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Becoming King of Heaven: Volume 1 (Volume 1 #1)
by Xiao YaoJingYaoXinThe youth carried a feud with his family, and made up his mind to become strong. He needed the help of the treasured rats, and with their hearts the world, he eventually became the Emperor, sang the songs of the heavens, and ascended the Heavenly Road! Close]
Becoming La Raza: Negotiating Race in the Chican@ Movement(s) (Rhetoric and Democratic Deliberation)
by José G. Izaguirre IIIIn 1965, striking farm workers in the San Joaquin Valley sparked the beginning of the Chican@ movement. As the movement quickly gained traction across the southwestern United States, public frictions emerged and splits among activists over strategic political decisions. José G. Izaguirre III explores how these disagreements often hinged on the establishment of a racial(ized) identity for Mexican Americans, leading to the formation of La Raza Unida, a political party dedicated to naming and defending Mexican Americans as a racialized community.Through close readings of figures, vocabularies, and visualizations of iconic texts of the Chican@ Movement—including El Plan de Delano, Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales’s “I Am Joaquin,” and newspapers like El Grito del Norte and La Raza—Izaguirre demonstrates that la raza was never singular or unified. Instead, he reveals a racial identity that was (re)negotiated, (re)invented, and (re)circulated against a Cold War backdrop that heightened rhetorics of race across the globe and increasingly threatened Mexican American bodies in the Vietnam War. In lieu of a unified nationalist movement, Izaguirre argues that activists energized and empowered La Raza as a political community by making the Chican@ movement multivocal, global, and often aligned with whiteness.For scholars of political movements, US history, race, or rhetoric, Becoming La Raza will provide a valuable perspective on one of the most important civil rights movements of the twentieth century.
Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Woman behind the Legend (Missouri Biography Series #1)
by John E. MillerAlthough generations of readers of the Little House books are familiar with Laura Ingalls Wilder’s early life up through her first years of marriage to Almanzo Wilder, few know about her adult years. Going beyond previous studies, this book focuses upon Wilder’s years in Missouri from 1894 to 1957. Utilizing her unpublished autobiography, letters, newspaper stories, and other documentary evidence, John E. Miller fills the gaps in Wilder’s autobiographical novels and describes her sixty-three years of living in Mansfield, Missouri. Miller places Wilder’s life firmly within its historical context. Building upon his analysis of her activities and writings and mining documentary sources, including early drafts of Wilder’s novels, he shows not only the extent to which her writings emerged directly out of her own experiences as a girl and young woman, but also how they were shaped and embellished by artistic intent. In addition to describing Wilder's apprenticeship as a farm newspaper columnist and occasional magazine writer, Miller discusses Wilder's activities on her family's Rocky Ridge farm and as a vital citizen in Mansfield, Missouri. By showing how she honed her authorial skills for more than two decades before she turned to fiction writing, Miller convincingly demonstrates that Wilder's entire life was a process of becoming the woman we know as the beloved children's author.
Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder:The Woman Behind the Legend
by John Miller(front flap) Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Woman behind the Legend Although generations of readers of the Little House books are familiar with Laura Ingalls Wilder's early life up through her first years of marriage to Almanzo Wilder, few know about her adult years. Going beyond previous studies, Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder focuses upon Wilder's years in Missouri from 1894 to 1957. Utilizing her unpublished autobiography, letters, newspaper stories, and other documentary evidence, John E. Miller fills the gaps in Wilder's autobiographical novels and describes her sixty-three years of living in Mansfield, Missouri. As a result, the process of personal development that culminated in Wilder's writing of the novels that secured her reputation as one of America' most popular children's authors becomes evident. Miller places Wilder's life firmly within its historical context. Building upon his analysis of her activities and writings and mining documentary sources, including various drafts of Wilder's novels, he shows not only the extent to which her writings emerged directly out of her own experiences as a girl and young woman, but also how they were shaped and embellished by artistic intent. Wilder depended heavily upon her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane established novelist, biographer, and magazine writer in her own right-for and polishing her manuscript. Lane's encouragement, publishing connections (back flap)long, and example, the novels never would have been written. In addition to describing Wilder's apprenticeship as a farm newspaper columnist and occasional magazine writer before she began the production of her novels, Miller discusses Wilder's activities on her family's Rocky Ridge farm and as a vital citizen in Mansfield, Missouri. Playing out her many roles as wife, mother, chicken farmer, churchgoer, bridge player, seamstress, farm loan officer, and political candidate, Wilder led an active life for ninety years. By showing how Wilder honed her authorial skills for more than two decades before she turned to fiction writing, Miller convincingly demonstrates that Wilder's entire life was a process of becoming the woman we know as the beloved children's author.
