Showing results by author "Leah Johnson" in All Categories

Liz Lighty has always believed she’s too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small Midwestern town. But it’s okay - Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor. But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz’s plans come crashing down...until she’s reminded of her school’s scholarship for prom king and queen.

Ellie Engle doesn’t stand out. Not at home, where she’s alone with her pet fish since her dad moved away and her mum has to work around the clock. Not at the bakery, where she helps out old Mr Walker on the weekends. And definitely not at school, where her best friend, Abby – the coolest, boldest, most talented girl in the world – drags Ellie along on her never-ending quest to 'make her mark'. To someone else, life in the shadows might seem boring or lonely, but not to Ellie. As long as she has Abby by her side and a comic book in her hand, she’s quite content.

Toni is grieving the loss of her roadie father and needing to figure out where her life will go from here - and she's desperate to get back to loving music. Olivia is a hopeless romantic whose heart has just taken a beating (again) and is beginning to feel like she'll always be a square peg in a round hole - but the Farmland Music and Arts Festival is a chance to find a place where she fits.

A girl who believes in UFOs; a boy who might have finally found his Prince Charming; a hopeful performer who dreams of being cast in her school’s production of The Sound of Music; a misunderstood magician of sorts with a power she doesn’t quite understand. These plotlines and many more compose the eclectic stories found within the pages of this dynamic, exciting, and expansive collection featuring exclusively Black characters.

Sometimes we shrink ourselves to make others feel comfortable. We have conversations about breaking that cycle to become more self-aware and confident in who we are.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/take-up-space-podcast--5182502/support.

Burgeoning is defined as rapid and increasing growth; simply put flourishing. We are all blessed to experience moments of it, some of us are so intertwined in it we don’t realize it. Here we’ll take a moment to reflect on the areas of our lives that are undeniably in seasons of burgeons.