Showing results by narrator "Merissa Czyz" in All Categories

Two high school teachers—Amber Dorris and Leticia Laye—become obsessed with a true-crime podcast about the 1999 murder of 12-year-old Sarah Gerlach. Amber’s marriage to her real estate agent husband Gary is on the rocks. As a distraction, she and Letitia become increasingly absorbed by the case against local Blake Wernerhet. Blake was convicted of murdering Sarah, who was the little sister of a friend of his. While he maintains his innocence, everything points to this man being a vicious killer of an innocent girl.

The baseball season has begun, and Zachary Wilson, in his final year of school, is at the pinnacle of his life. Baseball is his passion and his ticket to a promising future. However, a muscle tear during a game leaves him out of the game for months, plunging him into an overwhelming darkness. In the midst of his desperation, he finds a ray of light in an unexpected situation: the mysterious patient Sunny Smith in the hospital. Intrigued, he begins to visit her regularly, sharing with her his deepest and darkest thoughts.

Benjamin Banneker STEM Academy is the top middle school in Denver. Let’s just say the kids are . . . competitive. When Principal Yee announces the start of an epic Team Competition for the school, Frederick Douglass Zezzmer knows that trophy’s got his name on it. That’ll show his sports-obsessed Dad that he’s worthy, right? Only problem is, it’s a TEAM competition … and Doug isn’t so great working in a team environment (except with his best friend Huey, of course).

Libby Monroe is great at science, being optimistic, and talking to her famous, accomplished friends (okay, maybe that last one is only in her head). She’s not great at playing piano, sitting still, or figuring out how to say the right thing at the right time in real life. Libby was born with Turner Syndrome, and that makes some things hard. When her big sister Nonny tells her she’s pregnant, Libby is thrilled—but worried. Nonny and her husband are in a financial black hole, and Libby knows that babies aren’t always born healthy. So she strikes a deal with the universe....

Zailey has never seen her own face. She's never seen her reflection, or a photo of herself, or even a drawing. In the special community of Gladder Hill, cameras and mirrors are forbidden: it's why everyone's happier here. Nobody talks about anyone else's appearance. You're not supposed to even think about what other people look like, or what you look like. But Zailey does. She knows her superficial thoughts are wrong, and her sketchbook, filled with secret portraits of her classmates and neighbors, could get her in trouble. Yet she can't help but think those thoughts.

This charming and critically acclaimed early chapter book series follows the everyday adventures of siblings Stella and Marigold. In this second book, Stella and Marigold receive a purple present—a book for them to list all their friends. That’s when they discover they need to make more friends! But how? With magical recipes to make snow fall? With lots of nice Band-Aids? How about a mermaid candleholder? The two sisters are full of ideas and plans.

Rose is a good girl. She listens to her parents and follows every rule. After all, rules are there for a reason … right? And adults always know best. Talia, the new girl from New York City, doesn’t think so. After only a week at school, Talia—who does what she wants, when she wants—is already making enemies. First on the list: Charlotte, Rose’s lifelong best friend. So why can’t Rose stop wondering what it would be like to be Talia’s friend? And why does Rose read a banned book that Talia recommends? Rose doesn’t know. But the forbidden book makes her ask questions she’s never thought of.

Every month Ms. Madeleine creates a special cookie of the month for her bakery. And her best customer, a little girl named Cookie, is always the first to try it. Ms. Madeleine’s sweet treats never disappoint. When June arrives, Cookie and her two moms stop in and taste the best cookie yet: a heart-shaped, rainbow-striped, crunchy, frosted confection that Ms. Madeleine baked especially for Pride.

There is the whole world, and in it, there's a city, and in that city, there's a house, and in that house, there are two half-houses, and in one of those half-houses, there lives a pair of sisters named Stella and Marigold. Stella, who's seven, likes cats and axolotls and second grade. But most of all, she likes Marigold. Marigold, who's four, likes gibbons and red paint and the plumber. But most of all, she likes Stella.

