Showing results by narrator "Naomi Barton" in All Categories

Fourteen-year-old Sid Everett longs for the excitement and glory of being a famous jockey. Despite having nothing but an old farm horse, he dreams of riding to victory with his name in the headlines and money in his pockets.

When traveling singer Graysie Castellanos inherits a rundown mine, she thinks it’s her golden opportunity to provide her adopted daughter with a happy childhood and a prosperous future. But their bright new beginning crumbles underfoot when the townsfolk of the Sierra Nevada mining town start dropping dead of mysterious causes.

Her mother dead from a drug overdose, 13-year-old Olivia is rescued by Cathie Tulloch, her mother's friend throughout the years they were held captive in Japanese prison camps in Sumatra in WWII. Welcomed into the Tulloch's remote family home in the Australian tropics, introverted Olivia is claimed by dramatic, generous, controlling Cassandra Tulloch as her sister and best friend. Moving to the UK at 18, Olivia finds her independence, and partner Ben. But in 1970, after five years away, she is homesick, and ready to fulfill her long-held dream: to make a family of her own.

I’d do anything for Bianca...except introduce her to my family. I know she wants to meet them, but I can’t predict what my dad might do. How can I tell her that? Our ugly family secret stays locked within our house, just the way Mum wants it to be. I won’t expose Bianca to it. But she’s starting to pull away from me. I can feel the wedge growing between us, and I don’t know how to stop it. Maybe she’s hiding something from me too. The light in her eyes doesn’t shine so bright these days. I wish I could figure out what is eating at her.

Jessie wants it to stop. She’s had nothing but problems ever since she found a strange black stone at Whale Bay. She's been dumped by her best friend Hayley, and bullied by the new girl, Alexis, and the school year has only just begun! Jessie blames the stone; too late, she discovers that if it is taken without permission, it brings bad luck. Then the worst thing ever happens. Alexis and Hayley bully Jessie online and everyone sees. What if they believe what they've read? Cyberbullying sucks. Jessie must fix everything, but who can she trust? Will anything ever be the same again?

Harper wants me. I can feel it every time she looks my way. Her lips tell me I’m the guy for her. Our attraction is irresistible. Magnetic. But she’s fighting it. She’s pushing me away at every turn, trying to take care of everyone as they start school and adjust to life without their parents. I get it. Living as an orphan must hurt, but if she'll only let me help her...I can’t quit on her. I’m not going to let her keep hurting herself this way. I don’t care what it takes. I’m winning Harper’s heart, because my heart won’t let me do anything else.

Sara O'Neill is on the run, and her family's abandoned old colonial home in rural New Zealand is just the sanctuary she needs. The house needs repair, but it's safe from the abusive husband she left behind. Unfortunately, a dangerous presence is haunting her new home, threatening her chance at peace.

I’ve just lost everything. My grand plan for college with my best friends has gone up in smoke. I have to look after my siblings now. I’m all they’ve got left. My parents stated in their will that they want Beck to look after us on his farm. But why? We haven’t seen him in years. Now two orphaned families are supposed to squish into his crusty old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere? This isn’t going to work. But I’ll go. Just for a couple of weeks. That’s what Mum and Dad would want me to do. What I don’t expect is for Tane to still be living on the farm.

Cassie is sick of dating. It's been 10 years and it's time to find The One. It's either that or buy a fetching habit and veil and abandon the whole thing. But Cassie believes in love, and she's not ready to give up yet. The pressure is on to find Mr. Right, and Cassie's the first to find him: Parker Hamilton. He's good-looking, smart, cultured - and a doctor. Despite his obvious credentials, Cassie's not taking any chances. She's vetted Parker so thoroughly she could offer some pointers to the CIA. Needless to say, he passes with flying colors.

Twisty scares with heart. Ghosts, sea monsters, and a rest home for troublesome witches all feature in this collection of paranormal stories set in Wellington, New Zealand. By turns spooky and laugh-out-loud funny, these tales stew with malevolence and mischief. Climb aboard the ghost bus for a wild ride of sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and humor, and hop off a little more in love with Aotearoa's capital city.

Big Red is more than a pet…so much more. The large ginger ball of fluff is not the only one taken, which is a catastrophe for the owners who, like Maddie, consider them family. Of course, the body found behind her bakery takes precedence, with the police and the town is scared, but why is no one else searching for the pets? Sheriff Tanner, who happens to be her ex-boyfriend, is doing what he can to solve both crimes. Still, Maddie can’t sit by and wait. Going against her darling Gran’s wishes, she once again does her own detective work - with a little help from her friends.

Sylvie is a friendly snail who loves to explore. More than anything else in the world, she wants to go on a big adventure. When Sylvie discovers that her neighbors Ben and Kate are going on holiday, she wants to go too! So, she hides inside Ben's favorite toy truck, so she can go with them. But, the world's a big place. Things go horribly wrong.

Em Rogers life changes forever when she gets her first after-school detention. If she'd known Dad would die in a traumatic accident, and Mum would have a nervous breakdown, she never would have talked in class. Was it all her fault? After losing friends, confidence, and hope, Em moves north to live with Nan and finds a future filled with promise, with the help of new friends, a mermaid, and a magic rock.

“Haven’t you heard about the virus?” When her BFF asks this question at the bus stop, there was no way 10-year-old Emilia could know that the global pandemic of COVID-19 was about to turn her life upside down. Based on true events, this story follows the journey of Emilia, who lives in South Korea with her teacher mother, where they both enjoy their international school community. Life is wonderful until the rapidly spreading global pandemic of COVID-19 prompts her mother to take Emilia from her home in Korea to her home in New Zealand.

This collection of short stories, by celebrated New Zealand writer Katherine Mansfield, was first published in 1920. Many of Mansfield’s short stories explore New Zealand landscapes and identity, and her work has been a shaping force in the short story genre.

The Dove’s Nest and Other Stories is a collection of both finished and unfinished short stories written by Katherine Mansfield. The collection was published posthumously, not long after Mansfield’s death in 1923, by her husband, John Middleton Murry.

It is 2003 in New Zealand, and Louisa Greenwood and her daughter Ngaroma are on a quest to discover their ancestry. Louisa has a greenstone necklace left to her in her father’s will, and from the first time Ngaroma wears it, she has unusual experiences, both good and bad. It leads her to various locations in New Zealand and England until, through a series of meetings and coincidences, she discovers the final resting place of her five times great grandmother.