Download or read book Backstory written by Avani Gregg and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-09-28 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this funny, vulnerable, and genuine memoir, award-winning content creator and actress Avani Gregg takes you behind the scenes of her incredible life, sharing how a girl from small-town Indiana went on to become TikToker of the Year. With more than fifty million followers on social media; invitations to glamorous events around the world; awards, magazine covers, and even her own makeup line—Avani Gregg never imagined this wild ride for herself. After all, she was just from a small town, spending her time hanging with friends and family and combing thrift-store racks for finds. It only took one video—her famous “Clown Girl Check”—and she suddenly found herself vibing as one of the original Hype House creators. “People think I exploded overnight,” the eighteen-year-old TikTok sensation says. “But they don’t know the half of it. They don’t know what came before or after. They don’t know my Backstory.” In this eye-opening memoir, Avani shares the ups and down of her remarkable life, including the devastating back injury that forced her to retire from gymnastics and abandon her dreams of Olympic gold. In the aftermath, struggling to make sense of it all, she found her calling: creating jaw-droppingly dramatic makeup looks on social media that leave her “Bebs” begging for more. Diving deep into topics like mental health, relationships, bullying, and more, Avani shares her private sketchbook and most intimate thoughts: “There’s a lot we all think and feel but are afraid to say out loud. Well, I’m saying it…and it’s gonna get deep.” This is the unfiltered, revealing, and deeply inspiring Backstory of someone with big dreams and how she worked to achieve them. And Avani is not holding back.
Download or read book Don t Know Tough written by Eli Cranor and published by Soho Press. This book was released on 2022-03-22 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WINNER OF THE EDGAR AWARD WINNER OF THE PETER LOVESEY FIRST CRIME NOVEL CONTEST Friday Night Lights gone dark with Southern Gothic; Eli Cranor delivers a powerful noir that will appeal to fans of Wiley Cash and Megan Abbott. In Denton, Arkansas, the fate of the high school football team rests on the shoulders of Billy Lowe, a volatile but talented running back. Billy comes from an extremely troubled home: a trailer park where he is terrorized by his mother’s abusive boyfriend. Billy takes out his anger on the field, but when his savagery crosses a line, he faces suspension. Without Billy Lowe, the Denton Pirates can kiss their playoff bid goodbye. But the head coach, Trent Powers, who just moved from California with his wife and two children for this job, has more than just his paycheck riding on Billy’s bad behavior. As a born-again Christian, Trent feels a divine calling to save Billy—save him from his circumstances, and save his soul. Then Billy’s abuser is found murdered in the Lowe family trailer, and all evidence points toward Billy. Now nothing can stop an explosive chain of violence that could tear the whole town apart on the eve of the playoffs.
Download or read book Saved by a Song written by Mary Gauthier and published by St. Martin's Essentials. This book was released on 2021-07-06 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A handbook for compassion... a Must-Read Music Book.” —Rolling Stone Country "Generous and big-hearted, Gauthier has stories to tell and worthwhile advice to share." —Wally Lamb, author of I Know This Much Is True "Gauthier has an uncanny ability to combine songwriting craft with a seeker’s vulnerability and a sage’s wisdom.” —Amy Ray, Indigo Girls From the Grammy nominated folk singer and songwriter, an inspiring exploration of creativity and the redemptive power of song Mary Gauthier was twelve years old when she was given her Aunt Jenny’s old guitar and taught herself to play with a Mel Bay basic guitar workbook. Music offered her a window to a world where others felt the way she did. Songs became lifelines to her, and she longed to write her own, one day. Then, for a decade, while struggling with addiction, Gauthier put her dream away and her call to songwriting faded. It wasn’t until she got sober and went to an open mic with a friend did she realize that she not only still wanted to write songs, she needed to. Today, Gauthier is a decorated musical artist, with numerous awards and recognition for her songwriting, including a Grammy nomination. In Saved by a Song, Mary Gauthier pulls the curtain back on the artistry of songwriting. Part memoir, part philosophy of art, part nuts and bolts of songwriting, her book celebrates the redemptive power of song to inspire and bring seemingly different kinds of people together.
