Growing Up Ugly

What's the one area from your past that you keep getting your flesh caught in over and over again? Where are you still wounded and bleeding? The good news is that the most unanticipated and rewarding turns in the story often start with the ugliest beginnings. Growing Up Ugly is an inspirational coming-of-age memoir that traces the upbringing of a painfully shy child with chronically low self-esteem--a gifted student reprimanded for daydreaming too much and raised in a struggling inner-city New York neighborhood who emerged to become an artist, a leading educator, and an award-winning scholar. In this new release from Simple Word Publications, author James Haywood Rolling, Jr. composes a rich canvas of raw vignettes, family photos, original illustrations, and vivid poems in order to sketch a candid self-portrait of a Black boy unlocking his creative superpowers. Growing Up Ugly tells the story of: The author's upbringing as the first-born son and namesake of a talented professional artist...and domineering father; the unexpected personal consequences of being bused to school daily from a racially segregated area of Crown Heights to a mostly white neighborhood far across Brooklyn; how being identified and tracked since elementary school as a gifted student contributed to a dangerously distorted view of his own capabilities--until God intervened. No matter who or what first made you feel ugly, here is storytelling that elevates its readers beyond their own trauma, social anxiety, and self-doubt. This is a book for anyone who has ever been underestimated, bullied, abused, or simply overlooked as you reimagine your way from daydreams to destiny. Growing Up Ugly makes a great gift for any family raising children of color, or for adults mentoring or teaching Black boys. An in-depth reflection on the power to reshape how one's presence is seen and felt in the world, this book is also an ideal addition to libraries serving multicultural populations!

When eighteen-year-old Orchid Faye leaves her childhood home behind, she takes with her the baggage of a negative self-image imposed upon her by her narcissistic mother. Determined to prove her value as a person and escape her mother’s influence, she heads for New York City where, she believes, the impossible is possible. As this strong but untested young woman navigates through the pitfalls of a big city, she lands a job that leads to her career as a model. In Manhattan, she makes friends and starts to fit in. When she meets the divorced Sam LeVine, a handsome and charismatic businessman with two pre-teen daughters, Orchid believes she has found true love. Sam introduces her to the glitter and glamour of Manhattan society and their East Hampton playground, but Orchid discovers there’s no easy road to happiness. As she fights to retain her identity, revelations of long-buried secrets trigger a shift in her perceptions. Confronting the challenges, she learns lesson in heartbreak, compassion and truth. Growing Up Ugly is a compelling coming-of-age novel that examines family, love, and identity through the eyes of an appealing, courageous young woman whose struggles and triumphs take the reader on a thrilling journey. Praise for Growing Up Ugly: The fine narrative in this novel drives the story forward consistently and smoothly. Readers understand exactly what’s happening at any given point in the story and the descriptive elements give them a wonderful sensory experience. ... In terms of basic narrative, this is the best book I’ve read in the past few months. – Mike Foley, author and editor

Robert Hoge has done pretty much every kind of writing there is. He has worked as a journalist, a speechwriter, a science writer, and a political advisor. He's also written numerous short stories, articles, and interviews that have been published in Australia and overseas. When he's not writing, Robert enjoys photography and talking with people about looking different and being disabled. He lives in Brisbane, Australia and is married and has two amazing daughters. Visit him at RobertHoge.com and follow him @RobertHoge.

Perry and Baby Girl are best friends, though you wouldn't know it if you met them. Their friendship is woven from the threads of never-ending dares and power struggles, their loyalty fierce but incredibly fraught. They spend their nights sneaking out of their trailers, stealing cars for joyrides, and doing all they can to appear hard to the outside world.With all their energy focused on deceiving themselves and the people around them, they don't know that real danger lurks: Jamey, an alleged high school student from a nearby town, has been pining after Perry from behind the computer screen in his mother's trailer for some time now, following Perry and Baby Girl's every move—on Facebook, via instant messaging and text,and, unbeknownst to the girls, in person. When Perry and Baby Girl finally agree to meet Jamey face-to-face, they quickly realize he's far from the shy high school boy they thought he was, and they'll do whatever is necessary to protect themselves. Lindsay Hunter's stories have been called "mesmerizing. . . visceral . . . exquisite" (Chicago Tribune), and in Ugly Girls she calls on all her faculties as a wholly original storyteller to deliver the most searing, poignant, powerful debut novel in years.