Becoming A Learner: Realizing The Opportunity Of Education
by Matthew L. SandersToo often students begin college without a clear understanding of the purpose of higher education. As a result, many students will miss important learning opportunities. Becoming a Learner challenges students to carefully reconsider conventional common sense about college and learning, and invites them to consider a new conversation about college and learning that focuses on who they are becoming and their ability to learn.
Becoming Leidah
by Michelle GriersonAn utterly gripping love story set in nineteenth-century Norway, about a woman rescued from the sea, the fisherman who marries her, their tiny and unusually gifted daughter, and the shapeshifter who follows their every move, perfect for fans of Alice Hoffman, Yangsze Choo, Eowyn Ivey, and Neil Gaiman.The sky opens up... I hear them laugh. They don&’t feel the sadness in the air. They don&’t feel the danger coming, riding in on the wind. In the hinterlands of old Norway, Leidah Pietersdatter is born blue-skinned, with webbed hands and feet. Upon every turn of season, her mother, Maeva, worries as her daughter&’s peculiarities blossom—inside the root of the tiny child, a strange power is taking hold. Maeva tries to hide the girl from the suspicious townsfolk of the austere village of Ørken, just as she conceals her own magical ancestry from her daughter. And Maeva&’s adoring husband, Pieter, wants nothing more than for his new family to be accepted by all. But unlike Pieter, who is blinded by love, Maeva is aware that the villagers, who profess a rigid faith to the new God and claim to have abandoned the old ways, are watching for any sign of transgression—and are eager to pounce and punish. Following both mother and daughter from the shadows and through time, an inquisitive shapeshifter waits for the Fates to spin their web, and for Maeva to finally reclaim who she once was. And as Maeva&’s elusive past begins to beckon, she realizes that she must help her daughter navigate and control her own singular birthright if the child is to survive the human world. But the protective love Pieter has for his family is threatening the secure life they have slowly built and increasingly becoming a tragic obstacle. Witnessing this, Maeva comes to a drastic conclusion: she must make Leidah promise to keep a secret from Pieter—a perilous one that may eventually free them all.
Becoming Leonardo: An Exploded View Of The Life Of Leonardo Da Vinci
by Mike LankfordWhy did Leonardo Da Vinci leave so many of his major works uncompleted? Why did this resolute pacifist build war machines for the notorious Borgias? Why did he carry the Mona Lisa with him everywhere he went for decades, yet never quite finish it? Why did he write backwards, and was he really at war with Michelangelo? And was he gay? In a book unlike anything ever written about the Renaissance genius, Mike Lankford explodes every cliché about Da Vinci and then reconstructs him based on a rich trove of available evidence—bringing to life for the modern reader the man who has been studied by scholars for centuries, yet has remained as mysterious as ever. Seeking to envision Da Vinci without the obscuring residue of historical varnish, the sights, sounds, smells, and feel of Renaissance Italy—usually missing in other biographies—are all here, transporting readers back to a world of war and plague and court intrigue, of viciously competitive famous artists, of murderous tyrants with exquisite tastes in art …. Lankford brilliantly captures Da Vinci's life as the compelling and dangerous adventure it seems to have actually been—fleeing from one sanctuary to the next, somehow surviving in war zones beside his friend Machiavelli, struggling to make art his way or no way at all ... and often paying dearly for those decisions. It is a thrilling and absorbing journey into the life of a ferociously dedicated loner, whose artwork in one way or another represents his noble rebellion, providing inspiration that is timeless.From the Hardcover edition.