Download or read book Major Labels written by Kelefa Sanneh and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2021-10-05 with total page 497 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of Oprah Daily's 20 Favorite Books of 2021 • Selected as one of Pitchfork's Best Music Books of the Year “One of the best books of its kind in decades.” —The Wall Street Journal An epic achievement and a huge delight, the entire history of popular music over the past fifty years refracted through the big genres that have defined and dominated it: rock, R&B, country, punk, hip-hop, dance music, and pop Kelefa Sanneh, one of the essential voices of our time on music and culture, has made a deep study of how popular music unites and divides us, charting the way genres become communities. In Major Labels, Sanneh distills a career’s worth of knowledge about music and musicians into a brilliant and omnivorous reckoning with popular music—as an art form (actually, a bunch of art forms), as a cultural and economic force, and as a tool that we use to build our identities. He explains the history of slow jams, the genius of Shania Twain, and why rappers are always getting in trouble. Sanneh shows how these genres have been defined by the tension between mainstream and outsider, between authenticity and phoniness, between good and bad, right and wrong. Throughout, race is a powerful touchstone: just as there have always been Black audiences and white audiences, with more or less overlap depending on the moment, there has been Black music and white music, constantly mixing and separating. Sanneh debunks cherished myths, reappraises beloved heroes, and upends familiar ideas of musical greatness, arguing that sometimes, the best popular music isn’t transcendent. Songs express our grudges as well as our hopes, and they are motivated by greed as well as idealism; music is a powerful tool for human connection, but also for human antagonism. This is a book about the music everyone loves, the music everyone hates, and the decades-long argument over which is which. The opposite of a modest proposal, Major Labels pays in full.
Download or read book Long Road written by Steven Hyden and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2022-09-27 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A leading music journalist’s riveting chronicle of how beloved band Pearl Jam shaped the times, and how their legacy and longevity have transcended generations. Ever since Pearl Jam first blasted onto the Seattle grunge scene three decades ago with their debut album, Ten, they have sold 85M+ albums, performed for hundreds of thousands of fans around the world, and have even been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In Long Road: Pearl Jam and the Soundtrack Of A Generation, music critic and journalist Steven Hyden celebrates the life, career, and music of this legendary group, widely considered to be one of the greatest American rock bands of all time. Long Road is structured like a mix tape, using 18 different Pearl Jam classics as starting points for telling a mix of personal and universal stories. Each chapter tells the tale of this great band — how they got to where they are, what drove them to greatness, and why it matters now. Much like the generation it emerged from, Pearl Jam is a mass of contradictions. They were an enormously successful mainstream rock band who felt deeply uncomfortable with the pursuit of capitalistic spoils. They were progressive activists who spoke in favor of abortion rights and against the Ticketmaster monopoly, and yet they epitomized the sound of traditional, male-dominated rock ‘n’ roll. They were looked at as spokesmen for their generation, even though they ultimately projected profound confusion and alienation. They triumphed, and failed, in equal doses — the quintessential Gen-X tale. Impressive as their stats, accolades, and longevity may be, Hyden also argues that Pearl Jam’s most definitive accomplishment lies in the impact their music had on Generation X as a whole. Pearl Jam’s music helped an entire generation of listeners connect with the glory of bygone rock mythology, and made it relevant during a period in which tremendous American economic prosperity belied a darkness at the heart of American youth. More than just a chronicle of the band’s career, this book is also a story about Gen- X itself, who like Pearl Jam came from angsty, outspoken roots and then evolved into an establishment institution, without ever fully shaking off their uncertain, outsider past. For so many Gen-Xers growing up at the time, Pearl Jam’s music was a beacon that offered both solace and guidance. They taught an entire generation how to grow up without losing the purest and most essential parts of themselves. Written with his celebrated blend of personal memoir, criticism, and journalism, Hyden explores Pearl Jam’s path from Ten to now. It's a chance for new fans and old fans alike to geek out over Pearl Jam minutia—the B-sides, the beloved deep cuts, the concert bootlegs—and explore the multitude of reasons why Pearl Jam’s music resonated with so many people. As Hyden explains, “Most songs pass through our lives and are swiftly forgotten. But Pearl Jam is forever.”
