Showing results by publisher "Recorded Books" in Literature & Fiction

Eddie's father, two uncles, and best friend are all dead, and it's a struggle for him not to end up the same way. Violence makes Fresno wallow in tears, as if a huge onion were buried beneath the city. Making an effort to walk a straight line despite constant temptations and frustrations, Eddie searches for answers—and discovers that his closest friends may actually be his worst enemies.

Rose Frampton is content with life on her family's plantation in South Carolina, but the year 1900 brings many changes for the 15-year-old. She could never imagine that she would marry a Yankee and become the mistress of a New York City estate. Uprooted from the tranquil shores of Saint Helena's Island, she comes to know and love Rene, learns to make her own decisions, and finds an untapped inner strength.

Georgie Burgess has known only neglect and abuse during his seven and a half years of life. His alcoholic mother does little to prevent the bruises and scars inflicted on Georgie by her brutal boyfriend. With each blow, the little boy withdraws further into his dreams. When he wins a small rose bush in a lottery, it seems as if one of his dreams has finally come true. But after a particularly savage beating, he is taken from his mother and placed in a home for boys.

Jessie and the gang are reunited for a second heart-pounding whitewater ride through the Grand Canyon. The teens are thrilled to have another go at the Colorado together - especially Jessie, who will get to pilot a raft this time. But when they find out that the infamous ringleader Troy is behind the reunion trip, tempers flare. Troy says he wants the chance to redeem himself, but Jessie suspects his motives. Nonetheless, and even as the water rises to record levels, the river calls Jessie and the others to embark on another life-or-death adventure.

Greater Dunitsa is the most wonderful place on Earth. At least that’s what the town leaders think. If only they didn’t have to put up with young Rizka, the free-spirited gypsy girl. Ever since her mother died and her father moved on, she has lived with her cat Pesto in a cart just outside town. Rizka walks around Greater Dunitsa in her ragbag clothes, playing sharp-witted tricks on deserving rogues. The leaders are convinced she is bad for business. The day the chief councilor finds his roast chicken in Pesto’s hungry jaws is too much for the frustrated man. He hatches a fail-safe plan to get rid of the sassy gypsy girl and her troublesome pet.

Macy grew up unwanted, unloved, and alone. By his teens he had quit school and begun stealing. In and out of juvie, Macy is a shoplifter, a car thief, and, by age eighteen, a murderer. Danny grew up physically disabled, raised by his grandmother, and a loner. Now sixteen, he finds solace in taking photographs, particularly of monarch butterflies, and thinking about Leah, the most beautiful girl in town.

Since first grade, Christopher Creed has been everyone's favorite freak and weirdo whipping boy. But when he disappears without a trace, leaving behind only a strange e-mail message that might be a suicide note, his quiet town becomes consumed with speculation and finger-pointing. And the longer he remains missing, the more clear it becomes that for most people, finding out what happened to Christopher is much less important than finding someone besides themselves to blame.

A heartbreaking novel that offers no easy answers, Give a Boy a Gun addresses the growing problem of school violence. Although it is a work of fiction, it could tragically be the leading nightly news story in any community. After a high school shooting at her alma mater, a college journalism student returns home to interview students, teachers, parents, and friends of the suspects. Intermingled with her interviews are journal entries written by the two troubled boys responsible for the shooting.

To get away from his chaotic, often violent parents, 17-year-old Jesse has moved into an apartment with his brother. They are both taking community college courses in Fresno. But to pay for them, they must take whatever jobs they can find, even backbreaking field work. The path to a good education isn't going to be an easy one for these two young Mexican-Americans. As Jesse absorbs information in his classes, he learns harsher lessons from the people around him.

They call him the Weirdo. No one knows much about the 17-year-old bear tracker with the horribly scarred face - except that he lives in the eerie swamp where Samantha Sanders found a dead body. But one night Samantha wanders into the dark swamp and meets the Weirdo. She listens to his shocking story, looks into his gentle soul, and becomes his friend. And when she stumbles across another body, Samantha knows that the Weirdo is the only one who can help her.

This book informs about the effects of alcohol - critical information considering more than 20% of kids ages 12-17 currently use alcohol, according to the 1997 National Survey on Drug Abuse.

With a Book Sense Pick to her credit, author Bonnie Dobkin offers a suspenseful adventure story for young adult readers. In Neptune's Children, the world is suddenly thrown into turmoil by a biological attack that leaves no adult alive. The children who were enjoying a day at the Isles of Wonder amusement park, however, are prepared to build a new life for themselves.

Thirteen-year-old Stacy is sunbathing in the backyard when she hears a strange noise from inside the house. Turning to look, she sees a man with a gun burst through the door; then everything goes black. She wakes up in a hospital bed to learn that she has spent the last four years in a catatonic state. Suddenly 17, she finds herself struggling to adjust and fighting to remember what happened to her. She is the only witness to the shooting that injured her and killed her mother.

Sixteen-year-old Travis is looking for a good time. A vacation in Mexico with his mother and two siblings might cramp his style, but he’s willing to take that risk for a chance to cruise the beaches. Some things keep gnawing at him, though, like leaving Dad crying at the airport, and watching Mom disappear with a mysterious ‘headache’ every afternoon that they’re in Mexico.

Healey’s second novel The Shattering stars Keri, a 17-year-old trying to come to terms with her brother Jake’s death. Although authorities believe Jake committed suicide, Keri cannot accept that her brother would take his own life. And when she’s approached by her classmate Janna, whose brother also committed suicide years earlier, the two team up in search of answers. Soon the girls come to a grim realization—that their brothers weren’t the first in town to die under mysterious circumstances.

Growing up Mexican-American in Fresno, California in the 1950’s and 60’s might not have been easy, but it was certainly never boring for young Gary Soto, his brother Rick and sister Debra. As this compilation of 21 short stories and articles illustrates, there is no limit to the amount of fun a child can have, or how much he can terrorize siblings and neighbors if his imagination is active.

When a small pod of killer whales surfaces just offshore of Lumber Landing - a small British Columbia fishing community - it’s more than just the fish who don’t know what to do. The whales’ arrival coincides with a fishing magazine ad offering $100,000 for a killer whale in good condition for an American theme park. Jamie Tidd, a 14-year-old boy, and his father, Perry, thought it would be nearly impossible to capture a whale. However, it’s after they easily trap one on Wilwilli Cove that difficulties arise.

Popular author Tara Altebrando’s Dreamland Social Club is a magical novel about one vagabond family finding a home. Still pained by the loss of her mother years earlier, Jane has been all over the world with her brother and father. Once they plant stakes in New York’s Coney Island, Jane begins to feel settled. And the mermaids, dwarves, bearded girls, contortionists, and tattooed boys certainly keep things interesting.

One of the most critically acclaimed books of 2001, Lord of the Deep is a vivid fishing adventure that takes place off of the great blue island of Hawaii. Since Bill married Mikey’s mom, Mikey’s life has become truly incredible. At age 13, Mikey is the youngest deckhand on the whole island, working hard on Bill’s deep-sea charter fishing boat. It’s his second week out on the boat, and he’s busy trying to prove himself to both Bill and the disrespectful charter guests. But after making a mistake at a crucial moment, Mikey begins to feel more and more alone.

This book will help you learn more about what stimulants are and what they do to your brain and body. Getting the facts about harmful substances is the first step to staying healthy and drug-free.