Becoming Lesbian: A Queer History of Modern France
by Tamara ChaplinA landmark analysis of how a marginalized subculture used modern media to transform public attitudes toward sexual desire. In Becoming Lesbian, historian Tamara Chaplin argues that the history of female same-sex intimacy is central to understanding the struggle to control the public sphere. This monumental study draws on undiscovered sources culled from cabaret culture, sexology, police files, radio, TV, photography, the Minitel (an early form of internet), and private letters, as well as over one hundred interviews filmed by the author. Becoming Lesbian demonstrates how women of diverse classes and races came to define themselves as lesbian and used public spaces and public media to exert claims on the world around them in ways that made possible new forms of gendered and sexual citizenship. Chaplin begins in the sapphic cabarets of interwar Paris. These venues, she shows, exploited female same-sex desire for profit while simultaneously launching an incipient queer female counterpublic. Refuting claims that World War II destroyed this female world, Chaplin reveals instead how prewar sapphic subcultures flourished in the postwar period, laying crucial groundwork for the politicization of lesbian identity into the twenty-first century. Becoming Lesbian is filled with colorful vignettes about female cabaret owners, singers, TV personalities, writers, and activists, all brought to life to make larger points about rights, belonging, and citizenship. As a history of lesbianism, this book represents a major contribution to modern French history, queer studies, and genealogies of the media and its publics.
Becoming Light: Poems New and Selected
by Erica JongA courageous and enthralling collection of poems by Fear of Flying author Erica Jong celebrating life, art, sex, and womanhoodseven lives,then webecome light . . .Erica Jong&’s novels are fearless and passionate. So, too, is her poetry. Though renowned—and sometimes vilified—for her unabashedly sensual fiction, the author considers herself a poet first and foremost. &“It was my poetry,&” Jong writes, &“that kept me sane, that kept me whole, that kept me alive.&”Becoming Light contains poems personally selected by Jong from her complete oeuvre of acclaimed published works—poems of love, sex, witches, gods, and demons; word-songs brimming with wit, heart, bitterness, sorrow, and truth. From the earliest poetic musings of a brilliant young artist first trying out her wings to later works born of experience and maturity, unpublished before appearing in this collection, Jong&’s pure artistry shines like a beacon as she writes, fearlessly and passionately, about being a woman, about being alive.This ebook features an illustrated biography of Erica Jong including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&’s personal collection.
Becoming Like God
by Michael BergNew in paperback, from the bestselling author of The Secret, comes a revolutionary method for becoming all powerful. Written with extraordinary clarity, Michael Berg presents a logical approach to achieving our supreme birthright. In revealing this opportunity for humanity, he highlights ways to develop our natural God-like attributes, and diminish the aspects of our nature that interfere with our destiny. In his succinct style, Michael provides the answer to the eternal question of why we are here: to become like God.
Becoming Lincoln
by William W. FreehlingShortlisted for the 2018 Lincoln PrizePrevious biographies of Abraham Lincoln—universally acknowledged as one of America’s greatest presidents—have typically focused on his experiences in the White House. In Becoming Lincoln, renowned historian William Freehling instead emphasizes the prewar years, revealing how Lincoln came to be the extraordinary leader who would guide the nation through its most bitter chapter.Freehling’s engaging narrative focuses anew on Lincoln’s journey. The epic highlights Lincoln’s difficult family life, first with his father and later with his wife. We learn about the staggering number of setbacks and recoveries Lincoln experienced. We witness Lincoln’s famous embodiment of the self-made man (although he sought and received critical help from others).The book traces Lincoln from his tough childhood through incarnations as a bankrupt with few prospects, a superb lawyer, a canny two-party politician, a great orator, a failed state legislator, and a losing senatorial candidate, to a winning presidential contender and a besieged six weeks as a pre-war president.As Lincoln’s individual life unfolds, so does the American nineteenth century. Few great Americans have endured such pain but been rewarded with such success. Few lives have seen so much color and drama. Few mirror so uncannily the great themes of their own society. No one so well illustrates the emergence of our national economy and the causes of the Civil War.The book concludes with a substantial epilogue in which Freehling turns to Lincoln’s wartime presidency to assess how the preceding fifty-one years of experience shaped the Great Emancipator’s final four years. Extensively illustrated, nuanced but swiftly paced, and full of examples that vividly bring Lincoln to life for the modern reader, this new biography shows how an ordinary young man from the Midwest prepared to become, against almost absurd odds, our most tested and successful president.