INSTANT #1 BESTSELLER! A brand-new book from the #1 bestselling author of The Break and The Woman Who Stole My Life. They're a glamorous family, the Caseys. Johnny Casey, his two brothers Ed and Liam, their beautiful, talented wives and all their kids spend a lot of time together--birthday parties, anniversary celebrations, weekends away. And they're a happy family. Johnny's wife, Jessie--who has the most money--insists on it. Under the surface, though, conditions are murkier. While some people clash, other people like each other far too much . . . Still, everything manages to stay under control--that is, until Ed's wife, Cara, gets a concussion and can't keep her thoughts or opinions to herself. One careless remark at Johnny's birthday party, with the entire family present, and Cara starts spilling all their secrets. As everything unravels, each of the adults finds themselves wondering if it's--finally--the time to grow up.

The book, with comprehensive and practicable coverage, acquaints its readers with thorough knowledge and skills to help the growing children in their proper growth and development enabling them to reach the limit of their excellence on one hand, and instilling in them the sense of responsibility towards their society and nation on the other hand. It dwells on the essential topics such as nature of the process of growth and development going on at the various ages and developmental stages of children, their developmental needs and characteristics, individual differences and diversities existing among them, development of various abilities and capacities like intelligence, creativity, and overall personality characteristics, nature of the age-linked behavioural problems, adjustment and mental health, parenting styles, and methods of dealing with the behavioural problems, adjustment, and stressful conditions of the developing children. The text equips the readers with all what is in demand for helping the developing children at this juncture of rapid industrialisation, globalisation, urbanisation, modernisation and economic change. It is primarily designed for the undergraduate students of education and elementary education. KEY FEATURES • Incorporates quite advanced topics such as emotional intelligence, use of reflective journals, anecdotal records and narratives as method of understanding child’s behaviour, and so on • Includes detailed discussion of theories of child development, theories of learning, theories of intelligence, theories of achievement motivation, theories of creativity, and theories of personality • Offers engaging language and user-friendly mode of discussion • Adequately illustrated with examples, figures and tables • Comprises chapter-end summary for quick glance of the concepts.

Writer Kovie Biakolo became inspired to publish Conversations for Smart People while having rooftop drinks in Brooklyn with a few of her colleagues. In her classic uninhibited style, Kovie deftly weaves through such topics as: being a woman, growing up African, the meaning of beauty, and love. And of course, the essay collection includes thoughtful commentary on socio-political issues-like race-that Kovie often finds herself discussing in her work. She hopes this book will lend a different side of the story, while also encouraging readers to engage in cultural discourse together in a meaningful way.

Piers Anthony’s bestselling Xanth series is one of the cornerstones of fantasy, a lively and whimsical interpretation of a genre often criticized for taking itself too seriously. Anthony’s first Xanth novel, A Spell for Chameleon, was initially edited to target a more traditional audience. Now, in an eBook exclusive, A Spell for Chameleon has been reworked line by line—its language matching the simpler, playful way with words that made Piers Anthony an enduring fan favorite. Xanth is an enchanted land where magic rules, a land of centaurs and dragons and basilisks where every citizen has a unique spell to call their own. For Bink of North Village, however, Xanth is no fairy tale. He alone has no magic. And unless he gets some—and fast!—he will be exiled. Forever. But the Good Magician Humfrey is convinced that Bink does indeed have magic. In fact, both Beauregard the genie and the magic wall chart insist that Bink has magic as powerful as any possessed by the King, the Good Magician Humfrey, or even the Evil Magician Trent. Be that as it may, no one can fathom the nature of Bink’s very special magic. This is even worse than having no magic at all . . . and he still faces exile!