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Porcelain Soldier: Discovering Gratitude in Cancer
Porcelain Soldier
Kelli Davis
At age twenty-eight, Kelli Davis is young, in a promising relationship, and has just embarked on an exciting, fulfilling career that she is passionate about and is taking her places. Then, one night, she is rushed to the emergency room for severe pain in her arm, and is discharged three hours later with a completely unexpected diagnosis: cancer. Disposition-Discharged: The patient was discharged ambulatory accompanied by significant other. The significant other is ready, alert, and willing to learn. The patient's diagnosis, condition, and treatment were explained to the patient and the patient expressed understanding. With doctors by her side, Kelli finds comfort in adhering to a strict medical plan, but there is no prescription for how to live life after cancer. Porcelain Soldier: Finding Gratitude in Cancer is an intimate, honest journey that follows Kelli as she attempts to answer the questions "Why did I get cancer?" and "What am I supposed to learn from it?", allowing readers to see and feel her struggles to regain a so-called normal life. If Kelli were to walk out of those same hospital doors today, she would rewrite her discharge report this way: Disposition-Discharged: The patient was discharged ambulatory accompanied by a greater sense of being. The future significant other will appreciate vulnerability, celebrate wisdom, and mean the words "in sickness and in health." The patient's diagnosis, condition, and treatment were explained to the patient and the patient expressed understanding, gratefulness, desire to recognize and appreciate the lessons cancer has to offer, and a great outlook on tomorrow. A book written from the heart, Porcelain Soldier gives a glimpse inside the delicate balance of strength and frailty that exists when battling cancer.

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Lola and the Boy Next Door
Lola and the Boy Next Door
Stephanie Perkins
In this companion novel to Anna and the French Kiss, two teens discover that true love may be closer than they thinkBudding designer Lola Nolan doesn't believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit - more sparkly, more fun, more wild - the better. But even though Lola's style is outrageous, she's a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.When Cricket - a gifted inventor - steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

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A Short Handbook for writing essays in the Humanities and Social Sciences
A Short Handbook for writing essays in the Humanities and Social Sciences
Dan Allosso, Salvatore F. Allosso
Practical advice on finding a topic, organizing an argument, and writing an effective essay. Includes detailed discussions of how to write clear paragraphs and effective sentences, using dozens of examples from actual student essays.

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As I Wake
As I Wake
Elizabeth Scott
Ava is welcomed home from the hospital by a doting mother, lively friends, and a crush finally beginning to show interest. There's only one problem: Ava can't remember any of them - and can't shake the eerie feeling that she's not who they say she is.Ava struggles to break through her amnesiac haze as she goes through the motions of high-school life, but the memories that surface take place in a very different world, where Ava and familiar-faced friends are under constant scrutiny and no one can be trusted. Ava doesn't know what to make of these visions, or of the boy who is at the center of them all, until he reappears in her life and offers answers . . . but only in exchange for her trust.

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Playing Hurt: A Guy's Strategy for a Winning Marriage
Playing Hurt
Brian Goins
Everyone admires people who play hurt, from the superstar athlete to the journeyman player who finishes the game even when hurt, sick, or falling apart. Everyone looks up to these athletes and wants to mimic their “never give up” attitude. Except when it comes to marriage.

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Fury
Fury
Elizabeth Miles
Sometimes sorry isn't enough....It’s winter break in Ascension, Maine. The snow is falling and everything looks pristine and peaceful. But not all is as it seems... Between cozy traditions and parties with her friends, Emily loves the holidays. And this year’s even better--the guy she’s been into for months is finally noticing her. But Em knows if she starts things with him, there’s no turning back. Because his girlfriend is Em’s best friend. On the other side of town, Chase is having problems of his own. The stress of his home life is starting to take its toll, and his social life is unraveling. But that’s nothing compared to what’s really haunting him. Chase has done something cruel...something the perfect guy he pretends to be would never do. And it’s only a matter of time before he’s exposed. In Ascension, mistakes can be deadly. And three girls—three beautiful, mysterious girls—are here to choose who will pay. Em and Chase have been chosen. "Achingly gorgeous. Fury seduced me."--Lauren Kate, New York Times bestselling author of Fallen "A fresh dark twist on paranormal, with surprises around every corner. FURY kept me up all night!" --Nancy Holder, NYT Bestselling Author of WICKED and CRUSADE

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Dark Inside
Dark Inside
Jeyn Roberts
Since mankind began, civilizations have always fallen: the Romans, the Greeks, the Aztecs…Now it’s our turn. Huge earthquakes rock the world. Cities are destroyed. But something even more awful is happening. An ancient evil has been unleashed, turning everday people into hunters, killers, crazies. Mason's mother is dying after a terrible car accident. As he endures a last vigil at her hospital bed, his school is bombed and razed to the ground, and everyone he knows is killed. Aries survives an earthquake aftershock on a bus, and thinks the worst is over when a mysterious stranger pulls her out of the wreckage, but she’s about to discover a world changed forever. Clementine, the only survivor of an emergency town hall meeting that descends into murderous chaos, is on the run from savage strangers who used to be her friends and neighbors. And Michael witnesses a brutal road rage incident that is made much worse by the arrival of the police--who gun down the guilty party and then turn on the bystanding crowd. Where do you go for justice when even the lawmakers have turned bad? These four teens are on the same road in a world gone mad. Struggling to survive, clinging on to love and meaning wherever it can be found, this is a journey into the heart of darkness – but also a journey to find each other and a place of safety.

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Virtuosity
Virtuosity
Jessica Martinez
Now is not the time for Carmen to fall in love. And Jeremy is hands-down the wrong guy for her to fall for. He is infuriating, arrogant, and the only person who can stand in the way of Carmen getting the one thing she wants most: to win the prestigious Guarneri competition. Carmen's whole life is violin, and until she met Jeremy, her whole focus was winning. But what if Jeremy isn't just hot...what if Jeremy is better? Carmen knows that kissing Jeremy can't end well, but she just can't stay away. Nobody else understands her--and riles her up--like he does. Still, she can't trust him with her biggest secret: She is so desperate to win she takes anti-anxiety drugs to perform, and what started as an easy fix has become a hungry addiction. Carmen is sick of not feeling anything on stage and even more sick of always doing what she’s told, doing what's expected. Sometimes, being on top just means you have a long way to fall....

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Trapped: How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert
Trapped
Marc Aronson
The amazing story of the trapped Chilean miners and their incredible rescue that Publishers Weekly calls “a riveting, in-depth recounting of the events that held the world rapt.”In early August 2010, the unthinkable happened when a mine collapsed in Copiapó, Chile, trapping thirty-three miners 2,000 feet below the surface. For sixty-nine days they lived on meager resources with increasingly poor air quality. When they were finally rescued, the world watched with rapt attention and rejoiced in the amazing spirit and determination of the miners. What could have been a terrible tragedy became an amazing story of survival. In Trapped, Marc Aronson provides the backstory behind the rescue. By tracing the psychological, physical, and environmental factors surrounding the mission, Aronson highlights the amazing technology and helping hands that made it all possible. From the Argentinean soccer players that hoped to raise morale, to NASA volunteering their expertise to come up with a plan, there was no shortage of enterprising spirit when it came to saving lives. Readers will especially appreciate the eight pages of full-color photos, timeline, glossary, notes, and more.

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Crossed
Crossed
Ally Condie
The hotly awaited second book in the dystopian Matched trilogyIn search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain death - only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander - who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart - change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

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