Showing results by narrator "Tavia" in All Categories

With his father’s mysterious disappearance and his brother Ronnie enlisting in the Vietnam War, 13-year-old TJ Crowley is left alone with his racist, unstable mother, Kate. The newly enforced Fair Housing Act results in the unthinkable for the Crowleys when a Black family, headed by the eminent Dr. Washington, crosses the racial red line and moves in next door. Kate is quick to warn TJ that their new neighbors are strictly off-limits and makes a panicked call to beg Ray, her old flame, to travel to their home in Wichita Kansas to help deal with “the problem next door.”

It's Christmas in Hopeless and the Christmas Cookie Tournament has made its way to town. But Hope Walker, the local investigative reporter, learns there's something much bigger at stake than a top cookie prize. This cookie competition has turned serious. Deadly serious! Join Hope, Katie, Granny, and Alex as they sift through recipes and motives to find the killer. And along the way, find out if Hope is going to finally get her dream job. Or learn if sometimes, dreams really do change.

The Hopeless Tigers just won the biggest football game in school history! But as often happens in the quirky yet snakebitten town of Hopeless, Idaho...there's a bit of a problem. A dead body has shown up. That's right. Another one. As usual, investigative reporter Hope Walker is on the scene. But this time, the mystery is particularly thorny. Hope has to sort through various motives and suspects in her most confusing mystery yet. Plus, she has to figure out where she stands with the handsome sheriff in town.

Germany, 1940. While struggling to survive at an orphanage, young Didi crosses paths with a rebellious, quirky girl who will either help her escape a life of abuse and uncertainty, or lead her down an even darker path.

They arrived in New Mexico ready for adventure, or at least resigned to it. But hope quickly turned to hardship as they were forced to adapt to a rugged military town where everything was a secret--including what their husbands were doing at the lab. Though they were strangers, they joined together--adapting to a landscape as fierce as it was absorbing, full of the banalities of everyday life and the drama of scientific discovery. While the bomb was being invented, babies were born, friendships were forged, children grew up, and Los Alamos gradually transformed into a real community.

Who’s Got Mail? is an intriguing and fact-filled look at how the mail has been delivered in the United States since before the Constitution was even signed. Full of eccentric characters, great stories, and technological achievements, this fun middle-grade narrative nonfiction from author Linda Barrett Osborne celebrates one of the oldest and strongest institutions, and is a true testament to the spirit of American democracy.

A selfless manatee (Kobee Manatee) with his seafaring pals (Tess the Seahorse), (Pablo the Hermit Crab), and (Tameeka, the sea turtle), are on a 500-mile journey from the Cayman Islands to Belize. The tale unfolds as Kobee plans on helping his cousin Quinn with her new underwater all-veggie bistro. The friends quickly discover the amazing Great Blue Hole. Unfortunately, Pablo accidentally falls into its endless abyss. Can he be saved in time?

Part coming of age, part political intrigue, Founding Stones questions what it means to be a citizen of the world. Trouble simmers in a small Pacific Northwest town when generations of secrets collide. Hannah, the daughter of the largest berry farmer in the county, searches for her voice after her twin sister dies of cancer. She jumps into the controversy around immigrant workers at the farm, and naively causes further problems.

The loss of a "nuclear" bomb off Puerto Rico during WWII brings strange consequences to a stressed community in Washington State decades later. In the Skagit River Valley, gateway to the pristine Pacific Northwest wilderness, vegetation, birds, and people are inexplicitly dying.

River of Angels, set on a tropical island in the Caribbean, reveals the multiple facets of life condensed within a small town. The story examines individuals caught between the world of conventional society and the world that speaks to an individual's true self.

A captivating tale of two passionate women separated by decades but united by a shared vision. One, the famous jeweler Suzanne Belperron, fighting to protect her company and rescue the man she loves. The other, a young auctioneer whose exceptional gifts reveal a secret that endangers her very life.

An adorable manatee (Kobee Manatee) with his two new pals (Tess the Seahorse) and (Pablo the Hermit Crab), navigate a 1,200-mile adventure from Cape Cod, Massachusetts to Florida. This adventure tale takes place in early autumn when lowering water temperatures can quickly threaten the life of a warm-blooded manatee. Will Kobee make it safely back to Florida?

USA TODAY BESTSELLER A stunning and unexpected portrait of Lucy Maud Montgomery, creator of one of literature’s most prized heroines, whose personal demons were at odds with her most enduring legacy—the irrepressible Anne of Green Gables. “Dear old world,” she murmured, “you are very...

Murder, family secrets, kidnapping … Explore one girl’s mysterious past and dangerous present in this complere audio collection of the Rayne Tour series, which combines thrilling elements and seatbelt suspense with the story of a rock star’s daughter who only wants a normal life, even if...

Ten years ago, Jerry came to New York City to break into show business. Today, his career is stalled, his ex-fiancé is a TV star, and he survives by bartending in Manhattan’s high-end cocktail lounges. Stunned by loss and regret, he is sleepwalking through a hung-over life when he discovers Violet’s book about when they were young, hopeful servers at a Times Square restaurant. As he searches the words of his self-destructive soul-mate, can he reconcile his past and find the hope he lost along the way?

After a 12-year absence from Hopeless, Idaho, investigative reporter Hope Walker continues to find dead bodies. And, this time? Hope has her work cut out for her. The trail has run cold, and this investigation seems particularly hopeless. Plus, Hope is a little preoccupied; she's babysitting three rambunctious kids for her best friend Katie. And, the sheriff in town has got her a little distracted.

Welcome to the world of Droll Tales, in which reality is a mutually agreed-upon illusion and life is painful, paradoxical, beautiful, and brief. With an oddball cast of characters who reappear in various guises throughout these interrelated stories, Smyles reveals an off-kilter world overlapping this one. And in giving us a tour of this enchanted, sometimes absurd place, with its own workings and ways of expression, she gives us a new way to understand our own.

Can you help children be kind? Of course you can! Kindness can be taught and it can be modeled. And stories are an incredibly effective way to teach and model kindness for kids and adults! When Mr. Push Came to Shove, the first book in the Kindness Project series, is an adorable tale about what happens when a lonely old man meets a big crazy family. And it's a story that models kindness for kids! And after the story, there is a short section that helps adults lead children in a discussion about kindness! Enjoy the story, then lead the discussion.

Carmen Ramirez, 24, a fledgling copy editor, gets her first big break - working on a second-anniversary spread about the killing of a 12-year-old girl. The child's body is discovered at the home her teacher, a closeted lesbian who commits suicide shortly after the murder. After challenging the inaccurate, homophobic coverage, Carmen is pulled off the project. Undaunted, Carmen searches for the truth - a decision that risks her job and her life. Meanwhile, a chance meeting at the newspaper library brings Carmen the prospect of new love.

Beatrice Stallard is your run-of-the-mill, post-college 20-something trying to make her way in New York City. That is, until she discovers the Quest Board one night, and everything changes. The rules of the Board are simple: Complete a quest, get a token. The harder the quest, the more tokens you earn. Get enough tokens, and you level up. Except, the quests aren't in a video game. They're real.