Difficult Times

All Luis Gonzalez wants is to go to prom with his boyfriend, something his 'progressive' school still doesn’t allow. Not after what happened with Chaz Wilson. But that was ages ago, when Luis’ parents were in high school; it would never happen today, right? He’s determined to find a way to give his LGBTQ friends the respect they deserve (while also not risking his chance to be prom king, just saying). When a hit on the head knocks him back in time to 1985 and he meets the doomed young Chaz himself, Luis concocts a new plan - he’s going to give this guy his first real kiss.

Hard times make us look for God. Everyone has problems. But if we could solve all our difficulties ourselves, would we ever search for God? Psychologist John Townsend says "It is actually the very unfixability of our problems and our powerlessness to bring right results that keep us asking, 'Where is God?'" With a compelling narrative, Townsend offers new insights into the pursuit for God's help and presence.

Set across the United States and abroad, Meron Hadero’s stories feature immigrants, refugees, and those on the brink of dispossession, all struggling to begin again, all fighting to belong. Moving through diverse geographies and styles, this captivating collection follows characters on the journey toward home, which they dream of, create and redefine, lose and find, and make their own. Beyond migration, these stories examine themes of race, gender, class, friendship, betrayal, the despair of loss, and the enduring resilience of hope.

In one moment Nicole Burns's life changes forever. The sound of gunfire at an Anne Frank exhibit, the panic, the crowd, and Nicole is no longer Nicole. Whiplashed through time and space, she wakes to find herself a privileged Jewish girl living in Nazi-occupied Paris during World War II.

"I was told to beware the accursed spindle, but it was so enchanting, so hypnotic. I was looking for a little adventure the day I ditched my tour group. But finding a comatose town, with a hot-looking chick asleep in it, was so not what I had in mind. I awakened in the same place but in another time – to a stranger’s soft kiss."

For a family with four kids, two dogs, assorted cats, and a constant stream of family and friends dropping by, life in the Austin family home has always been remarkably steady and contented. When a family friend suddenly dies in a plane crash, the Austins open their home to an orphaned girl, Maggy Hamilton. The Austin children - Vicky, John, Suzy, and Rob - do their best to be generous and welcoming to Maggy. Vicky knows she should feel sorry for Maggy, but having sympathy for Maggy is no easy thing.

When Veronica and her friend, Kirk, decide to investigate why, they stumble upon a more sinister plot than they ever could have imagined. One of Veronica’s high school teachers is crippled by the fact that his dead daughter has never returned as a ghost, and he’s haunted by the possibility that she’s waiting to reappear within a fresh body. Veronica seems like the perfect host. And even if he’s wrong, what’s the harm in creating one more ghost?

Her life by the sea in ruins, Pen has lost everything in the Earth Shaker that all but destroyed the city of Los Angeles. She sets out into the wasteland to search for her family, her journey guided by a tattered copy of Homer’s Odyssey. Soon she begins to realize her own abilities and strength as she faces false promises of safety, the cloned giants who feast on humans, and a madman who wishes her dead. On her voyage, Pen learns to tell stories that reflect her strange visions, while she and her fellow survivors navigate the dangers that lie in wait. In her signature style, Francesca Lia Block has created a world that is beautiful in its destruction and as frightening as it is lovely.

In first grade, twins Alexis and Adam wrote down what they wanted to be when they grew up and put it in their teacher’s time capsule. Now entering their senior year in high school, they are surprised to find out what they wrote: Alexis wanted to "help people" and Adam wanted to be a fireman. But that was before Adam got sick and their family fell apart. Adam’s leukemia is now in remission but, sadly, so is the twins’ family. Their mother and father are always working - not only don’t they have time for Alexis and Adam, they don’t have time for each other. Alexis can’t even convince them to take a weekend off for one last family vacation to Disney World.

Why is suffering the common lot of all people everywhere - believers and non-believers alike - and why does it seem that the world is out of control when it comes to the problem of pain and suffering? Who’s in Charge of a World that Suffers? includes an informative and inspirational new introduction by Franklin Graham that speaks to today’s reader in the midst of painful circumstances.

