Zia

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For use in schools and libraries only. A young Indian girl, Zia, caught between the traditional world of her mother and the present world of the Mission, is helped by her aunt Karana whose story was told in the Island of the Blue Dolphins.

The dramatic real life stories of four young people caught up in the mass exodus of Shanghai in the wake of China’s 1949 Communist revolution—a heartrending precursor to the struggles faced by emigrants today. “A true page-turner . . . [Helen] Zia has proven once again that history is something that happens to real people.”—New York Times bestselling author Lisa See NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR AND THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR • FINALIST FOR THE PEN/JACQUELINE BOGRAD WELD AWARD FOR BIOGRAPHY Shanghai has historically been China’s jewel, its richest, most modern and westernized city. The bustling metropolis was home to sophisticated intellectuals, entrepreneurs, and a thriving middle class when Mao’s proletarian revolution emerged victorious from the long civil war. Terrified of the horrors the Communists would wreak upon their lives, citizens of Shanghai who could afford to fled in every direction. Seventy years later, members of the last generation to fully recall this massive exodus have revealed their stories to Chinese American journalist Helen Zia, who interviewed hundreds of exiles about their journey through one of the most tumultuous events of the twentieth century. From these moving accounts, Zia weaves together the stories of four young Shanghai residents who wrestled with the decision to abandon everything for an uncertain life as refugees in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United States. Benny, who as a teenager became the unwilling heir to his father’s dark wartime legacy, must decide either to escape to Hong Kong or navigate the intricacies of a newly Communist China. The resolute Annuo, forced to flee her home with her father, a defeated Nationalist official, becomes an unwelcome exile in Taiwan. The financially strapped Ho fights deportation from the U.S. in order to continue his studies while his family struggles at home. And Bing, given away by her poor parents, faces the prospect of a new life among strangers in America. The lives of these men and women are marvelously portrayed, revealing the dignity and triumph of personal survival. Herself the daughter of immigrants from China, Zia is uniquely equipped to explain how crises like the Shanghai transition affect children and their families, students and their futures, and, ultimately, the way we see ourselves and those around us. Last Boat Out of Shanghai brings a poignant personal angle to the experiences of refugees then and, by extension, today. “Zia’s portraits are compassionate and heartbreaking, and they are, ultimately, the universal story of many families who leave their homeland as refugees and find less-than-welcoming circumstances on the other side.”—Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club

This fantasy is one to make you wonder what is happening next and where it is going. With plenty of fun and excitement thrown in for good measure. Your imagination will run riot and allow you to become one with the characters. Age is not a barrier to stop you enjoying this book. Just go with the flow and enjoy. Set in the Cornish countryside where rumour, legend, suspicion and folk-law still play a part in everyday life. Where there are still tales of being Pixie Led and people that will tell of The Beast of Bodmin Moor and ghosts that walk in the road at night only to disappear when you approach, spirit Monks who walk the seafront disappearing into the waves and many other stories. Fiction or fact? I have spoken to people who would swear to the above things having happened in the recent past. The Adventures of Zia are set in modern times and there are plenty of adventures to go into my next book in the same vein. So get comfy and allow yourself to indulge in true fantasy. Can you have true fantasy? Well, read and allow yourself the added luxury of an unshackled imagination and see!!!

Imagine a book that has you sitting at the edge of your seat, turning each page, from cover to cover with breathless anticipation. Your heart pounds, your hands sweat, your mind wanting to know what happens next. Have you ever read a book that has you mused one moment to the next, and then breaks your heart and leaves you with tears streaming down your cheeks. Are you ready for a read so thought provoking that after reading it you are left changed forever. This is that book. Izz of Zia is the first novel of a three part trilogy that can be interpreted on two separate horizontal stratums: as an exciting, fantasy, action, adventure, or as a deeply spiritual saga. Izz of Zia is set in the First Age of the Noble Kings, in the Middle Era of the First Millennia, in the year one hundred and eleven, in the days of King Ozzdon, in the Empire of Xylenia, on the planet Zia. Betrayal from within threatens to tear a world that has lived in peace for thousands of years apart forever. This work is a multi-faceted writing that intertwines heartbreak with adoration, deceit with truth, betrayal with loyalty, creating a web in which two young heartthrobs that are as different as the east is far from the west learn the fathomless meaning of passion, devotion and true love. This is a book about a faith filled heart that wills to keep going no matter how many time it breaks, no matter how low life beats it down, no matter how close death comes to sweeping it under, hope rises from within. Prepare to be inspired by a love whose story begs to be told, and refuses to be denied no matter how painful, tragic, or tear-jerking.

"Luminous, empowering, and full of heart-healing truths, this is a novel that belongs on every shelf."—Katherine Applegate, Newbery Award winning author For fans of Crenshaw and When You Trap a Tiger comes the extraordinary tale of a headstrong girl and the magical dictionary she hopes will explain the complicated feelings she can't find the right words for—or erase them altogether. Zia remembers the exact night the Shadoom arrived. One moment she was laughing with her best friends, and the next a dark room of shadows had crept into her chest. Zia has always loved words, but she can’t find a real one for the fear growing inside her. How can you defeat something if you don’t know its name? After Zia’s mom announces that her grouchy Greek yiayia is moving into their tiny apartment, the Shadoom seems here to stay. Until Zia discovers an old family heirloom: the C. Scuro Dictionary, 13th Edition. This is no ordinary dictionary. Hidden within its magical pages is a mysterious blue eraser shaped like an evil eye. When Zia starts to erase words that remind her of the Shadoom, they disappear one by one from the world around her. She finally has the confidence to befriend Alice, the new girl in sixth grade, and to perform at the Story Jamboree. But things quickly dissolve into chaos, as the words she erases turn out to be more vital than Zia knew. In this raw, funny, and at times heartbreaking middle grade debut, Bree Barton reveals how—with the right kind of help—our darkest moments can nudge us toward the light.

A heartwarming picture book about a Chinese-American girl who grows to appreciate the traditional dishes her parents prepare for her and finds a way to share her lunch with her classmates. Everyone loves lunchtime. Everyone, that is, but Zia. At school, the other kids are eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cheese and crackers, and apples on the side. But Zia's always nervous about opening her lunchbox. Her dumpling and noodle dishes look different and smell different. She dreads lunchtime. Then, during her birthday week, her parents pack her a different Cantonese dish each day and explain what the food represents: a roast pork bun to bring treasure, soy sauce chicken to bring success, and more. At first, Zia doesn’t want to eat her lunch, but once she starts, she just may realize her food could bring her good fortune after all!

What if you could improve your skin by simply changing the way you wash your face? What if the products you bought really made a difference in your skin? Critically-acclaimed Zia Wesley's MAP (Master Anti-aging Plan) to Basic Skin Care puts you (no matter your age) in the driver's seat. Learn the truth about cosmetics and skin-care myths. Take charge of your heath and your beauty, naturally. Skin is the only organ that silently announces to the world how old or young you are. REVIEWS: "...excellent, basic rules for different skin types." ~San Francisco Examiner OTHER TITLES BY ZIA WESLEY: Zia's M.A.P. to Growing Young Zia's M.A.P. to Skin Care for Men