Download or read book The Haunted written by Danielle Vega and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-06-09 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ONE OF ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY'S "BIGGEST AND BEST YA BOOKS OF THE SUMMER" From Danielle Vega, YA's answer to Stephen King, comes a new paranormal novel about dark family secrets, deep-seated vengeance, and the horrifying truth that evil often lurks in the unlikeliest of places. Clean slate. That's what Hendricks Becker-O'Malley's parents said when they moved their family to the tiny town of Drearfield, New York. Hendricks wants to lay low and forget her dark, traumatic past. Forget him. But things don't go as planned. Hendricks learns from new friends at school that Steele House--the fixer upper her parents are so excited about--is notorious in town. Local legend says it's haunted. But Hendricks isn't sure if it's the demons of her past haunting her ...or of the present. Voices whisper in her ear as she lays in bed. Doors lock on their own. And, then, one night, things take a violent turn. With help from the mysterious boy next door, Hendricks makes it her mission to take down the ghosts . . . if they don't take her first.
Download or read book American Bison written by William Caper and published by Bearport Publishing. This book was released on 2007 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explains why American bison became an endangered species, and describes the efforts of William Hornaday to bring them back from the brink of extinction.
Download or read book The Royal Runaway written by Lindsay Emory and published by Thorndike Press Large Print. This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Princess Theodora Isabella Victoria of Drieden of the Royal House Laurent is so over this princess thing. Her fiancé jilted her on their wedding day, and she's back from four months in exile -- back to putting on a perfect princess show for the Driedish nation. But Thea's sick of duty. So she sneaks out of the palace and meets a sexy Scot in a local bar, relishing the chance to be a normal woman. Until her prince for the night reveals he's the brother of her fiancé, a British spy, and he's not above blackmail. Joining forces to find out what happened the day her fiancé disappeared, Thea and Nick discover a secret that could destroy a centuries-old monarchy.
Download or read book The Barren Grounds written by David A. Robertson and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-09-08 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Narnia meets traditional Indigenous stories of the sky and constellations in an epic middle grade fantasy series from award-winning author David Robertson. Morgan and Eli, two Indigenous children forced away from their families and communities, are brought together in a foster home in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They each feel disconnected, from their culture and each other, and struggle to fit in at school and at their new home -- until they find a secret place, walled off in an unfinished attic bedroom. A portal opens to another reality, Askí, bringing them onto frozen, barren grounds, where they meet Ochek (Fisher). The only hunter supporting his starving community, Misewa, Ochek welcomes the human children, teaching them traditional ways to survive. But as the need for food becomes desperate, they embark on a dangerous mission. Accompanied by Arik, a sassy Squirrel they catch stealing from the trapline, they try to save Misewa before the icy grip of winter freezes everything -- including them.
Download or read book Feel Your Way Through written by Kelsea Ballerini and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2021-11-16 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The personal and poignant debut poetry collection from the award-winning singer, songwriter, and producer revolves around the emotions, struggles, and experiences of finding your voice and confidence as a woman. “I’ve realized that some feelings can’t be turned into a song . . . so I’ve started writing poems. Just like my songs, they are personal and honest. Just like my songs, they have hooks and rhymes. Just like my songs, they talk about what it’s like to be twenty-something trying to navigate a wildly beautiful and broken world.” Deeply emotional and candid, Feel Your Way Through explores the challenges and celebrates the experiences faced by Kelsea Ballerini as she navigates the twists and turns of growing into a woman today. In this book of original poetry, Ballerini addresses themes of family, relationships, body image, self-love, sexuality, and the lessons of youth. Her poems speak to the often harsh, and sometimes beautiful, onset of womanhood. Honest, humble, and ultimately hopeful, this collection reveals a new dimension of Ballerini’s artistry and talent.
