The death of a child is a tragedy. When the cause is suicide, the tragedy is compounded. It's not easy to read about, or talk about, and yet it is so crucial that young adults who feel the world closing in know that ending their lives is not the answer. There are people who can help. There are people who care. A thirteen year old should be enjoying life, planning her future, anticipating the joys to come. Instead, and sadly for all who knew her, Hailee Joy Lamberth, chose a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Hailee was an A student, bubbling with enthusiasm and love for life. She danced, wrote poems, and attended classes for gifted students. She loved playing with her little brother, Jacob. They'd play hide and seek and she'd always hide in the same place so that Jacob would find her. But her favorite interaction with Jacob was when they rode the Ferris wheel together and got stuck at the top. Jacob was afraid, but Hailee reassured him. "We're practically in heaven," she tells him. "Well if we die," Jacob says, "At least we'll be together." When she was twelve years old, the bullying began. First it was a boy in math class who seemed to have a crush on her. When she rebuffed him, he started sending her mean notes, calling her names, and spreading rumors about her. Then it was a girl in P.E. who would crash into her when no one was looking. Hailee tried to avoid the bullies. She decided to drop out of the math class. She made excuses to her parents in order to escape, and her parents believed her. They didn't know that her life was becoming unbearable. By the end of the school year, Hailee had begun to cut herself. It was her way of coping with the constant degradation. She overachieved in school in order to keep her parents from asking too many questions. A kid who is bullied often becomes an expert liar. In seventh grade, the bullying increased, growing like a cancer. Hailee kept up appearances to protect her parents and brother, but inside she was suffering. Two days after her thirteenth birthday, she succumbed to the pain. Hailee's parents have decided to not allow her death to be in vain. By working with Zuiker Press to tell Hailee's story as if she were able to tell it herself, they hope reach out to other young people in crisis, and show them that they do have options -- and to prevent them from bringing the excruciating pain of suicide to their families. Their hope is that by sharing Hailee's story, they may prevent another young person from making a fatal choice. Goodbye: A Story of Suicide is the eighth in a series of graphic novels written by young adults for their peers.

Colorblind: A Story of Racism is the third in a series of graphic novels written by young adults for their peers. Johnathan Harris is fifteen, and lives in Long Beach, California, where he loves playing soccer with his friends, and listening to their favorite rapper, Snoop Dogg, a Long Beach native. His mom, dad, and three brothers are tight, but one of the most influential family members for Johnathan is his Uncle Russell, a convict in prison, serving fifteen years to life . . . Uncle Russell taught Johnathan from a very young age to see people from the perspective of their cultures, and not just their skin color. He imbued a pride of his ancestry and cautioned against letting hatred into his heart. But when Johnathan was just eight years old, something happened that filled him with fear and the very hatred that Uncle Russell had warned him about. What happened to Johnathan made him see that a dream of a colorless world was just that. A dream. That event shook him to his core. Anger grew inside him like a hot coal. Uncle Russell had told him to "throw it away or you will get burned," but Johnathan was young and frightened. He was having a hard time forgiving, much less forgetting. Colorblind is Johnathan's story of confronting his own racism and overcoming it. It is a story of hope and optimism that all, young and old, should heed. Zuiker Press is proud to publish stories about important current topics for kids and adolescents, written by their peers, that will help them cope with the challenges they face in today's troubled world.

Clickis theheroic story ofa young girl who was terrorized by schoolmates withmerciless online harassment and her brave effort to overcome her tormentors. Her powerful,compellingstoryis told in brilliantgraphic novel form. Lexi's story of cyberbullying is a shocking depiction of young teenager's torment in the newfound world of online harassment. Lexi, from Northridge, California, is ganged up on by a few girls over a misunderstanding on the schoolyard.The incident escalates on social media, local chat boards, and gossip sites.Forced to change schools, Lexigets her karmic revenge when she returns to her old school for a Winter Formal.In a gesture of pure bravery, Lexiturns the tables on the "clique" by landing the boy at the dance and her picture in the yearbook

