Ghetto Girls

Hard Core Logo is an epistolary novel that portrays a punk rock band reunited for one last shot at glory. Adapting a scrapbook approach, consisting of monologues, conversations, letters, interviews, photographs, and related paraphernalia (including posters, invoices and contracts), Hard Core Logo tells the story of Joe Dick, an unrepentant, true-blue punk rocker, whose no-holds-barred approach to music was severely undermined by the breakup of his band, Hard Core Logo, done in by changing times and fortunes. However, when he and the band are asked by a longtime fan to reunited for an environmental benefit, his passions are once again stirred, and he convinces his band mates to turn the one-time reunion into an actual tour. The book provides a fascinating, warts-and-all glimpse into the life and times of a rock band, and the dichotomy between the grim realities of life on the road, and the rock-n-roll spirit that inspired them in the first place. Hard Core Logo was made into a feature film by director Bruce McDonald, debuting at the Cannes Film Festival in 1996 to rave reviews. Hard Core Logo has also been adapted for radio; a stage version will debut in Vancouver in 2010.

“THE GHETTO GIRLS have somehow won a free trip to Marsay, France, to perform our play “Ghetto Girls Rule”. Rose couldn’t come because she is too little. So, it was me and my other sister Evelyn. Our mama said we could go if Robin Ann took responsibility for us. And since our mama hardly ever home, she wouldn’t miss us anyway. Robin Ann said it would be a good chance to get away from her brothers and house responsibilities and them girls up the way.” When a senseless shooting ends the life of a dear friend in front of their very eyes, the Ghetto Girls struggle to come to terms with the grief—and fear—that remains. They need to get away from it all (by any means necessary), so when the opportunity to go on an all expenses paid trip to Marseilles, France, comes about, the choice is simple for the twelve friends. And if the invitation wasn’t exactly intended for them, well, no one need be the wiser... None of them—not gum-poppin’, tough-talkin’ Beretta, not aspiring lawyer Deen, not even Leona with her fur coat and smattering of French—are prepared for what lies ahead. Will the young and hopeful Ghetto Girls return home triumphant, or will everything just continue to fall apart? By turns funny, tense, and deeply moving, this novel’s grounding in Black inner-city teen culture rings all the more true when the girls find themselves in the strange and picturesque French city, where they will have to depend on each other if they are to survive the adventure of a lifetime.

“THE GHETTO GIRLS have somehow won a free trip to Marsay, France, to perform our play “Ghetto Girls Rule”. Rose couldn’t come because she is too little. So, it was me and my other sister Evelyn. Our mama said we could go if Robin Ann took responsibility for us. And since our mama hardly ever home, she wouldn’t miss us anyway. Robin Ann said it would be a good chance to get away from her brothers and house responsibilities and them girls up the way.” When a senseless shooting ends the life of a dear friend in front of their very eyes, the Ghetto Girls struggle to come to terms with the grief—and fear—that remains. They need to get away from it all (by any means necessary), so when the opportunity to go on an all expenses paid trip to Marseilles, France, comes about, the choice is simple for the twelve friends. And if the invitation wasn’t exactly intended for them, well, no one need be the wiser... None of them—not gum-poppin’, tough-talkin’ Beretta, not aspiring lawyer Deen, not even Leona with her fur coat and smattering of French—are prepared for what lies ahead. Will the young and hopeful Ghetto Girls return home triumphant, or will everything just continue to fall apart? By turns funny, tense, and deeply moving, this novel’s grounding in Black inner-city teen culture rings all the more true when the girls find themselves in the strange and picturesque French city, where they will have to depend on each other if they are to survive the adventure of a lifetime.

The best of the street chronicles today, Ghetto Girls Too is a wonderfully hypnotic adventure that delves into the convoluted minds of criminals and the dark world of police corruption. Yet, there is something thrilling and surprisingly tender about this ongoing young-adult saga filled with mad flava. This latest installment of the popular, action-packed series follows Coco as her fortunes take a turn for the worse as she faces a looming threat while on the brink of fame. Simultaneously struggling with her own potential handicap and her mother's precarious sobriety, Coco calls on Deedee to help decode an enigmatic message from Miss Katie. Meanwhile, Deedee is in a quandary of her own, as she discovers that her uncle has been having a relationship with Josephine and sets her sights on reuniting him with his former fiance. The tension escalates as Eric Ascot continues to be pursued by the police, who are dead-set on framing him in a multiple murder plot, and the story speeds to its explosive and shocking end.

