Showing results by narrator "Tara Sands" in All Categories

It's the summer of '83 on Trowbridge Road, and June Bug Jordan is hungry. Months after her father's death from complications from AIDS, her mother has stopped cooking and refuses to leave the house, instead locking herself away to scour at the germs she believes are everywhere. June Bug threatens this precarious existence by going out into the neighborhood, gradually befriending Ziggy, an imaginative boy who is living with his Nana Jean after experiencing troubles of his own.

Sloane isn't expecting to fall in love with a group of friends when she moves from New York to Florida - especially not a group of friends so intense, so layered with private tragedies and secret codes, so all-consuming. Yet that's exactly what happens. And it will lead her (and, um, her dad) on a life-changing adventure. Sloane becomes closest to Vera, a social-media star who lights up any room, and Gabe, Vera's twin brother and the most serious person Sloane's ever met.

Sutton is having robot problems. Her mini-bot is supposed to be able to get through a maze in under a minute, but she must have gotten something wrong in the coding. This is frustrating for a science-minded girl like Sutton - almost as frustrating as the fact that her mother probably won't be home in time for Sutton's 10th birthday. Luis spends his days writing thrilling stories about brave kids, but there's only so much inspiration you can find when you're stuck inside all day.

Thirteen-year-old Gabby Woods is looking forward to another summer vacation at her family’s lake house, even though she would rather bury herself in a mystery novel than make new friends. But soon Gabby befriends Paige, a snarky kid from Chicago, and they get caught up in a local mystery: the sudden disappearance of a glamorous couple and the extravagant lake house they left behind. To gather clues about the missing couple, Paige coaxes Gabby into trespassing, even though she knows it’s wrong. Yet, each sneaky visit to the abandoned lake house uncovers new mysteries.

At the start of 2020, in what felt already like an age of disorder, our world faced one of the gravest global challenges in a century. Yet in the midst of this crisis, billions of human beings responded with love. Tim Shriver saw an opportunity for those hungry for community to answer a call to heal, a call to hope, a call to unite. He asked monks and nuns, artists and activists, nurses and doctors, ex-presidents and ex-cons to come together to share messages of inspiration, transformation, and love. This book captures the spirit of that 24-hour event.

Jen is just getting used to her life on Peapod Farm with her new stepsisters, Andy and Reese. But when the school year starts, there are even more changes in store for her. Jen has to navigate new friends and new challenges--but at least she'll have Andy with her, right? As she starts the sixth grade, she finds that her stepsister seems way more interested in crushes and boys than hanging out with her, while Jen wants to know when the world decided boys and girls couldn't be "just friends" anymore.

It's time for school, but Ms. Bronte has one small problem...she really loves eating books. (Did I mention she's also a dinosaur?) Math books, cookbooks, old books, new books - she just can't help herself. Will Ms. Bronte ever be able to curb her page-turning appetite, or will she continue chomping her way through a tasty book buffet?

Shy, 11-year-old Lily made her dad an important promise before he passed away - that she would “Strive for Five” and speak her mind at least five times. But speaking up one time, let alone five, is easier said than done. It’ll be even harder now that Lily must attend public school for the first time. Fortunately, she meets curling-obsessed Hobart and quiet Dunya at the beginning of sixth grade. Their kindness gives Lily hope that life without Dad might just be bearable. But then Lily and her friends are bullied by Ryan and his mean clique....

Horace Homer Higgins III despises dirt. And the outdoors. And ducks. But when his person, Eleanor, moves to a farm called the Homestead, the anxious Boston Terrier is forced to adapt. As if that isn’t enough to strain his nerves, Ellie adopts a perpetually cheerful potbellied pig named Bunwinkle to be his baby sister. Bunwinkle is delighted to be on the farm despite the stuffy demeanor of her new canine brother. She’s sure she’ll crack his shell eventually—no one can resist her cuteness for long—especially once they bond over watching a TV pet-tective show.

