Difficult Relationships

I was 13 when my dad caught me with Tommy Webber in the back of Tommy’s Buick, parked next to the old Chart House down in Montara at 11 o’clock on a Tuesday night. Tommy was 17 and the supposed friend of my brother, Darren. I didn’t love him. I’m not sure I even liked him. In a moment, Deanna Lambert’s teenage life is changed forever. Struggling to overcome the lasting repercussions and the stifling role of “school slut”, Deanna longs to escape a life defined by her past.

August is a misfit with a pyro streak, and Jack is a golden boy on the varsity rugby team - but their intense friendship goes way back. Jack begins to see increasingly vivid hallucinations that take the form of an elaborate fantasy kingdom creeping into the edges of the real world. With their parents' unreliable behavior, August decides to help Jack the way he always has - on his own. He accepts the visions as reality, even when Jack leads them on a quest to fulfill a dark prophecy.

The troublemaker. The overachiever. The cheer captain. The dead girl. Like every high school in America, Jefferson-Lorne High contains all of the above. After the shocking murder of senior Emma Baines, three of her classmates are at the top of the suspect list: Claude, the notorious partier; Avery, the head cheerleader; and Gwen, the would-be valedictorian. But appearances are never what they seem. And the truth behind what really happened to Emma may just be lying in plain sight. As long buried secrets come to light, the clock is ticking to find Emma's killer.

Everyone eventually leaves Wren Plumley. First it was her mother, then her best friend, and then her sister. Now living with only her cop father and her upended dreams, Wren feels stranded, like a songbird falling in a storm. When Wilder, a sickly housebound teen, moves in next door, Wren finally finds what she’s always wanted - a person who can’t leave. But a chance meeting with Luca, the talkative, crush-worthy boy in her driver’s ed class, has Wren wondering if maybe she’s too quick to push people away.

Tallulah Liddell had been defined by her appearance for as long as she could remember. Overweight and insecure, she preferred to fly under the radar, drawing as little attention to herself as possible, so no one can hurt her. The only boy who did seem to ever notice her was her longtime crush, Nash Lee. But when he laughs at a joke aimed at Tallulah the summer before their senior year, Tallulah’s love dissipates.

What would you do if the sun became your enemy? That’s exactly what happens to Viola Li after she returns from a trip abroad and develops a sudden and extreme case of photosensitivity — an inexplicable allergy to sunlight. Thanks to her crisis-manager parents, she doesn’t just have to wear layers of clothes and a hat the size of a spaceship. She has to stay away from all hint of light. Say goodbye to windows and running outdoors. Even her phone becomes a threat when its screen burns her.

Martin Conway comes from a family filled with heroes and disgraces. His grandfather was a statesman who worked at the US Embassy in London during WWII. His father is an alcoholic who left his family. His sister is an overachieving Ivy League graduate. And Martin? Martin is stuck in between—floundering. But during the summer after 7th grade, Martin meets a boy who will change his life forever. Jimmy Harker appears one night with a deceptively simple question: Will you help?

This is the second book in the series "Poems People Liked". The poems were previously published mainly in small-magazine format. Liked and chosen by independent editors, some were also highly commended. They are dedicated to people who don't feel free and to expats the world over. Like the first volume, the poems explore nature, mortality, emotion, creativity, imprisonment, deviance and endless device. They work on words in right places which attempt to make sense of a confusing array of conflicting experiences in a world where the blacks, the whites, and the greys really are mingling and ...

Waylon Russell Brewer is a fat, openly gay boy stuck in the small West Texas town of Clover City. His plan is to bide his time until he can graduate, move to Austin with his twin sister, Clementine, and finally go Full Waylon so that he can live his Julie-the-hills-are-alive-with-the-sound-of-music-Andrews truth.

Everybody likes Chris Goodman. Sure, he's a little odd. He wears those funny bell-bottoms and he really likes the word ennui and he shakes your hand when he meets you, but he's also the kind of guy who's always up for a good time, always happy to lend a hand. Everybody likes Chris Goodman, which makes it especially shocking when he's murdered.

