Elements Online is a virtual reality game that promised to be more real than life itself. Delivering on this unwavering pledge, they included death. If a player perishes in the game, their body dies in real life. There is no other escape for 124,105 players who entered without this knowledge, unless they beat the Corruption.Ella Swan entered the game trying to escape her family's curse; instead, she is in greater danger. Monsters, storms, and cataclysmic events await in dark dungeo...

When Victoria Cape moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in the early 1970s, she had no idea that her desire to play basketball would change the game for women and the sport in Tennessee. Encouraged to sign up for basketball by her athletic father, Victoria was in for a shock: the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association endorsed an entirely different form of the game for high school women than the version of basketball commonly played around the country. Women played six-on-six basketball...

Combining research with firsthand experience, Community College Is College demystifies–and destigmatizes–the community college sector.This practical and accessible resource presents community colleges as an option where students who have been identified as high achieving can receive an excellent postsecondary education, often in preparation for transfer to a four-year institution or entry into a high-demand career.Covering topics such as the mission of the communit...

This book is a 10th Anniversary edition of the title previously released as LOSING MARS.Jessamyn has survived a terrifying crash but lost her ship, joining Pavel, Ethan, and others in the dissenter settlement of Yucca. Now, Chancellor Lucca Brezhnaya believes Jess is out to destroy the Terran government, and Lucca will stop at nothing to find Jess. The trail of tellurium left in the Mars Raiders’ wake makes them vulnerable to discovery, and when Lucca places a spy in their...

The 1859 publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species evoked a spectrum of responses, from fervent endorsement to vehement opposition, because of the theory of natural selection’s implications for Western theological and cultural orthodoxy. During the 1860 Oxford gathering of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Thomas Huxley and Samuel Wilberforce engaged in a riveting and widely publicized debate, dissecting the merits and drawbacks of Darwin’s the...

Concurrent enrollment programs offer high-achieving high school students the opportunity to take college credit-bearing courses taught by college-approved high school teachers. This low-cost, scalable model brings accelerated coursework to urban, suburban, and rural students. In this book, scholars explore the function of concurrent enrollment programs in addressing the gap between high school preparation and readiness for the academic and social demands of college. Experts in the educatio...

In this enchanting fairytale, which Kirkus Reviews calls "intriguing and lyrical," a pair of estranged siblings, a tsarina, and a woodsman must band together to outwit a crooked duke who wants them all—and isn’t particular as to “dead” or “alive.” Here be dragons and sirens, magical gifts and dread debts, deeds noble and foolhardy. With a touch of Narnia and a dash of Baba Yaga, it’s a tale that reads like balm for the weary in soul.Though part of a series, this story listens as a ...

New enemies. Ancient threats. And no safe harbor in sight.Katrin thought the worst was behind her. But when she and her companions set sail for home, they find Duke Bartholomes still hunting them—and a new foe known only as the Spider closing in on her growing magical gifts.Now pursued by pirates, mercenaries, and enemies on all sides, Katrin must brave treacherous waters and impossible choices. Because keeping her people safe may mean losing the very thing...

When Martian pilot Jessamyn Jaarda escapes to low-Earth orbit with her claustrophobic brother, she doesn’t expect to become the target of Earth’s most dangerous weapon: radio silence. Cut off from all help, Jess faces sabotage, betrayal, and a Terran Chancellor ready to wipe out Mars, using the deadly satellites that orbit Mars.Now with limited air, a damaged ship, and loyalties fracturing across the solar system, Jess must make the hardest decision of her life. Does she w...

A daring rescue. A forbidden mission. A young pilot caught between duty and love.Defying Mars—Book Two of the Saving Mars series—launches readers into a high-stakes sci-fi adventure packed with heart, heroism, and hope. Perfect for fans of classic space epics and modern character-driven stories, this gripping novel is ideal for ages 10–17 and trusted by homeschooling families seeking clean, thought-provoking fiction with moral depth.When s...

No reinforcements. No return. No room for failure.Jessamyn Jaarda is out of time. With Mars on the brink of annihilation and Earth’s Chancellor tightening her grip, Jess agrees to a final, desperate gambit—returning to Earth to prove she belongs to the Martian colony she once fled. The invitation is a trap. The consequences of refusal are worse.Accompanied by allies who’ve risked everything to stand beside her, Jess must navigate deadly politics, ancient be...

A daring rescue. A forbidden mission. A young pilot caught between duty and love.Defying Mars—Book Two of the Saving Mars series—launches readers into a high-stakes sci-fi adventure packed with heart, heroism, and hope. Perfect for fans of classic space epics and modern character-driven stories, this gripping novel is ideal for ages 10–17 and trusted by homeschooling families seeking clean, thought-provoking fiction with moral depth.When s...