When soccer season comes to Stoneybrook, Abby joins a Special Olympics Unified Sports soccer team but develops a fierce rivalry with another player.

“Almond draws on everything from The Grapes of Wrath to the voting practices of his babysitter to dismantle the false narratives about American democracy.” —Cheryl Strayed, international-bestselling author of Wild Like a lot of Americans, Steve Almond spent the weeks after the 2016 election lying awake, in a state of dread and bewilderment. The problem wasn’t just the election, but the fact that nobody could explain, in any sort of coherent way, why America had elected a cruel, corrupt, and incompetent man to the Presidency. Bad Stories: What the Hell Just Happened to Our Country is Almond’s effort to make sense of our historical moment, to connect certain dots that go unconnected amid the deluge of hot takes and think pieces. Almond looks to literary voices—from Melville to Orwell, from Bradbury to Baldwin—to help explain the roots of our moral erosion as a people. The book argues that Trumpism is a bad outcome arising directly from the bad stories we tell ourselves. To understand how we got here, we have to confront our cultural delusions: our obsession with entertainment, sports, and political parody, the degeneration of our free press into a for-profit industry, our enduring pathologies of race, class, immigration, and tribalism. Bad Stories is a lamentation aimed at providing clarity. It’s the book you can pass along to an anguished fellow traveler with the promise, This will help you understand what the hell happened to our country. “Almond holds up literature as a guide through America’s age-old moral dilemmas and finds hope for his country in family, forgiveness, and political resistance.” —Booklist

Daniel takes up dirt-bike racing and shows a lot of talent but when his inexperience earns him the enmity of some of the best racers, he tries to return good for evil when they try to exact their revenge.

Crazy accident! I find myself in the arms of an overbearing and incredibly attractive man. At night, all cats are gray and black, but he determines who I am and, like a predator in an ambush, begins to hunt, seducing, enchanting, arranging holidays and giving gifts. Refusing to accept the fact that we cannot be together. He is the elder brother of my fiancé.

Exploring some of the most extraordinary moments from the history of endurance sports, this unique sports book shows how mental strength allows some athletes to perform at a level way beyond their physical limits – to will their body to do what was previously thought biologically impossible. Revealing habits and tactics you can use to cultivate your own mental strength, this unique book describes a new 'psychobiological' model of endurance performance connecting the mind, body and brain. Compelling accounts from triathlon, cycling, running, rowing and swimming are viewed through the lens of this model shedding new light on what science has to say about mental fortitude in sports. Drawing on cutting-edge scientific research it suggests concrete tactics for cultivating mental strength, whilst providing thrilling accounts of some of the most inspiring and astonishing feats in sporting history, such as Sammy Wanjiru who, in 2010 entered the Boston Marathon suffering from injuries to his knee and his lower back, a stomach virus that prevented him from training and a lifestyle that meant he spent more time in nightclubs than on the track. He shouldn’t have even been able to finish the race, and at times he seemed as if he literally had nothing left to give, yet in an epic battle he crossed the finishing line first. How did he manage it? Find out in this sports book like no other and prepare for your own test of endurance! Featured athletes include: Sammy Wanjiru, Jenny Barringer, Greg LeMond, Willie Stewart, Cadel Evans, Joseph Sullivan, Paula Newby-Fraser, Ryan Vail, Thomas Voeckler, Ned Overend, Steve Prefontaine.

Fatherhood 101-without the trial-and-error. David George's father died when he was three months old. As the youngest in his family-and the only boy-he had no male role model. When he married, he had two children-both boys. David, an award-winning advertising copywriter, had to figure everything out for himself, asking: "Did I make the right decision?" "Was I a good or a bad dad?" The result is Good Dad/Bad Dad, a Daddy 101 manual-minus the trial and error. Topics range from baby-proofing your house to setting up a 529 college plan and everything in between. Conversational, boisterous, and sometimes irreverent, it's like getting expert advice from a favorite buddy, with humor and a whole lot of heart.

Come and walk the offbeat world of Mike Strobels popular column in the Toronto Sun. Meet the legendary panhandler Shaky Lady; the Weasel, who knows where Jimmy Hoffa is buried; the secretive swinger Sexy Boots; the notorious Bicycle Bandit, who quit robbing banks, got a loan, and opened a bar; and Dr. Hook, the top doc whose professional fate rested on the cut of his jib. Youll also get a look at a fake orgasm champ, a practising witch turned beauty pageant queen, a boss cannonballer, and assorted other heroes, rogues, athletes, finks, politicos, celebrities, bureaucrats, sons, and lovers. Each column in this collection is a mini-world, tight and bright. Youll smile at Strobels take on the fads, fashions, morals, and hot topics of the day. Even the most serious issues are dissected and dispatched with often biting wit and cheek. (Warning: If youre a Montreal Canadiens fan, do not read this book.)

Genuine fans take the best team moments with the less than great, and know that the games that are best forgotten make the good moments truly shine. This monumental book of the Denver Broncos documents all the best moments and personalities in the history of the team, but also unmasks the regrettably awful and the unflinchingly ugly. In entertaining—and unsparing—fashion, this book sparkles with Broncos highlights and lowlights, from wonderful and wacky memories to the famous and infamous. Such moments include “Orange Monday” and the breathtaking play of John Elway, as well as the string of humbling losses in the Super Bowl and the disastrous early years, where four wins was a good season. Whether providing fond memories, goose bumps, or laughs, this portrait of the team is sure to appeal to the fan who has been through it all.

Advice to couples aimed at improving communication and reaching consensus on strategies for raising responsible, successful children.