After a successful life in the drug game, twenty-one-year-old Kisa Kane plans to retire -- settle down, find a good man, and raise a family of her own. Done with the thug life, she has everything a ghetto girl would want: plenty of money, drop-dead-gorgeous looks, and two thriving legitimate businesses. Until she falls in love with Sincere Montega, a powerful drug dealer whose down-and-dirty money pulls Kisa back into the world she is trying so hard to leave behind. With lies, cheating, and conflict, Kai, their newborn, may be the only reason for this couple to stay together, but their lives are inevitably changed in the most unexpected way, the only way the streets of Harlem can.

With an outward gaze focused on a better future, Between Good and Ghetto reflects the social world of inner city African American girls and how they manage threats of personal violence. Drawing on personal encounters, traditions of urban ethnography, Black feminist thought, gender studies, and feminist criminology, Nikki Jones gives readers a richly descriptive and compassionate account of how African American girls negotiate schools and neighborhoods governed by the so-called "code of the street"ùthe form of street justice that governs violence in distressed urban areas. She reveals the multiple strategies they use to navigate interpersonal and gender-specific violence and how they reconcile the gendered dilemmas of their adolescence. Illuminating struggles for survival within this group, Between Good and Ghetto encourages others to move African American girls toward the center of discussions of "the crisis" in poor, urban neighborhoods.

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! Also on the USA Today, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Globe and Mail, Publishers Weekly, and Indie bestseller lists. One of the most important stories of World War II, already optioned by Steven Spielberg for a major motion picture: a spectacular, searing history that brings to light the extraordinary accomplishments of brave Jewish women who became resistance fighters—a group of unknown heroes whose exploits have never been chronicled in full, until now. Witnesses to the brutal murder of their families and neighbors and the violent destruction of their communities, a cadre of Jewish women in Poland—some still in their teens—helped transform the Jewish youth groups into resistance cells to fight the Nazis. With courage, guile, and nerves of steel, these “ghetto girls” paid off Gestapo guards, hid revolvers in loaves of bread and jars of marmalade, and helped build systems of underground bunkers. They flirted with German soldiers, bribed them with wine, whiskey, and home cooking, used their Aryan looks to seduce them, and shot and killed them. They bombed German train lines and blew up a town’s water supply. They also nursed the sick, taught children, and hid families. Yet the exploits of these courageous resistance fighters have remained virtually unknown. As propulsive and thrilling as Hidden Figures, In the Garden of Beasts, and Band of Brothers, The Light of Days at last tells the true story of these incredible women whose courageous yet little-known feats have been eclipsed by time. Judy Batalion—the granddaughter of Polish Holocaust survivors—takes us back to 1939 and introduces us to Renia Kukielka, a weapons smuggler and messenger who risked death traveling across occupied Poland on foot and by train. Joining Renia are other women who served as couriers, armed fighters, intelligence agents, and saboteurs, all who put their lives in mortal danger to carry out their missions. Batalion follows these women through the savage destruction of the ghettos, arrest and internment in Gestapo prisons and concentration camps, and for a lucky few—like Renia, who orchestrated her own audacious escape from a brutal Nazi jail—into the late 20th century and beyond. Powerful and inspiring, featuring twenty black-and-white photographs, The Light of Days is an unforgettable true tale of war, the fight for freedom, exceptional bravery, female friendship, and survival in the face of staggering odds. NPR's Best Books of 2021 National Jewish Book Award, 2021 Canadian Jewish Literary Award, 2021

“Through honest stories and inspiring lessons from her life, A’ja Wilson reminds us to never doubt who we are or apologize for being true to ourselves. Dear Black Girls is a must-read for every Black girl out there.” ―Gabrielle Union This one is for all the girls with an apostrophe in their names. This is for all the girls who are labeled “too loud” and “too emotional.” This is for all the girls who are constantly asked, “Oh, what did you do with your hair? That’s new.” This is for my Black girls. Despite gold medals, WNBA championships, and a list of accolades, A’ja Wilson knows how it feels to be swept under the rug—to not be heard, to not feel seen, to not be taken seriously. As a fourth grader going to a primarily white school in South Carolina, A’ja was told she’d have to stay outside for a classmate’s birthday party. “Huh?” she asked. Because the birthday girl’s father didn’t like Black people. Wilson tells stories like this, about how even when life tried to hold her down, it didn’t stop her. She shares her contribution to “The Talk,” and how to keep fighting, all while igniting strength, passion, and joy. Dear Black Girls is a necessary and meaningful exploration of what it means to be a Black woman in America today—and a rallying cry to lift up women and girls everywhere. “​D​ear Black Girls is filled with phenomenal stories and empowering insight on what it means to be a woman in today’s world. I didn’t want to put it down.” ―Tunde Oyeneyin, New York Times bestselling author of Speak