Journeys Inside My Shadow

Journey One: The story begins on Christmas 1988. The protagonist Alonzo/Alonso is riding on a bus crossing the Andes into Argentina from Santiago, Chile. He is traveling to San Francisco (Crdoba) to visit his exchange-student host family for the first time in ten years. During this journey, he is confronted with memories of the past through a continuous series of flashbacks. These include growing up black in a racially divided Chicago; the lingering effects of a sexual assault at ten; living in Madrid, Spain for two years; and his first visit to Argentina as an American Field Service participant, arriving to the town of San Francisco on his host brothers birthday and a day before Argentina won its first World Cup soccer championship. The first part ends when his host brother Sergio is smitten with a beautiful young travel agent assisting them in rearranging Alonzos return ticket to the States. Journey Two: Alonzo returns to Argentina after one year and three months to be his host brothers best man; Sergio is marrying the young lady who assisted them in the travel agency. Alonzos week-long stay and, in particular, Sergios wedding day, are highlighted. This section ends at the Crdoba International Airport with Alonzo giving his good-byes to his host parents. Journey Three: The final portion focuses on specific events from 19942009. It begins in July 1994 with the death of Alonzos mother, followed eight months later by the death of a sister from cancer. Subsequent chapters highlight his relocation from Lafayette, Indiana, to Ann Arbor, Michigan (with a month-long stay in Toledo, Ohio, during the OJ Simpson trial proceedings) and finding employment at the University of Michigan; traveling to Argentina in 1997, and again in 1999 for the last time; and finally, corresponding with Sergio in December 2009 from Santiago, Chile, before returning to the States after visiting a friend in Via del Mar.

Journey One: The story begins on Christmas 1988. The protagonist Alonzo/Alonso is riding on a bus crossing the Andes into Argentina from Santiago, Chile. He is traveling to San Francisco (Córdoba) to visit his exchange-student host family for the first time in ten years. During this journey, he is confronted with memories of the past through a continuous series of flashbacks. These include growing up black in a racially divided Chicago; the lingering effects of a sexual assault at ten; living in Madrid, Spain for two years; and his first visit to Argentina as an American Field Service participant, arriving to the town of San Francisco on his host brother s birthday and a day before Argentina won its first World Cup soccer championship. The first part ends when his host brother Sergio is smitten with a beautiful young travel agent assisting them in rearranging Alonzo s return ticket to the States. Journey Two: Alonzo returns to Argentina after one year and three months to be his host brother s best man; Sergio is marrying the young lady who assisted them in the travel agency. Alonzo s week-long stay and, in particular, Sergio s wedding day, are highlighted. This section ends at the Córdoba International Airport with Alonzo giving his good-byes to his host parents. Journey Three: The final portion focuses on specific events from 1994 2009. It begins in July 1994 with the death of Alonzo s mother, followed eight months later by the death of a sister from cancer. Subsequent chapters highlight his relocation from Lafayette, Indiana, to Ann Arbor, Michigan (with a month-long stay in Toledo, Ohio, during the OJ Simpson trial proceedings) and finding employment at the University of Michigan; traveling to Argentina in 1997, and again in 1999 for the last time; and finally, corresponding with Sergio in December 2009 from Santiago, Chile, before returning to the States after visiting a friend in Viña del Mar.

When incidents around the world hint at the reemergence of an ancient evil known as Nyugo, the Sonzai-a clan of modern-day Japanese warriors equipped with supernatural abilities-are called into action. Their youthful commander Tsumisu knows little of the powers he possesses, but he wields them fiercely. Akari, his katana, is a blade that no human could have forged, and he is a swordsman of unmatched skill. As he searches for clues into Nyugo's return, Tsumisu, his trusted friend Shujin, and the Sonzai warriors soon realize that the spiritual balance of the world may be in danger. When their investigation turns up an ancient artifact, Tsumisu and Shujin quickly find themselves caught in the midst of a struggle between Devonians and Ordovicians-extraterrestrial beings whose eight-hundred-year-old search for the Chosen One has brought them to Earth. As dimensions are crossed and battles are waged, Tsumisu draws the attention of Nataliya Artemis, an Ordovician who holds the key to a magnificent power and the knowledge of a stunning truth about Shujin. In the first volume in the Journey of the Shadow saga, Stone Abdullah weaves a fantastical tale of good versus evil in a modern world of supernatural power.

In 1966 when Judy became pregnant at the age of 16, her family kept her plight a secret and was compelled to give up her daughter. Judy felt the grief and shame as a tangible lumpwithin her body and fought to keep it contained within the shadows of silence. But as an adult, she felt compelled to address the loss by searching for her birth daughter and bringing her story to light--From back cover.

Strange oil, a secret box, mean girls, and an ugly toad occupy the minds and adventures of best friends Johanna and Kenyeh when they joyfully reunite at Mt. Sinai where Johanna’s Hebrew people are living. Together the best friends face mean girls, a bully, and a scary old man while also learning from Moses the way the Hebrews (or Israelites) are to live and worship now that they are freed from slavery. Kenyeh grows in faith in the God of Israel as Grandfather teaches her about Him, while Johanna’s faith grows stronger as she sees His power. Both girls look forward to packing up and moving into the land the LORD has given to the Hebrews. Together they dream of good things to come. But first, there is much to learn in the shadow of the great mountain.

FROM POVERTY TO WEALTH, FROM AFRICA TO AMERICA, AND FROM CHILD SOLDIER TO U.S. MARINE Born into the Congolese wilderness, Tchicaya Missamou became a child soldier at age 11. As a horrific civil war loomed across his country, Tchicaya began using his militia connections to ferry jewels, cash, computers, and white diplomats out of the country. By 17, he was rich. By 18, he was a hunted man, his house destroyed, his family brutalized in front of him by his own militia. By 19, he’d left behind everything he’d ever known, escaping to Europe and, eventually, to America. Incredibly, that was only the start of his journey. In the Shadow of Freedom is the uplifting story of one man’s quest to achieve the American Dream. Tchicaya Missamou’s life is a shining example of why America is a gift that should not be taken for granted, and why we are limited only by the breadth of our imagination and the strength of our will.

Trek to K2 and Pakistan's tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, Kashmir, Tajikistan, and China. See topography that has led to isolation-physical and cultural-of tribes blocked for centuries by natural barriers, lack of infrastructure and communication. Ruth Anne Kocour's tale of travel and adversity lends a face to today's news and a glimpse into what we all have in common-our humanity.

Hatchet in North Korea: A sister and brother go on the run with explosive forbidden photographs in this gripping and timely survival adventure. North Korea is known as the most repressive country on Earth, with a dictatorial leader, a starving population, and harsh punishment for rebellion.Not the best place for a family vacation.Yet that's exactly where Mia Andrews finds herself, on a tour with her aid-worker father and fractious older brother, Simon. Mia was adopted from South Korea as a baby, and the trip raises tough questions about where she really belongs. Then her dad is arrested for spying, just as forbidden photographs of North Korean slave-labor camps fall into Mia's hands. The only way to save Dad: get the pictures out of the country. Thus Mia and Simon set off on a harrowing journey to the border, without food, money, or shelter, in a land where anyone who sees them might turn them in, and getting caught could mean prison -- or worse.An exciting adventure that offers a rare glimpse into a compelling, complicated nation, In the Shadow of the Sun is an unforgettable novel of courage and survival.