Stay Gold

Debut author Tobly McSmith delivers a coming-of-age teen love story about a transgender boy who’s going stealth at his new Texas high school and a cisgender girl who is drawn to him, even as she’s counting down the days until graduation. Perfect for fans of David Levithan, Becky Albertalli, and Jenny Han. Pony plans to fly under the radar this year. Tired of getting too much attention at his old school after coming out as transgender, he’s hoping for a fresh start as a Hillcrest High senior. But it’s hard to live your best life with the threat of exposure lurking around every corner. Georgia is beginning to think there’s more to life than cheerleading. She just wants to keep a low profile until graduation . . . which is why she promised herself that dating is a nonstarter for the foreseeable future. Then, on the very first day of classes, the new guy and the cheerleader lock eyes… In this moving, honest debut from Tobly McSmith, one transformative relationship opens the eyes of a whole town—and opens the door for Pony and Georgia to celebrate their truths, even when it feels hard.

What does it mean to be almost healthy? For Daniel Selvakumar, it was being born with a heart defect that offered a slim chance of surviving past childhood. At 14 months old, he underwent the first of three open-heart surgeries. Grappling with his own mortality, Daniel accepted the big and small gifts of life – a close-knit family, lasting friendships, a business launched, a first love. In his own way, he sought to leave the world a bit better, whether by helping a friend struggling with drug addiction, coaching teenagers or brightening the lives of nurses and fellow hospital patients in his last days. Daniel’s heart was deformed by its defect as much as it was enlarged by love. He used it to make each of his 25 years count, and for the brief season that he was alive, left his mark on the hearts of friends, family and strangers, changing them forever. In one of Daniel’s final postings on social media, he outlines his approach for a life well lived – Live full, love hard, be grateful and own that shit. Eloquent, heartrending and pensive, Stay Gold is a glowing tapestry of a memoir told through the interwoven perspectives of Daniel, his parents and the people he loved. Poised between past and present with a gaze at the future never to be, Daniel’s story asks how an almost healthy boy can find his place in a mostly healthy world, and how a single life can be meaningful when time is running out.

From Ron Rash, PEN / Faulkner Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author of Serena, comes a new collection of unforgettable stories set in Appalachia that focuses on the lives of those haunted by violence and tenderness, hope and fear—spanning the Civil War to the present day. The darkness of Ron Rash’s work contrasts with its unexpected sensitivity and stark beauty in a manner that could only be accomplished by this master of the short story form. Nothing Gold Can Stay includes 14 stories, including Rash’s “The Trusty,” which first appeared in The New Yorker.

In twenty-two simple yet profound reflections, seasoned minister Mark Belletini explores the many and varied forms of grief. His honest, poetic essays serve as a prism, revealing the distinct colors and manifestations of grief in our lives. He addresses the way we respond to loss of people in our lives, loss of love, loss of focus, and loss of the familiar—understanding that grief is as much a part of our lives as our breathing. Belletini uses specific and personal stories to open up to the universal experience. Nothing Gold Can Stay is a gift of awareness, showing how the shades of grief serve our deepest needs.

Alaska State Trooper Liam Campbell is on the hunt for a serial killer. Newly promoted to corporal, Liam Campbell is slowly making a home for himself in Newenham. With just DUIs and domestic disputes to disturb the peace, life is relatively tranquil – until Campbell's girlfriend, Bush pilot Wyanet Chouinard, delivering a shipment of mail to a remote post office, finds the postmistress murdered. At first it seems a random assault; but then another woman disappears after her husband is killed at their gold mining claim. When Campbell connects the crimes with a twenty-year-old string of missing women, he knows he's facing a serial killer.

*Named a Rainbow Book List Title and one of Bank Street Children's Best Books of the Year* A trans teen walks the fine line between doing whatever it takes for his acting dream and staying true to himself in this moving, thought-provoking YA novel from the acclaimed author of Stay Gold. Aspiring actor August Greene just landed a coveted spot at the prestigious School of Performing Arts in New York. There’s only one problem: His conservative parents won’t accept that he’s transgender. And to stay with his aunt in the city, August must promise them he won’t transition. August is convinced he can play the part his parents want while acting cool and confident in the company of his talented new friends. But who is August when the lights go down? And where will he turn when the roles start hitting a little too close to home?

For many decades, the LGBTQ+ community has been plagued by strife and human rights violations. Members of the LGBTQ+ community were often denied a right to marriage, healthcare, and in some parts of the world, a right to life. While these struggles are steadily improving in recent years, disparities and discrimination still remain from the workplace to the healthcare that this community receives. There is still much that needs to be done globally to achieve inclusivity and equity for the LGBTQ+ community. The Research Anthology on Inclusivity and Equity for the LGBTQ+ Community is a comprehensive compendium that analyzes the struggles and accomplishments of the LGBTQ+ community with a focus on the current climate around the world and the continued impact to these individuals. Multiple settings are discussed within this dynamic anthology such as education, healthcare, online communities, and more. Covering topics such as gender, homophobia, and queer theory, this text is essential for scholars of gender theory, faculty of both K-12 and higher education, professors, pre-service teachers, students, human rights activists, community leaders, policymakers, researchers, and academicians.