Showing results by narrator "Cassandra Cassandra" in All Categories

When Misty was six years old, her family started to live and dress like the Amish. Misty and her sister were kept as slaves on a mountain ranch where they were subjected to almost complete isolation, sexual abuse, and extreme physical violence. When Misty reached her teens, her parents feared she and her sister would escape and took them to an Amish community where they were adopted and became baptized members. Misty was devastated to once again find herself in a world of fear, animal cruelty, and sexual abuse.

What's the best day of the year? A birthday, of course! Stella Batts is turning nine, and she has big plans. Her family will be going to Pennsylvania to celebrate. That's where Stella's best friend Willa moved to, and Stella hasn't seen Willa for months. It's hard not to see your best friend for that long, so this is an important trip. But before Stella can get on the plane—disaster strikes! Now instead of a birthday weekend sleepover with Willa in Pennsylvania, Stella is stuck in a hospital room in her hometown of Somers, California, with a broken leg.

Stella Batts is back! Stella is in third grade, she wants to be a writer, and her parents own a wonderful candy shop. Life should be pretty good, right? In Pardon Me, Stella needs to find a new best friend after her friend Willa moves away. But finding a new best friend is not easy. Things are looking up when she meets Evie, the new girl in town. She is going to be in Stella s class at school and she needs a new best friend, too.Stella can t wait to introduce her to the other third graders. Except when they get to school, things don't exactly go the way Stella planned....

One of the best things about having parents who own a candy store is getting to be an official taste-tester. When her dad brings home Magical Glow-in-the-Dark Chewing Gum, Stella can’t wait to try it out - especially since her younger sister is already blowing bubbles and making magic-gum wishes that come true. Except the gum seems to bring Stella bad luck. First she can’t even blow a bubble, and then she falls asleep chewing a piece of gum that ends up wadded in her hair, resulting in a drastic haircut. And now her best friend, Willa, announces she’s moving clear across the country!

When my father died and I stepped into his shoes as leader of Enigma, I vowed to protect the gang he’d built. And I won’t break that promise—no matter what I have to do to keep it. So when a mysterious attacker targets our territory, I swallow my pride and propose an alliance between Enigma and the Princes of Carnage, a biker gang led by Nico Morelli. We’ve been rivals for years, but his territory is under attack too, and we’ll have a better chance of defending ourselves if we work together. Except Nico doesn’t just want an alliance.

Imposter Syndrome doesn’t just affect middle-aged suits in big board rooms. The typical thoughts, feelings and behaviours that are part of the imposter experience - things like overwork, perfectionism and procrastination, hiding out, playing small and holding back – are common for so many of us. This is not just a different name for self-doubt. It is pervasive and goes directly to your sense of self-worth and belonging. You don’t need a confidence hack. You need to go to the root cause of your feelings of unworthiness and learn to trust that you are enough.

In A Case of the Meanies, mean boy Joshua continues to plague Stella when he decides to have a birthday party at her parent's candy store. He invites everyone in the class except her! Stella has to figure out how to be a pleasant hostess when she's not on the guest list. It's just another day in the life of Stella Batts!

Meet Stella Batts. She is eight-years old and she loves to write. She loves to write lists; like her favorite things and kids in her class. And she's writing her autobiography. Stella's favorite color is yellow and she LOVES fudge. As a matter of fact, there is a special fudge counter at her family's candy store because fudge is one of her favorite things to eat! But Stella has just one problem - her name. A boy from her class keeps calling her 'Smella' after she trips on their class nature walk.

In Who's in Charge, Stella gets a lesson in responsibility when she volunteers to watch her best friend's dog, Bella, for a few days. The only problem with this plan is that Stella didn’t ask her mother for permission. With new baby Marco at home, Stella's mom already has her hands full. But Grandma agrees it's good for Stella to have some responsibility as she's getting older. It looks as though Stella has things under control. It's only for a few days - what could go wrong?

