In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighbourhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. As these characters' stories overlap and deepen, it becomes clear how much the people who live on the margins struggle and what they must do to survive. When the truth is finally revealed about what happened on Chicken Hill and the part the town's white establishment played in it, McBride shows us that even in dark times, it is love and community-heaven and earth-that sustain us.

"The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank is a Holocaust-era diary chronicling the experiences of a Jewish adolescent during World War II. Anne Frank's diary serves as a historical document of immense significance, capturing the raw emotions and struggles of life under Nazi occupation in Amsterdam. Through her diary, Anne Frank provides a deeply personal account of survival amidst persecution, offering insights into the complexities of identity and the resilience of the human spirit. Anne's courageous hope for a better future shines through her writing, demonstrating the strength and determination of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable adversity. Her diary not only serves as a testament to her own bravery but also highlights the shared humanity of those affected by the Holocaust. "The Diary of a Young Girl" stands as a poignant reminder of the atrocities of war and the importance of bearing witness to history. It remains a powerful portrayal of the human experience and a timeless reflection on the enduring qualities of hope, courage, and humanity amidst the darkest of times.

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes. Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves. When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.

A deaf writer’s exploration of language, communication, and what it means to be articulate—and her journey to reclaim her voice Rachel Kolb was born profoundly deaf the same year that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed, and she grew up as part of the first generation of deaf people with legal rights to accessibility services. Still, from a young age, she contorted herself to expectations set by a world that prioritizes hearing people. So she learned to speak through speech therapy and to piece together missing sounds through lipreading and an eventual cochlear implant, all while finding clarity and meaning in American Sign Language (ASL) and written literature. Now in Articulate, Kolb blends personal narrative with cultural commentary to explore the different layers of deafness, language, and voice. She deconstructs multisensory experiences of language, examining the cultural importance hearing people attach to sound, the inner labyrinths of speech therapy, the murkiness of lipreading, and her lifelong intimacy with written English. And she uses her own experiences to illuminate the complexities of disability access, partnerships with ASL interpreters, Deaf culture and d/Deaf identity, and the perception versus reality of deafness. Part memoir, part cultural exploration, Kolb details a life lived among words in varied sensory forms and considers why and how those words matter. Told through rich storytelling, analysis, and humor, Articulate is a linguistic coming-of-age in both deaf and hearing worlds, challenging us to consider how language expresses our humanity—and offering more ways we might exist together.