Download or read book Vivian Apple at the End of the World written by Katie Coyle and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2014 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this darkly comedic road trip novel, seventeen year-old Vivian Apple returns home after the alleged Rapture to find her devout parents gone and two mysterious holes in the roof. Vivian never believed in the Rapture, or the uber powerful Church of America. Now that she has been left behind, Vivian's quest for the truth begins.
Download or read book This Is My America written by Kim Johnson and published by Ember. This book was released on 2022-05-17 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Incredible and searing." --Nic Stone, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin The Hate U Give meets Just Mercy in this unflinching yet uplifting first novel that explores the racist injustices in the American justice system. Every week, seventeen-year-old Tracy Beaumont writes letters to Innocence X, asking the organization to help her father, an innocent Black man on death row. After seven years, Tracy is running out of time--her dad has only 267 days left. Then the unthinkable happens. The police arrive in the night, and Tracy's older brother, Jamal, goes from being a bright, promising track star to a "thug" on the run, accused of killing a white girl. Determined to save her brother, Tracy investigates what really happened between Jamal and Angela down at the Pike. But will Tracy and her family survive the uncovering of the skeletons of their Texas town's racist history that still haunt the present? Fans of Nic Stone, Tiffany D. Jackson, and Jason Reynolds won't want to miss this provocative and gripping debut.
Download or read book I Never Met a Story I Didn t Like written by Todd Snider and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2014-04-22 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For years, Todd Snider has been one of the most beloved country-folk singers in the United States, compared to Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, John Prine, and dozens of others. He's become not only a new-century Dylan but a modern-day Will Rogers, an everyman whose intelligence, self-deprecation, experience, and sense of humor make him a uniquely American character. In live performance, Snider's monologues are cheered as much as his songs. But never before has he told the whole story. Running the gamut from personal memoir to shaggy-dog comedy to rueful memories of his troubles and triumphs with drugs and alcohol to sharp-eyed observations from years on the road, I Never Met a Story I Didn't Like is for fans of Snider's music, but also for fans of America itself: the broad, wild country that has produced figures of folk wisdom like Will Rogers, Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, Tonya Harding, Garrison Keillor, and more. There are storytellers and there are performers and there are stand-up comedians. And then there's Todd Snider, who is all three in one, and something else entirely.
Download or read book In a Book Club Far Away written by Tif Marcelo and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-04-06 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Three Army wives, estranged friends, must overcome their differences when one of them is desperate for help" --
Download or read book Grace Style written by Grace Helbig and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-02-02 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the author of Grace's Guide and the host of The Grace Helbig Show on E! comes an illustrated, tongue-in-cheek book about style that lampoons fashion and beauty guides while offering practical advice in her trademark sweet and irreverent voice.
Download or read book The Beginning of Everything written by Robyn Schneider and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2013-08-27 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Robyn Schneider's The Beginning of Everything is a witty and heart-wrenching teen novel that will appeal to fans of books by John Green and Ned Vizzini, novels such as The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and classics like The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye. Varsity tennis captain Ezra Faulkner was supposed to be homecoming king, but that was before—before his girlfriend cheated on him, before a car accident shattered his leg, and before he fell in love with unpredictable new girl Cassidy Thorpe. As Kirkus said in a starred review, "Schneider takes familiar stereotypes and infuses them with plenty of depth. Here are teens who could easily trade barbs and double entendres with the characters that fill John Green's novels." Funny, smart, and including everything from flash mobs to blanket forts to a poodle who just might be the reincarnation of Jay Gatsby, The Beginning of Everything is a refreshing contemporary twist on the classic coming-of-age novel—a heart-wrenching story about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings.
Download or read book Dime Novel Roundup written by Michael L. Cook and published by Popular Press. This book was released on 1983 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book includes a chronological listing of issues of the Dime Novel Roundup, which was published for over fifty years. It also features an index to the contents of the Dime Novel Roundup. .