Becoming Little Women: A Novel about Louisa May at Fruitlands
by Jeannine AtkinsRelates events in author Louisa May Alcott's tenth year, 1843, when her family moved from Boston to a farm where, along with an odd assortment of idealists, they tried to establish a community based on equality and love.
Becoming Lucy: Winds Across the Prairie Book 1 (Winds Across the Prairie #1)
by Martha RogersWill heiress Lucinda Bishop learn the meaning of true love and forgiveness on the Oklahoma plains? In 1896, after her parents&’ deaths, seventeen-year-old heiress Lucinda Bishop is sent to Oklahoma to live with her aunt and uncle. But Oklahoma ranch life brings her more than she bargained for when she meets ranch hand Jake Starnes, a drifter who is running from his past. As her friendship with Jake grows, Lucinda faces emotions she&’s never before experienced. As Jake learns more about God&’s love for him, he realizes he must face his past and the consequences of his actions, even if it means he will lose the one girl he loves. Will he be able to get his life together before someone else claims her hand…or even her life?
Becoming Madam Chancellor: Angela Merkel and the Berlin Republic
by Mushaben Joyce MarieSince 2005, Angela Merkel has transformed not only the way Germans see themselves but also the way that politicians worldwide, male and female, perceive women in power. The East German daughter of a Protestant pastor, this physicist-turned-politician has deployed her life experiences to cultivate a unique set of leadership skills. Her pragmatic, data-driven, and future-oriented approach to politics - grounded in a commitment to democratic pluralism, human rights, and personal responsibility - has produced extraordinary paradigm shifts in many national policies in the wake of major crises. As the first English-language scholarly book to provide an in-depth account of her career and influence, Becoming Madam Chancellor examines Merkel's achievements across six key policy domains, contextualizes these within broader German history before and after reunification, and uncovers the personal and political factors that have contributed to Chancellor Merkel's hard-earned status as the world's most powerful woman.
Becoming Madam Secretary
by Stephanie DrayShe took on titans, battled generals, and changed the world as we know it…New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Dray returns with a captivating and dramatic new novel about an American heroine Frances Perkins. Raised on tales of her revolutionary ancestors, Frances Perkins arrives in New York City at the turn of the century, armed with her trusty parasol and an unyielding determination to make a difference.When she&’s not working with children in the crowded tenements in Hell&’s Kitchen, Frances throws herself into the social scene in Greenwich Village, befriending an eclectic group of politicians, artists, and activists, including the millionaire socialite Mary Harriman Rumsey, the flirtatious budding author Sinclair Lewis, and the brilliant but troubled reformer Paul Wilson, with whom she falls deeply in love.But when Frances meets a young lawyer named Franklin Delano Roosevelt at a tea dance, sparks fly in all the wrong directions. She thinks he&’s a rich, arrogant dilettante who gets by on a handsome face and a famous name. He thinks she&’s a priggish bluestocking and insufferable do-gooder. Neither knows it yet, but over the next twenty years, they will form a historic partnership that will carry them both to the White House.Frances is destined to rise in a political world dominated by men, facing down the Great Depression as FDR&’s most trusted lieutenant—even as she struggles to balance the demands of a public career with marriage and motherhood. And when vicious political attacks mount and personal tragedies threaten to derail her ambitions, she must decide what she&’s willing to do—and what she&’s willing to sacrifice—to save a nation.