Most high school sports teams have rivalries with other Schools. At Hamilton High, it’s a civil war: the football team versus the soccer team. And for her part, Lissa is sick of it. Her quarterback boyfriend, Randy, is always ditching her to go pick a fight or haze a freshman. And on three separate occasions Randy’s car has been egged while he and Lissa were inside, making out. She is done competing with a bunch of sweaty boys for her own boyfriend’s attention. Lissa decides to end the rivalry once and for all: She and the other players’ girlfriends go on a hookup strike.

In the end, all that's left is an Echo. Before, Violet's morbid ability to sense the dead led her to uncover dark murders and long-buried secrets in her small town. Now that she's workingwith a special investigative team, Violet hopes she can help even more people - whether by saving a life or catching a killer. Although she's relieved to finally be honest about what she can do, her instant connection with her mysterious partner, Rafe, is both confusing and unsettling, and their unique bond creates tension with her boyfriend, Jay. When she discovers the body of a college student murdered by "the collector," Violet refuses to give upon the case.

For years there has been peace in the Shadowhunter world. James and Lucie Herondale, children of the famous Will and Tessa, have grown up in an idyll with their loving friends and family, listening to stories of good defeating evil and love conquering all. But everything changes when the Blackthorn and Carstairs families come to London...and so does a remorseless and inescapable plague.

The Empathy Deficit: Rebuilding Human Connection in an Angry, Divided World By Dr. Richard L. Travis In a culture fueled by outrage, echo chambers, and digital disconnection, one essential human trait is quietly vanishing: empathy. In The Empathy Deficit, psychotherapist Dr. Richard L. Travis offers a compelling guide to understanding why empathy is breaking down—and how to bring it back. Blending science, storytelling, and practical tools, this book helps readers rediscover the courage to listen, repair, and connect in a divided world. Whether you're a parent, educator, partner, leader, ...

Bobby is a typical urban New York City teenager, impulsive, eager, and restless. For his 16th birthday he cuts school with his two best buddies, grabs a couple of slices at his favorite pizza joint, catches a flick at a nearby multiplex, and gets some news from his girlfriend, Nia, that changes his life forever: He's going to be a father.

Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped.

Something very strange starts happening in Nightshade the summer that the eldest Giordano sister, Rose, gets a job working at Dr. Franken's research laboratory. People are starting to see double. Doppelgngers of Nightshade residents are popping up all over town. Daisy, Rose, and Poppy think it's a coincidence, until the rumors start that their father, who disappeared several years ago, has been spotted in town.

We talk every day—and we often do it without thinking. But, as you well know, there are some things that are harder to talk about—especially issues pertaining to politics, culture, lifestyle, and diversity. This groundbreaking book will show you how to get to that important next level in difficult conversations, to talk in an authentic and straightforward way about culture and diversity, and to speak from the heart with tools from the head. You'll learn to navigate these difficult conversations, and take what you've learned beyond the conversation and out into the world.

This practical, no-nonsense book gathers essential information and practical guidance from rabbis, attorneys, and mental health professionals for navigating relationship breakdowns, reconciliation considerations, divorce, and life thereafter. Whether you are currently in a marital crisis, are torn between thoughts of reconciliation and divorce, or are already divorced, this sensitive guide clears up many misconceptions, illuminates relevant halachic and civil processes, and arms you with the knowledge needed to make sound decisions at every crossroad.

You’re about to discover how to deal with toxic people in your life. While the rest of this audiobook will be covering specific situations, there is one very important thing that must be covered first and that is your responsibility in any situation. The first thing I want to cover is how often are you meeting up with difficult people. If it is happening to you all the time then there is something very important that you are going to want to consider and I hope that I don't offend you, but it is the truth. If it is happening all the time then maybe you are a major part of the problem.