Darcy believes in love at first sight. Even though it’s never happened to her, she’s spent her whole life waiting for that perfect, magical moment. But right now, her life is anything but perfect. In the aftermath of a music festival, she’s stranded at a bus station until morning—the day before she leaves for college. Her phone is dead, she has no cash, and she’s convinced nothing good can come of this night...but then she meets Russell.

Emily has always excelled at sports, and her athletic abilities have given her confidence on and off the courts. So when she starts to drag during her middle-school volleyball season, she assumes it must be the flu. But after a particularly intense game, she finds herself riding in the back of an ambulance, a paramedic telling her that her life will never be the same. Adjusting to life with type 1 diabetes isn’t easy. Emily is desperate to prove that she’s just as strong and capable as ever, so she jumps at the opportunity to go on a backcountry ski trip with her dad.

Mason lives in 2023. His parents have just split up, and there's a guy at school who won't get off his case. As part of an assignment, he writes a letter to Albert Einstein and it ends up getting a little too personal. He throws the letter into his closet … and the next day he gets a letter back from a girl named Talia, who lives in 1987. She has problems of her own, including classmates who make jokes because she's Jewish. She thought her friends would have her back. But it ends up the only person she really has to talk to is … a random boy from the future?

It’s a special day! Madeline Finn is taking Bonnie and Star to the Blessing of the Animals. When they arrive, they see dogs and cats. There’s even a goat! Madeline Finn watches closely as the Reverend Mary Alice spends time with every animal, giving each one their very own blessing. “How do you know what to say?” Madeline Finn wants to know. “Everyone has a blessing inside,” Miss Mary explains. “A special gift to share with the world.”

Autistic seventh-grader Maggie Weir loves spacecraft, but aerospace engineering isn’t the only thing that gives her butterflies: she’s got a secret crush on an eighth grader—the amazing, baton-twirling Tatum Jones. And they’ve just teamed up for an engineering contest! It might be the perfect chance for Maggie to tell Tatum how she feels, except …

Maddie and Chloe have always been best friends—until last year, when Chloe’s popularity and budding fame as an actor left Maddie in the dust one too many times. Their friendship is over, and they’re both ready to move on. But when the girls arrive at theater camp, they discover that the universe isn’t ready to let go of this friendship just yet: They’re cabinmates, and each of them has to spend the summer with her ex-best friend. Is it time to try again, or are they doomed to drift apart for good?

Channeling their own experiences, sixteen exceptional authors subvert mental health stereotypes in a powerful and uplifting collection of fiction.

Aria is raised by the Wind. She grew up in a castle, floating among the clouds with creatures of the air. She spends her days racing and soaring through the sky with her best friend, Gwyn, a young gryphling. At night, she falls asleep to the music of the Wind. One morning, Aria is woken by a frantic Gwyn. The chimes are silent, there is not a breath of breeze, and their castle has settled on the ground. The Wind has vanished. Aria and Gwyn go on a desperate search only to discover the Wind is being held captive by a sinister alchemist named Worton.

It’s early September 2001, and twelve-year-old Abbey is the new kid at school. Tennessee is her family’s latest stop in a series of moves based on her dad’s work in the Army, but this one might be different. For the first time, Abbey has found a real friend: loyal, courageous, athletic Camille. And then it’s September 11. The country is under attack, and Abbey’s “home” looks like it might fall apart. America has changed overnight.

Dazzle is a snow-white unicorn with a twisty horn, a sparkly pink tail, and a tag that says unicorns can grant wishes. He isn't sure whether he can make a wish for himself, but he does so anyway, hoping for a child and a home of his own. Instead, Dazzle gets sold at a yard sale and becomes one of the Book Buddies, friendly toys that children can check out of the library just like books. Meanwhile, Maya has just moved to town and decides to borrow Dazzle, hoping he can grant her a wish for a new friend.

Evelyn has a constant need for perfection that’s blown some fuses among her robotics teammates, and she’s worried nobody’s taking the upcoming competition seriously. Allie is new to school, and she’s had a history of short-circuiting on teachers and other kids. So when Allie is assigned to the robotics team as a last resort, all Evelyn can see is just another wrench in the works!