Becoming Madame Mao: A Novel
by Anchee MinFrom the national bestselling author of Red Azalea: &“Extraordinary . . . Min lets [Madame Mao] be seen as never before. Bottom line: riveting&” (People). In a sweeping, erotically charged story, Anchee Min creates a finely nuanced portrait of one of the most fascinating, and vilified, women of the twentieth century. Madame Mao is almost universally known as the &“white-boned demon&”—ambitious, vindictive, and cruel—whose bid to succeed her husband led to the death of millions. But Anchee Min&’s story begins with a young girl named Yunhe, the unwanted daughter of a concubine who ignored her mother&’s pleas and refused to have her feet bound. It was the first act of rebellion for this headstrong, beautiful, and charismatic girl, who would find fame as an actress in Shanghai, and later fall in love and marry Mao Zedong. The great revolutionary leader proved to be an inattentive husband with a voracious appetite for infidelity, but the couple stayed together through the Communist victory, the disastrous Great Leap Forward, and the chaos of the Cultural Revolution. Min uses historical facts and her lush, penetrating psychological imagination to take us beyond the myth of the person who so greatly influenced an entire generation of Chinese. The result is a complex portrait of a woman who railed against the confines of her culture, whose deep-seated insecurities propelled her to reinvent herself constantly, and whose ambition was matched only by her ferocious, never-to-be-fulfilled need to be loved. &“Sheer poetry.&” —The Wall Street Journal &“A magnificent book: consequential, significant, beautiful . . . The true heroine is writer Anchee Min.&” —San Diego Union-Tribune
Becoming Madeleine: A Biography of the Author of A Wrinkle in Time by Her Granddaughters
by Charlotte Jones Voiklis Léna RoyThis middle-grade biography explores the life and works of Madeleine L'Engle —written by her granddaughters.This elegant and insightful biography of Madeleine L’Engle (1918–2007) was written by her granddaughters, Charlotte Jones Voiklis and Léna Roy. Using never-before-seen archival materials that include photographs, poems, letters, and journal entries from when Madeleine was a child until just after the publication of her classic, A Wrinkle in Time, her granddaughters weave together an in-depth and unique view of the famous writer. It is a story of overcoming obstacles—a lonely childhood, financial insecurity, and countless rejections of her writing—and eventual triumph. Becoming Madeleine will speak not only to fans of the icon’s work, but also to anyone interested in writing.This title has Common Core connections.
Becoming Madison: The Extraordinary Origins of the Least Likely Founding Father
by Michael SignerIn 1941 the historian Irving Brant wrote, "Among all the men who shaped the present government of the United States of America,” Brant wrote, "the one who did the most is known the least. ” Brant concluded, "When a man rises to greatness in youth, it is with his youth that we should first concern ourselves. ” Seven decades have passed since Brant wrote those words. Yet, through the history’s increasingly dusty lens, Madison has become ever more a stranger. The default impression of Madison remains as remote and severe as the title of a 1994 book: If Men Were Angels: James Madison and the Heartless Empire of Reason. Most Americans, if they know anything about him at all, see him as calculating, intellectual, politically astute, dry, and remote. This book finally attempts to answer Brant’s call. Madison’s life had two major acts, but like a backward play, the climax occurred after the first. In researching that crucial first act, the research, Signer found, again and again, a surprising pattern. Madison was a fighter. He usually did not want to fight. He took no joy in the public arena and in the confrontation with other men. Indeed, the conflicts often left him so anxious he became physically sick. But he saw the fights as necessary events in the larger purpose of the life he set out for himself at a young age: to push the American state to achieve its potential, no matter what obstacles the country and small-minded men might throw in his way. Young James Madison’s reluctant but firm decision to hurl himself into the ring, again and again, for the common good prove that leadership is possible in a democracy, and that ideas can make a difference. His story shows how much democracy depends on leaders like Madison, and how hollow democracy will be without statesmen. Signer’s book takes the reader into a journey of how Madison became Madison. The stunning story of his victories is simply incomprehensible without the passion, charisma, energy, humor, and fierceness of Madison the actual man.
