Trailblazer Books makes history exciting and relevant for both boys and girls. Mehdi Ksara, a Muslim boy in Morocco, collects items he finds among the foreigners living in his village. He knows he risks his parents' wrath by treasuring the pictures of Jesus given to him by missionary Maude Cary. Will the missionary's God save Mehdi when his pictures are discovered?
It all started with a board game. But what was supposed to be an evening of friends, fun, and games, becomes a night of danger, drama, and obsessive love. Because when Jenny and her friends try to play the Game, it comes to life. Suddenly they are in a dark world where Julian, the gorgeous guy who sold Jenny the game, rules as Prince of the Shadows. Julian is in charge, making their darkest nightmares reality. And he will do anything to claim the beautiful Jenny as his prize. The Game is real, and these friends must play through - and the only way to win is to face their most secret fears. To lose the Game is to lose your life. And that is only the beginning...
Going about her uneventful life, the last thing commitment-phobe Layla Jansen expects is to be abducted from a business meeting by one of her brother's crazy friends. But her brother, Drew, does know how to get himself into trouble. This time he's investigating a case of corruption that goes all the way to the top. Ruger Warner has a debt to settle and protecting the pretty behind of his old ally is an easy way to put the past to rest. But the sassy vixen has legs which go all the way to heaven and a mouth that can match his wit. Layla promises her brother she'll do as she's told and let Ruger keep her alive. But that doesn't mean she plans to make it easy for the hulk of a man who thinks he can charm his way into every woman's good graces. Layla has been accused of many things, being easy isn't one of them. This Ruger is about to learn that the hard way.
Princess Camilla Fitzcharles is willing to risk everything to escape her gilded cage of her life. She's secured an invitation to participate in the Wild Hunt, a deadly game hosted annually on the secretive Island of Ys. This year's prize is the one thing that can set her free. Cami just has to survive long enough to win it.Luca has spent the last fifteen years waiting for vengeance. Now the plans are in motion, and there's no going back. He couldn't have anticipated Cami, though. She's an innocent, a reminder of the life that was stolen from him. Something to be protected, not leveraged in this dangerous game.This year the Wild Hunt has changed. For the first time since its inception, an outsider is named as the White Stag, the prey the rest of them hunt-Cami. She's on the run and in danger, and Luca will do anything to keep her safe.The person she needs the most protection from?Him.
"Lush, romantic, and exquisitely written . . . a rare, glittering jewel of a novel."—Sarah J. Maas, author of the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series "This is Aladdin like you've never imagined."—Renée Ahdieh, author of The Wrath and the Dawn She is the most powerful Jinni of all. He is a boy from the streets. Their love will shake the world. . . . When Aladdin discovers Zahra's jinni lamp, Zahra is thrust back into a world she hasn't seen in hundreds of years—a world where magic is forbidden and Zahra's very existence is illegal. She must disguise herself to stay alive, using ancient shape-shifting magic, until her new master has selected his three wishes. But when the King of the Jinn offers Zahra a chance to be free of her lamp forever, she seizes the opportunity—only to discover she is falling in love with Aladdin. When saving herself means betraying him, Zahra must decide once and for all: is winning her freedom worth losing her heart? As time unravels and her enemies close in, Zahra finds herself suspended between danger and desire in this dazzling retelling of the Aladdin story from acclaimed author Jessica Khoury.
"We knew the risk. We decided to take it. I don't regret a single second and neither should you..." - Bryant Benson.It started out so innocent. I saw my best friend's father at an art show, and I knew the woman hitting on him wasn't looking for love. I thought I could do him a favor. That's what I told myself and I think I even believed it. I was just going to walk up, pretend to be his date, and then we would laugh about it after she was gone.You know what they say about the best laid plans...One night of make believe that never should have happened.It ignited a spark inside both of us.We tried to fight it until we made a mistake, And one forbidden kiss led to so much more.Sometimes, you don't know that you're about to cause a scandal until you're right in the middle of it.
Junior in college. Star athlete. Constant attention from the opposite sex. On this campus, I'm worshiped. While seven hundred miles away, back in my hometown, I'm still trailer park trash, child of the town tramp, and older sibling to three kids who are counting on me to keep my shit together so I can take them away from the same crappy life I grew up in. These two opposing sides of myself never mix until one person gets a glimpse of the true me. I never expected to connect with anyone like this or want more beyond one night. This may be the real deal. Problem is Dr. Kavanagh's my literature professor. If I start anything with a teacher and we're caught together, I might as well kiss my entire future goodbye, as well as my family's and especially Dr. Kavanagh's. Except sometimes love is worth risking everything. Or at least, it damn well better be, because I can only resist so much.-N. G.-.--Provided by publisher.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A bold work from the author of The Black Swan that challenges many of our long-held beliefs about risk and reward, politics and religion, finance and personal responsibility In his most provocative and practical book yet, one of the foremost thinkers of our time redefines what it means to understand the world, succeed in a profession, contribute to a fair and just society, detect nonsense, and influence others. Citing examples ranging from Hammurabi to Seneca, Antaeus the Giant to Donald Trump, Nassim Nicholas Taleb shows how the willingness to accept one’s own risks is an essential attribute of heroes, saints, and flourishing people in all walks of life. As always both accessible and iconoclastic, Taleb challenges long-held beliefs about the values of those who spearhead military interventions, make financial investments, and propagate religious faiths. Among his insights: • For social justice, focus on symmetry and risk sharing. You cannot make profits and transfer the risks to others, as bankers and large corporations do. You cannot get rich without owning your own risk and paying for your own losses. Forcing skin in the game corrects this asymmetry better than thousands of laws and regulations. • Ethical rules aren’t universal. You’re part of a group larger than you, but it’s still smaller than humanity in general. • Minorities, not majorities, run the world. The world is not run by consensus but by stubborn minorities imposing their tastes and ethics on others. • You can be an intellectual yet still be an idiot. “Educated philistines” have been wrong on everything from Stalinism to Iraq to low-carb diets. • Beware of complicated solutions (that someone was paid to find). A simple barbell can build muscle better than expensive new machines. • True religion is commitment, not just faith. How much you believe in something is manifested only by what you’re willing to risk for it. The phrase “skin in the game” is one we have often heard but rarely stopped to truly dissect. It is the backbone of risk management, but it’s also an astonishingly rich worldview that, as Taleb shows in this book, applies to all aspects of our lives. As Taleb says, “The symmetry of skin in the game is a simple rule that’s necessary for fairness and justice, and the ultimate BS-buster,” and “Never trust anyone who doesn’t have skin in the game. Without it, fools and crooks will benefit, and their mistakes will never come back to haunt them.”
Exploring political, economic, and social encounters within and with the Muslim world across the eras, Lawrence Rosen develops a vibrant, nuanced portrait of the Islamic world that challenges existing stereotypes. Using a diverse range of illustrative case studies, Rosen draws previously unseen linkages across time, regions, and cultures.