough companion that we actually missed two subway stops because we were caught up in its frothy fun.” —Wall Street Journal Iconic and beloved identical twins Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield are all grown up, and navigating the very complicated world of work, love and betrayal in Francine Pascal's long-awaited return to Sweet Valley. What terrible secret has torn Jessica and Elizabeth apart? Ten years after Sweet Valley High, the Wakefield twins have had a falling out of epic proportions. When Jessica commits a complete and utter betrayal, Elizabeth flees to New York to escape the pain. Jessica remains in California, dealing with the fallout of her heart-wrenching choices. But with Elizabeth as her enemy, Sweet Valley is no longer the idyllic town of their youth. Elizabeth soon decides the only way to heal her broken heart is to get revenge for Jessica's duplicity. Always the "good" twin, Elizabeth about to turn the tables... Francine Pascal finally unfolds the continuing story of Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield—and the whole gang from Sweet Valley—that will delight and surprise the millions of fans of these beloved characters.
About earth movement and plate tectonics, and the possibility of earthquakes at the Cascadia Subduction Zone, an area between British Columbia and northern California.