Becoming Male in the Middle Ages (New Middle Ages #No. 4)
by Jeffrey Jerome Cohen Bonnie WheelerFirst published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Becoming Mama-San
by Mary Matsuda GruenewaldIn this book, 86-year-old author Mary Matsuda Gruenewald has distilled her lifetime of wisdom into ten stories, each one conveying an essential life lesson. Each chapter is a story from the author's life and how she learned the specific life lesson connected to each story.Mary lived through the Great Depression as a young child, imprisonment in a Japanese-American internment camp as a young adult, the cultural taboos of an interracial marriage, reverse racism, and divorce. In her later years, she learned the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation on a personal level as well as within the Japanese-American community. At 80, Mary recognized there was a part of herself she had never accepted and embraced. A trip to Japan after the publication of her first book helped Mary make peace with her Japanese roots and her ancestors. As a nurse, Mary cared for many patients who faced death. In time, she overcame her own fears about death and dying, which has resulted in her living life more fully. In her mid-80s, Mary completed preparations for her own death, realizing this is part of living a good life. Finally, Mary writes about the importance of leaving a legacy for future generations, and the special way she will leave her legacy.The simple yet profound wisdom in these stories will appeal to all generations seeking insight and direction from elders. The following is a brief description of each chapter.Annotated ContentsPrologue: Mama-sanI reflect upon my life and the memory of my mother, and what it is like to find myself in the role that she once held for me. Now, I am Mama-san.Chapter 1: The Privilege of a Simple LifeGrowing up in the 1920s and 1930s on Vashon Island, Washington, I lived in a rural, isolated community. This chapter describes the richness associated with a simple existence, close to nature-a lifestyle vastly different from what most Americans experience in the 21st century.Chapter 2: How Much Is Enough?My parents, hard-working Japanese immigrants, taught me the value of living well within one's means. In this chapter, I discuss arriving at a place of satisfaction by learning not to overindulge.Chapter 3: The Doorway of BoredomAt a young age, I learn that boredom can be a powerful motivator. This chapter explores how boredom can actually provide an important opportunity for people to discover who they are and what they want to become.Chapter 4: Do What Needs To Be DoneMy mother passed on a suggestion that forever shapes my thinking. I describe how this idea, "Do what needs to be done, without being asked or told," leads me to a creative, satisfying way of looking at life, and results in the most important achievements of my professional career.Chapter 5: The Pathway to ForgivenessMy marriage to a white man breaks a huge taboo within the Japanese-American community and creates a rift between me and my family. But the seeds of trust, planted long before, provide a pathway to forgiveness and a model for how conflicts can be resolved.Chapter 6: Reconciling DifferencesDuring the Japanese-American internment of World War II, a huge conflict develops within our community between the "Yes-Yes" people, who are loyal to the United States, and the "No-No" people, who are deemed disloyal. For some people, the split between these two groups continues to this day-more than 60 years later. I was a Yes-Yes person, and I allowed my choice to remain unexamined for more than 50 years. In this chapter, I experience an epiphany in which I come to understand the falseness of this divide and bring healing to myself and many others over this issue.Chapter 7: Embracing the Other: MexicoHaving just faced years of severe prejudice during World War II, I spent a summer in Mexico as a young missionary and nurse. While providing medical care to the impoverished residents, I become a favorite of the community. But my white American companions suffered discrimination at the hands of the dominant culture. This experience left me feeling curiously empowered and taught me important lessons about race. Chapter 8: Embra...
Becoming Manny
by Jean Rhodes Shawn Boburg Leigh MontvilleAuthorized by the future Hall of Famer himself, and written by a clinical psychologist and an award-winning investigative journalist, Becoming Manny is the incredible story behind one of the greatest baseball sluggers of all time. Manny Ramirez ranks seventeenth in career home runs and eighth in career slugging percentage -- the only players above him on both lists are Barry Bonds, Jimmie Foxx, and Babe Ruth. Becoming Manny brings an unusually thoughtful analysis to the territory of sports biography, examining Manny's life through the lens of larger issues such as mentoring and immigration, while also telling the story of a great career. Manny has perplexed the baseball world for years now with his amazing hitting and his unique approach to life and to the game. Incredibly focused at the plate yet carefree everywhere else, Manny has become a constant topic of discussion on national sports radio and television, on sports websites, and in print. With unprecedented access, Jean Rhodes and Shawn Boburg have uncovered fascinating stories and family photos spanning Manny's early years to the present. This is an authorized inside look at the roots, development, and career of an individual and player on his way from the Dominican Republic and Wash-ington Heights to the Hall of Fame.
