The first contemporary novel about a disease that bends the lives of ten percent of all teenagers: scoliosis. Rachel Brooks is excited for the new school year. She's finally earned a place as a forward on her soccer team. Her best friends make everything fun. And she really likes Tate, and she's pretty sure he likes her back. After one last appointment with her scoliosis doctor, this will be her best year yet.Then the doctor delivers some terrible news: The sideways curve in Rachel's spine has gotten worse, and she needs to wear a back brace twenty-three hours a day. The brace wraps her in hard plastic from shoulder blades to hips. It changes how her clothes fit, how she kicks a ball, and how everyone sees her -- even her friends and Tate. But as Rachel confronts all the challenges the brace presents, the biggest change of all may lie in how she sees herself.Written by a debut author who wore a brace of her own, Braced is the inspiring, heartfelt story of a girl learning to manage the many curves life throws her way.

This collection of 24 articles covers a range of topics in the analysis, design and construction of braced barrel vaults.

This book presents basic design theories and principles and provides detailed analysis for excavation failure cases based on the author's research experience, aiming to provide a comprehensive picture of the subject matter. It focuses on the basal heave stability analysis, the apparent earth pressure as well as the strut force determination, the retaining wall deflection, the ground settlement, the protection measures such as jet grouting slabs or piles, case reports, back analysis methodology. From the very basic to the most advanced, it tries to attain theoretical rigorousness and consistency. On the other hand, this book also tries to cope with design practice, implemented by the recent publications from the authors. Students, researchers, and design engineers working in the field of civil engineering could benefit from this book.

The high damping force of oil damper vibration control systems in buildings offers relative safety during earthquakes and at a low environmental cost. The oil damper is connected using braces in series and is installed with pins to the building structure, which minimizes the impact on the building structure and allows installation and removal with ease. This is the first book detailing experimental work and cases of the use of oil dampers in buildings. It shows their effectiveness by detailing the testing and analysis of buildings with them placed at braced positions, exposed to small amplitude vibration, and without them. • The only comprehensive presentation of oil damper vibration control • Covers analysis and design, with case studies and details of testing and experimental results The book is organized systematically to suit students and junior professionals in structural design as well as more specialist engineers. An additional Python code sample is available online for learning the behaviors of oil dampers (Jupyter Notebook environment required). Osamu Takahashi is a professor at Tokyo University of Science, founder of Science Kozo Inc., and an advisor to the New International Structural Design & Engineering Challenge Association, in Japan. Atsuki Yokoyama works in the Research and Development Department of Sanwa Tekki Corporation and has a PhD in Engineering from Tokyo University of Science.

A powerful and redemptive story of how the dazzling world of roller derby helped one young woman transform her fear and self-doubt into gutsy, big-hearted, adventurous living “A universal story of healing and triumph, made all the more beautiful, wild, and free by Gabe’s fierce love for roller derby and her team, who become her family.”—ABBY WAMBACH, Olympian, activist, and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Wolfpack ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Book Riot Growing up queer in a conservative Midwestern town, Gabe Montesanti never felt comfortable in her own skin. A competitive swimmer, she turned to perfectionism and self-control to create a sense of safety, only to develop an eating disorder and constantly second-guess her instincts. When she enters graduate school in St. Louis, she is determined to put the baggage of her childhood behind her. With no prior experience, she joins Arch Rival, one of the top-ranked roller derby leagues in the world. Gabe instantly falls in love with the sport’s roughness, intensity, and open embrace of people who are literally and figuratively scarred. She soon finds community and a sense of belonging, reveling in the tattoos, glitter, and campiness. But when Gabe suffers a catastrophic injury, she can no longer ignore the parallels between the physicality of roller derby and the unresolved trauma of her upbringing. Rendered inactive, forced to be still, Gabe realizes she needs to heal her emotional wounds as much as her physical ones; she must confront her fear and self-diminishment in order to feel truly alive. Told with unflinching honesty and a giant dose of wonder, Brace for Impact is a tender, inspiring memoir about the everyday heroism of pursuing a life less ordinary, and the deeply human need to be at peace with who you are.

Left with little back in Missouri, Kevin Hunt takes his younger siblings on a journey to Wyoming when he receives news that he's inheriting part of a ranch. The catch is that the ranch is also being given to a half brother he never knew existed. Turns out, Kevin's supposedly dead father led a secret and scandalous life. But danger seems to track Kevin along the way, and he wonders if his half brother, Wyatt, is behind the attacks. Finally arriving at the ranch, everyone is at each other's throats and the only one willing to stand in between is Winona Hawkins, a nearby schoolmarm. Despite being a long-time friend to Wyatt, Winona can't help but be drawn to the earnest, kind Kevin--and that puts her in the cross hairs of somebody's dangerous plot. Will they all be able to put aside their differences long enough to keep anyone from getting truly hurt?