Bridget and Carlton are as close as any sister and brother. But their relationship is particularly special. Carlton has autism and is almost completely nonverbal. He's smart, funny, creative, and loving. He has immense challenges in speaking full sentences. Bridget's fierce loyalty to and compassion for her brother led to an unbreakable bond that has helped the siblings cope with divorce and homelessness. Carlton's devotion to his family is loud and clear, even in his silence. Carlton Hudgens was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at three years old. He didn't speak or interact with the world around him, except with humming and flapping arms. The diagnosis provided a label, but not an answer. He was considered low-functioning, but all that meant was that there was a laundry list of tasks he couldn't do, and little recognition of what he could. Carlton's sister, Bridget, just a year younger, became his protector, sharing their birthdays so that he could open the presents first, taking the blame for a broken toy to spare him from being punished on Christmas Day. She understood that she was living in Carlton's world, not the other way around. Because Carlton doesn't speak in full sentences, Bridget has opted to tell his story. "My brother is brilliant in every way," Bridget says. "He just doesn't speak like we speak." When Carlton was five years old, he uttered his first words: "I love you, Mom!" Bridget was elated. That sentence meant that he could hear her, that he could speak, and that she had a chance to reach her ultimate goal of bonding with her brother. Bridget was his protector, but Carlton became Bridget's savior. When Bridget was eleven years old, she and Carlton went to the public pool. Carlton was a natural swimmer, but Bridget couldn't swim at all. As the two played a game in the shallow end, they drifted closer to the deep end. Bridget panicked, swallowing water and crying for help. Carlton swam to her and pulled her to safety. No longer was he different, with special needs, or "that kid with autism." To Bridget, he was the big brother who had just saved her. Later on, he became a savior to others. Autism didn't stop him feeling compassion and love. It just made it harder for him to express those emotions. Their parents' divorce and the subsequent remarriage of their mother created a more stable life for Carlton, but Bridget had a hard time accepting the good changes. She had put herself second for so long, it was difficult to allow an adult to take over the care of her brother. By early adulthood, Bridget began to realize that the most fulfilling part of her life was forming a deeper connection with Carltonan unbreakable bond that would shape brother and sister for the rest of their lives. It was Carlton's influence that led to her passion for helping others with special needs.

Won by a pirate captain in a hand cards, Pip struggles to survive as a lowly cabin boy aboard The Mottled Swift. Eido is the youngest of an ancient race called many things by mankind: siren, mermaid, witch, demigod. Yearning to escape from their island prison, Eido investigates a mysterious ship in the harbor and winds up rescuing young Pip from drowning. Together, Pip and Eido must elude both their peoples, leading them to a desperate voyage into the Land of the Dead, where they will find their loyalties and their friendship tested.

The latest graphic novel by renowned author James Patterson leaps off the page and goes straight for the jugular! Animals the world over are setting their sights on fresh prey - man. Only biologist Jackson Oz has recognized the patterns in an escalating chain of violent attacks by animals against mankind, and these incidents are just the prelude to something far, far more terrifying. Now Oz is in a race against nature to try to warn humanity about the coming catastrophe, but is it already too late?!

Whit and Wisty Allgood have sacrificed everything to lead the resistance against the merciless totalitarian regime that governs their world. Its supreme leader, The One Who Is The One, has banned everything they hold dear: books, music, art, and imagination. But the growing strength of the siblings' magic hasn't been enough to stop the One's evil rampage...Wisty knows that the time has finally come for her to face The One. But her fight and her fire only channel more power to this already invincible being. How can she and Whit possibly prepare for their imminent showdown with the ruthless villain that devastated their world-before he can truly become all-powerful?

When Whit & Wisty were imprisoned by the wicked forces of the totalitarian regime known as the New Order, they were barely able to escape with their lives. Now part of a hidden community of teens like themselves, Whit and Wisty have established themselves as leaders of the Resistance, willing to sacrifice anything to save kids kidnapped and brutally imprisoned by the New Order. But the One has other plans in store for them: He needs Wisty, for she is "The One Who Has the Gift." While trying to figure out what that means, Whit and Wisty's suspenseful adventures through Overworld and Shadowland lead to a jaw-dropping climax and conclusion!

Imagine you wake up and the world around you-life as you know it-has changed in an instant. That's what has happened to Whit Allgood and his sister, Whisty. They went to sleep as normal teenagers, and woke up as wanted criminals. Accused of holding incredible powers they'd never dreamed possible. And now, just how different they are-special, even-if just beginning to be revealed in a strange new world.

Condemned by society and her werewolf husband due to a pregnancy she cannot explain, Alexia Maccon - preternatural, tea aficionado - seeks an explanation for this "infant inconvenience" so as to cleanse her sullied reputation and prove her fool of a husband wrong. Preternaturals are a rare breed and the only history of their kind lies in Italy with the Templars, a group that once partnered with preternaturals to hunt down werewolves and vampires. Will Alexia find an explanation for her impossible offspring? Or do the Templars have other plans for the curious "Soulless One"?