Becoming Mapuche: Person and Ritual in Indigenous Chile
by Magnus CourseMagnus Course blends convincing historical analysis with sophisticated contemporary theory in this superb ethnography of the Mapuche people of southern Chile. Based on many years of ethnographic fieldwork, Becoming Mapuche takes readers to the indigenous reserves where many Mapuche have been forced to live since the beginning of the twentieth century. In addition to accounts of the intimacies of everyday kinship and friendship, Course also offers the first complete ethnographic analyses of the major social events of contemporary rural Mapuche life--eluwün funerals, the ritual sport of palin, and the great ngillatun fertility ritual. The volume includes a glossary of terms in Mapudungun.
Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx
by Sonia ManzanoPura Belpre Honor winner for The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano and one of America's most influential Hispanics--'Maria' on Sesame Street--delivers a beautifully wrought coming-of-age memoir.Set in the 1970s in the Bronx, this is the story of a girl with a dream. Emmy award-winning actress and writer Sonia Manzano plunges us into the daily lives of a Latino family that is loving--and troubled. This is Sonia's own story rendered with an unforgettable narrative power. When readers meet young Sonia, she is a child living amidst the squalor of a boisterous home that is filled with noisy relatives and nosy neighbors. Each day she is glued to the TV screen that blots out the painful realities of her existence and also illuminates the possibilities that lie ahead. But--click!--when the TV goes off, Sonia is taken back to real-life--the cramped, colorful world of her neighborhood and an alcoholic father. But it is Sonia's dream of becoming an actress that keeps her afloat among the turbulence of her life and times. Spiced with culture, heartache, and humor, this memoir paints a lasting portrait of a girl's resilience as she grows up to become an inspiration to millions.
Becoming Marie Antoinette
by Juliet GreyThis enthralling confection of a novel, the first in a new trilogy, follows the transformation of a coddled Austrian archduchess into the reckless, powerful, beautiful queen Marie Antoinette. Why must it be me? I wondered. When I am so clearly inadequate to my destiny?Raised alongside her numerous brothers and sisters by the formidable empress of Austria, ten-year-old Maria Antonia knew that her idyllic existence would one day be sacrificed to her mother's political ambitions. What she never anticipated was that the day in question would come so soon.Before she can journey from sunlit picnics with her sisters in Vienna to the glitter, glamour, and gossip of Versailles, Antonia must change everything about herself in order to be accepted as dauphine of France and the wife of the awkward teenage boy who will one day be Louis XVI. Yet nothing can prepare her for the ingenuity and influence it will take to become queen.Filled with smart history, treacherous rivalries, lavish clothes, and sparkling jewels, Becoming Marie Antoinette will utterly captivate fiction and history lovers alike.Look for special features inside.Join the Circle for author chats and more.RandomHouseReadersCircle.comFrom the Trade Paperback edition.
Becoming Mariella: A Novel
by Janet ConstantinoFor fans of Elena Ferrante&’s The Lying Life of Adults and Jean Kwok&’s Girl in Translation comes a contemporary coming-of-age tale about a young Italian immigrant&’s desperate journey to find her personal freedom.It&’s unprecedented, even in the twenty-first century, for a young Sicilian woman to defy the centuries-old mandate, &“Family is everything!&”—but twenty-two-year-old Mariella Russo is desperate to escape Sicily. She&’s being relentlessly coerced into an engagement with her wealthy college sweetheart—a young man from a prominent, powerful family—by her envious and erratic mother, who hopes the match will increase her own ignominious social status. Suddenly, Mariella&’s lifelong home has become a claustrophobic island. In a bid for independence and an attempt to escape entrapment, she flees to San Francisco. But Mariella&’s bête noire—entrapment—follows her to San Francisco, where everyone wants more from her than she wants to give. Her American roommate, Leslie, turns out to be a gay man rather than the woman she imagined; her employer/lover is pressuring her to live with him; and her neurotic mother is haunting her, wreaking havoc and embarrassment. An urgent return trip to Sicily puts Mariella to the ultimate challenge: will she submit to tradition, or choose a life she wants for herself?