Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is publishing a monthly series of e-only essays to correspond with Katherine Paterson's two-year term as the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. The subjects of the essays include: writing and literature for young people, the wonder and imagination found within great books, common questions novice writers ask, and Katherine's own personal experiences throughout her historic career.

"Captured by ISIS, her bravery and faith became her pathway to freedom. Badeeah Hassan was just 18 when she witnessed firsthand the horrors of the 2014 genocide of the Ezidi people by ISIS forces. Captured by ISIS, known locally as Daesh, Badeeah was among hundreds forced into a brutal human trafficking network made up of women and girls of Ezidi ethnicity, a much-persecuted minority culture of Iraq. Badeeah's story takes her to Syria where she is...

We live in an era of misinformation, much of it spread by authority figures, including politicians, religious leaders, broadcasters, and, of course, apps and websites. In this second edition, author John Grant uses ripped-from-the-headlines examples to clearly explain how to identify bad evidence and poor arguments. He also points out the rhetorical tricks people use when attempting to pull the wool over our eyes, and offers advice about how to take...

Some true crimes reveal themselves in bits and pieces over time. One such case is the Florida School for Boys, a.k.a. the Dozier School, a place where-rather than reforming the children in their care-school officials tortured, raped, and killed them. Opened in 1900, the school closed in 2011 after a Department of Justice investigation substantiated allegations of routine beatings and killings made by about 100 survivors. Thus far, forensic anthropologist...

Connected Lives, a contemporary nonfiction series for teens, features the fascinating life stories of popular artists. Each book presents two singers in a similar musical genre who have lived extraordinary lives, exploring how their lives interconnect and how they are different. As similar as these artists may seem, their rise to fame may have been very different. Multiple musical genres are represented across the series, including pop, hip-hop, jazz,...

Survival in extreme conditions is difficult. Still, there are many heroic tales of people who survive against all odds. These stories of extreme survival are gripping and inspiring. From professional outdoorsmen to young people in challenging situations, the will to live is strong inside us all. How would you survive an extreme event? Space 8, a Hi-Lo nonfiction series for young adults, reads like an infinity of facts. This series is full of high-interest...

In Bihac, Bosnia, in 1992, sixteen-year-old Amra and her family face starvation and the threat of brutal ethnic violence as Serbs and Bosnians clash, while a stray cat, Maci, provides solace.

Fans won't want to miss this ultimate guide to Five Nights at Freddy’s Five Nights at Freddy's.

Halfway is no way to live. Quit holding back. Quit holding out. It's time to go all in and all out for God. The good news is this: If you don't hold out on God, God won't hold out on you. If you give everything you have to follow Jesus, you'll receive amazing spiritual rewards. But this reality also comes with a deeper truth: Nothing belongs to you. Not even you. In All In: Student Edition, Mark and Parker Batter son explore what going all in can...

Moving and evocative, Disappearing Act It was the summer before high school, the beginning of everything. But also an end. Jiordan’s family was never quite like everyone else’s, with her father’s mood swings, her mother’s attempts at normalcy, and her two older sisters with a different last name. But on the surface, they fit in. Until the day the FBI came knocking on the door. After that, her father’s mood plunged to a dangerous new...