Showing results by narrator "Taylor Meskimen" in All Categories

In this genre-defying story from Lygia Day Peñaflor, four teens befriend their favorite YA novelist, only to find their deepest, darkest secrets in the pages of her next book - with devastating consequences. Miri Tan loved the book Undertow like it was a living being. So when she and her friends went to a book signing to hear the author, Fatima Ro, they concocted a plan to get close to her. Told as a series of interviews, journal entries, and segments from the book within the book - this gripping story of a fictional scandal will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Days after a young pageant queen named Jenny is found murdered, her small town grieves the loss alongside her picture-perfect parents. At first glance, Jenny's tragic death appears clear-cut for investigators. The most obvious suspect is one of her fans, an older man who may have gotten too close for comfort. But Jenny's half sister, Virginia - the sarcastic black sheep of the family - isn't so sure of his guilt and takes matters into her own hands to find the killer.

Seventeen-year-old Rabbit has been struggling to stay above water since her mom died. In the span of a year and a half, her small Georgia town has become unbearably hellish: her ex-boyfriend, resident golden boy Richard, turned into an unrelenting stalker; her friends are nonexistent; and her dad is campaigning hard for Functioning Alcoholic of the Year. But all that changes when the sarcastic, gorgeous, and frustratingly impenetrable Juliet Bergman walks into Rabbit’s life.

The Eternity Gate is found, and kings and monsters battle over its legends of treasure. But rumors whisper that someone stole the gate's ancient key. Seyo, handmaiden to the princess, keeps three secrets. First, she's gifted in fire, not light, and may as well be cursed. Second, she translates a prophecy warning that the gate does not offer treasure but judgment. Third, Jorai, the scorned prince and Seyo's confidant, entrusts her with the key and disappears.

Risen from the past, these beautiful animals inspire all who see them. Titanic sauropods roam the land, devouring forests. Ceratopsians herd across the plains like living tanks. Pterosaurs fill the skies, some as large as planes. Ruling them all, the mighty T. rex reigns as king. Powerful as they are, the dinosaurs are facing another extinction. An army of poachers sweeps across Mintari. Killing. Burning. Even the greatest dinosaurs cannot survive their modern weapons. Against this army stands Joe Triplehorn. A Mintari Ranger. A man broken and forged in the wilderness.

Locklyn Adair has never fit in. The legs she inherited as a result of her great-great-grandmother’s curse make it impossible for her to belong under the sea. When her niece is also born without a tail, Locklyn is determined to save her from similar rejection by sending her to the only place in the Undersea Realm where legs are acceptable—the Lost Island of Atlantis.

Harbor is excited to spend the summer working on her jump shot in an elite basketball league. But the games take place near her dad's house—hours away from her beloved Sunrise Lagoon. Suddenly, she’s spending every weekend at her dad’s and getting to know Quinn, a girl whose smile makes her feel warm inside. Still, Harbor can’t help wondering what’s going on at home. Why is Sam hanging out with Harbor's best friend? Has Marina’s friend Boom taken her place in the house? What have the twins “borrowed” this time for one of their disastrous scientific experiments?

When her mother dies, fifteen-year-old Mari is desperate to avoid being caught up in the foster system. Again. And to complicate matters, she is now the only one who can take care of her super-smart and on-the-spectrum nine-year-old stepbrother, Conor. Is there anyone Mari can trust to help them? Certainly not her mother’s current boyfriend, Dennis. Not the doctors or her teachers, who would be obliged to call in social services. So in a desperate move, Mari takes Conor and sets out to find their estranged grandmother.

When Lena's younger sister Fressa is found dead, their whole Viking clan mourns—but it is Lena alone who never recovers. Fressa is the sister that should've lived, and Lena cannot rest until she knows exactly what killed Fressa and why—and how to bring her back. She strikes a dark deal with Hela, the Norse goddess of death, and begins a new double life to save her sister.

Sarah feels unmoored following her boyfriend’s sudden and tragic death. Their love story was cut short after just two sweet months together, and now all Sarah can think about are the moments she and Alex should be sharing. Sarah distracts herself by consoling Ash—her best friend and Alex’s sister—and by rehearsing for the school play and working at her aunt’s café. But none of this is as comforting as her nightly talks with Jake.

If you want to get to know Marina Ali-O'Connor, you need to know three things: One, despite her name, Marina is secretly afraid of the water. Two, she wanted to be one of the Oldest Siblings, but is stuck smack dab in the middle. Three, she's pretty certain she's the Extra Ali-O'Connor kid—the forgotten one. When Boom, a budding filmmaker exactly Marina's age, moves in across the lagoon, she decides that Marina's quest to become someone's favorite Ali-O'Connor would make a perfect documentary.

If you want to get to know eleven-year-old Samantha Ali-O’Connor, you need to know three things: One, she isn’t the only one of her siblings who is adopted, but she is the only one whose name isn't inspired by the ocean. Two, she and Harbor always compete with each other to be the best Oldest Sibling—and just about everything else. And three, she is determined to prove she's a real Ali-O'Connor by taking over the family business, repairing and chartering boats. Except there's a Capital-P Problem: Her mothers have been Serious Whispering about selling the business before summer's end!

Swallowtail Island is hosting the Swallowtales Writer’s Conference. Lark’s ecstatic to be chosen as a “page” for her favorite author, Ann E. Keyhart. But they say you should never meet your idols. When Keyhart arrives with her personal assistant in tow, she is nothing but a terror. And within a few hours, the assistant is dead! But the explanation isn’t sitting well. Not when lots of people had reasons to want to be rid of Keyhart, and especially not after it’s revealed the assistant recently completed a hot new novel and the file’s vanished from her computer.

On the eve of the Occupy Wall Street protests, C is flat broke. Once a renowned textile artist, she’s now the sole proprietor of an arts supply store in Lower Manhattan. Divorced, alone, at loose ends, C is stuck with a struggling business, a stack of bills, a new erotic interest in her oldest girlfriend, and a persistent hallucination in the form of a rogue garden gnome with a pointed interest in systems collapse. Replaying recent history through a distorting glass, The Visitors charts the last days of a broken status quo as the path is cleared for something new.

Natalie has a secret. She's a gamer. By day, Natalie is an average eighth grade student. At night, she's Gnat112! Living a double life is hard…and keeping a secret from your friends is even harder. In this middle grade book, the first of an all-new series, Gamer Girls, Natalie and her three BFFs learn to navigate the gamer world together, one girl at a time.

Long ago, a brave little girl named Anja wanted to be one of Santa's elves. So she leaves a note for her family and helps her elderly neighbor prepare for the holiday, then she straps on her skis, and heads out into the snowy landscape. From a red bird to a polar bear to a reindeer, a menagerie of winter animals help Anja make her way to Santa.

When Florence Nightingale decided as a teenager that she wanted to become a nurse, her parents tried to talk her out of it, claiming that it wasn't a suitable profession for a woman. But she persisted in her career and went on to save countless lives of patients, especially of soldiers. Known as "The Lady with the Lamp," she is widely considered to be the founder of modern nursing. In this chapter book biography by critically acclaimed author Shelli R. Johannes, listeners learn about the amazing life of Florence Nightingale—and how she persisted.