The Batts family has arrived at a hotel in Los Angeles and everything is all set for Aunt Laura’s wedding weekend. Stella and Penny are going to be getting a new uncle, and a new cousin! Plus, they get to be flower girls, and wear fancy dresses, and walk down the aisle throwing rose petals. It’s going to be perfect - just the way Aunt Laura has imagined it. Just the way Stella has imagined it, too. But sometimes a wedding doesn’t happen the way anyone thinks it will - including the bride. Things are starting to go wrong, and Stella is worried that it’s all her fault!

In Superstar, Stella gets the chance to audition for her favorite television show, Superstar Sam, after a casting director spots Stella out for dinner with her family. He said she is perfect for the role. Stella rehearses her lines until she knows the part by heart. Her little sister, Penny, is jealous, but sometimes older sisters get to do things little sisters can't. But the audition doesn't go as planned. Stella was sure she had the part. Now, will she ever get a chance to show her acting skills and meet her favorite actress?

For centuries I have suffered. Solidified and silenced, all because I failed to destroy what I was created for. Except now, after so long… There is a female. One who always seems to be by my side. Day after day. Night after night. She talks to me. Touches me. Tells me things. She shares stories of a world I no longer know. She is a reprieve from my punishment. A sweet delight. She liberates me from my solitude. But when I rise, my adversary seizes his opportunity, and she's caught between us. He only wants her to get to me. She isn't his. And I'll do anything to protect what's mine.

Some people wear their heart on their sleeve. I wear vengeance like a suit of armor. I’ve got a list with six names on it. Six people who wronged me, who hurt me, who took everything from me. Six people who turned me into the monster I am now. And I’ve crossed off every name but one.

Are you afraid of the dark? Stella Batts never thought she was. In fact she's not feeling afraid of anything right now. She's just excited. Her class read the most books out of every class in school. The prize is a sleepover in the library. What could be better than that? Everyone is in pajamas, even the teachers. The kids break off into groups to go on a scavenger hunt. That's when Stella finds a really old book by an author who is also named Stella B. Though the subject matter is nothing this Stella would ever write about.

Can you keep a secret? Stella Batts has a lot of secrets to keep these days - there's the secret of what really happened to her little sister's pet fish, and there's the secret school project she's working on with her friend Lucy, and there's the secret on the second floor of her family's candy store. Actually, Stella doesn't know the candy store secret yet, because her dad won't tell her. Even though she's eight years old, and that's old enough to be trusted!

It was a hell of a long shot.... CIA assassin Fortune Redding is about to undertake her most difficult mission ever - in Sinful, Louisiana. With a leak at the CIA and a price placed on her head by one of the world's largest arms dealers, Fortune has to go off-grid, but she never expected to be this far out of her element.

From the author of the million-copy global best seller Lilac Girls, comes a captivating new historical novel, set during the American Civil War. It's a sweeping story of women caught in a country on the brink of collapse, in a society grappling with nationalism and unthinkable racial cruelty.

After an attack on the job, Homicide Detective Isobel 'Bel' Emerson takes her dog and moves to the small town of Bajka in search of a less stressful life and career. But the quaint town's peace is disturbed when a local furniture designer is murdered, his body posed to look like a human chandelier. Thrust back into the fray, Bel must confront her personal demons as she investigates an impossible case, and as bodies turned into household objects start to pile up, all clues point to the reclusive millionaire who just bought the abandoned mansion at the edge of town.

Princess Bedtime Stories: Snuggle up with Ariel, Cinderella, Tiana, and all your favorite princesses with this charming collection. Nineteen enchanting tales await to send you off to a dreamland of happily ever after. Princess Adventure Stories: Little girls love empowered princess role models, and this new addition to the best-selling storybook collection series is filled with 17 tales of adventure and bravery starring the Disney Princesses. From Belle and Ariel to Rapunzel and Tiana, the princesses show their courageous spirits as they go on quests and take on challenges.

Welcome to Highlights Mystery Theater, the show where you can help solve the case! Follow along with kid detectives, siblings Mike and Cleo McClue, as they investigate case after case of strange sounds, weird disappearances, and other confounding mysteries - listen for the clues and see if you can solve the case before they do.