Calling Anna and Bennett's romance long distance is an understatement: She's from 1995 Chicago and he's a time traveler from 2012 San Francisco. The two of them never should have met, but they did. They fell in love, even though they knew they shouldn't. And they found a way to stay together, against all odds. It's not a perfect arrangement, though, with Bennett unable to stay in the past for more than brief visits, skipping out on big chunks of his present in order to be with Anna in hers. They each are confident that they'll find a way to make things work...until Bennett witnesses a single event he never should have seen....

Max is back with a thrilling new adventure that involves time travel, creepy bad guys, killer drones, and a shocking mystery about her past that she will stop at nothing to solve! Under constant danger of being kidnapped by the shadowy Corporation, Max is on the run from New York to London and beyond. But soon the call comes for the Change Maker kids' next mission: make sure no kid ever goes hungry again! If anyone can tackle a problem this big, Max and her genius friends can.

Do you have problems getting stressed out on a regular basis? Not enough will power? Sleeping issues such as insomnia? Or do you have anxiety? If you do, this audiobook will help you to counter these problems by playing relaxing content which can help you get to rest much more easily.

It is hard enough being a teenager in London during the Blitz, finding yourself in love and wondering every night whether you will survive the bombs. But it is even harder for Anna, who is still officially classified as an 'enemy alien'. Those bombs are coming from Germany – the country that was once her own. If Hitler invades, can she and her beloved refugee family possibly survive?

What if finding her means losing himself? Seventeen-year-old Bo has always had delusions that he could travel through time. When he was 10, Bo claimed to have witnessed the Titanic hit an iceberg, and at 15, he found himself on a Civil War battlefield, horrified by the bodies surrounding him. So when his concerned parents send him to a school for troubled youth, Bo assumes he knows the truth: that he's actually attending Berkshire Academy, a school for kids who, like Bo, have "superpowers".

Fifteen-year-old Lina is a Lithuanian girl living an ordinary life - until Soviet officers invade her home and tear her family apart. Separated from her father and forced onto a crowded train, Lina, her mother, and her young brother make their way to a Siberian work camp, where they are forced to fight for their lives. Lina finds solace in her art, documenting these events by drawing. Risking everything, she embeds clues in her drawings of their location and secretly passes them along, hoping her drawings will make their way to her father's prison camp.

After a lifetime of being bullied, Daelyn is broken beyond repair. She has tried to kill herself before, and is determined to get it right this time. Though her parents think they can protect her, she finds a Web site for "completers" that seems made just for her. She blogs on its forums, purging her harrowing history. At her private Catholic school, the only person who interacts with her is a boy named Santana. No matter how poorly she treats him, he just won’t leave her alone. And it's too late for Daelyn to be letting people into her life...isn’t it?

The beautiful struggle of a girl desperate for the one relationship that has caused her the most pain. Cassie O'Malley has spent the past two and a half years in a mental institution - dumped there by her mother, against her will. Now, at 18, Cassie emancipates herself, determined to start over. She attends college, forms new friendships, and even attempts to start fresh with her mother. But before long, their unhealthy relationship threatens to pull Cassie under once again.

Eight years ago, Ethan and Rebecca met, two troublemaking kids sharing secrets and first kisses in a tree house, until Ethan’s mom returned to take him away. Each and every visit, his only goodbye was a flower on Rebecca’s windowsill. Four years ago, Ethan left for the last time to take care of his mother, who has struggled with addiction his whole life. Two years ago, Rebecca was in a car accident that killed her father. She’s been learning to navigate life as a wheelchair user ever since. Now, they discover if their hardships have torn them apart…or will bring them closer than ever.

You do not need a $3,000-spa retreat for two weeks to regain or regenerate your mind. You can cower in the face of kombucha or be someone who slips into sleep during savasana, yet with Healthy Mind Difficult Times, you will be guided gently toward a beautiful, bolstered brain. Healthy Mind in Difficult Times provides a baseline of understanding by addressing and explaining the basics about our brains. The book sets out applicable step-by-step guidelines that can fluctuate and flex, meeting you where you are at this moment.