Thirteen-year-old Jamie Bunn made a mistake at the end of the school year. A big one. Every kid in her middle school knows all about it. Now, she has to spend her summer vacation volunteering at the local library - as punishment. What a waste of a summer! Or so she thinks.

Elfie Oster was sure that Hampshire Academy was going to be the perfect school for her. She was sure about it right up to the minute she got expelled. On her first day. It was all a terrible misunderstanding, but until she can find a way to fix things, Elfie has to go back to Cottonwood Elementary for fifth grade. Where she's never really fit in. Or had friends. It is not a perfect situation. And then it gets worse. Her babysitter gets really sick. Her aunt and uncle aren't speaking. She's forced to do a group project involving an egg....

After Regan, Sofia, Bennett, and Darius successfully banished the witch's curse that led their science teacher to try to clone them, their lives should be back to normal, right? Not so! Because the curse is back and stronger than ever. Sofia's dad and Bennett's mom are finally getting married, and nothing could possibly ruin such a beautiful day . . . except for a horde of the rambling, brain-hungry undead!

Hu-bots - robots that humans created as perfect versions of themselves - now control the world. They seized power in a war that almost wiped humankind off the face of the earth. The humans that remain are forced to either work as servants or live in prison camps. But one teenage girl, Six, has a device that could change everything. Her Q-comp, a computer onto which the memories of her murdered family have been downloaded, contains information that could save humankind.

The power’s out. And there's only one chance to escape. Grip of Mercy is the riveting fifth book in the After The End post-apocalyptic EMP survival series. If you like characters that jump off the page, spellbinding action, and edge-of-your-seat drama, then you’ll love bestselling author Sam J Fires’s nail-biting thriller.

Kara McKormick is told she’s auditioning to star in a new teen variety show. It’s what she isn’t told that could change her life. The feisty New Yorker moves to sunny Orlando to participate in a month-long audition, where she’ll live with nine other contestants and an eccentric housemother. Kara knows that the show already has a big-time celebrity lined up for the co-host, but she doesn’t know who it is. Acting is high on Kara’s priority list. But a relationship with God? Not so much. But God is after Kara’s heart.

Patrick Dunn, a retired ex-cop haunted by his past, has faced relentless challenges since an EMP attack plunged the country into darkness. After navigating a brutal winter to escape Salem, he finds himself in Meadowview, desperately trying to protect his children and guide Holly, an escaped psychiatric patient turned fierce survivor. But as they settle into this new reality, they quickly realize that the greatest battles lie ahead. In this new landscape, old friends and allies converge as familiar faces from the End of Days series join the fight for survival.

Meet Hannah. Her name is a palindrome. Her birthday is on New Year's. Her mom died when she was little. She wishes she had a cat. She's medium height and a little gawky. She's being raised by her dad and stepmom, and just found out they're having a baby. Now she'll never get a real mom. And to top it off, Emme, the new neighbor, is taking over her best friend's bedroom... and her identity.

Regan, Sofia, Bennett, and Darius know better by now than to think the witch's curse is done with them. A mysterious family checks into Regan's family Boo and Breakfast...and they seem to take a particular interest in Regan! They're never seen during the day, they're allergic to garlic, and they speak like they're from another time. They couldn't be...could they? But why would a family of vampires want to recruit Regan?

The Great Zoodini—aka Radar the fennec fox—has never fit in. In fact, his only friend is a stuffed rabbit. Ever since his first family abandoned him, he’s had one goal: become world famous and show everyone how wrong they were about him. But no matter how many daring escapes Zoodini’s tried, he’s never even made the Association of Animal-Themed Attractions newsletter.

As a warrior-in-training at Mythos Academy, I've battled the Reapers of Chaos before—and survived. But this time I have a Bad, Bad Feeling it's going to be a fight to the death. . .most likely mine. Yeah, I've got my psychometry magic, my talking sword, Vic, and even the most dangerous Spartan on campus—Logan Quinn—at my side. But I'm still no match for Loki, the evil Norse god of chaos. I may be Nike's Champion, but at heart, I'm still just Gwen Frost, that weird Oracle girl everyone at school loves to gossip about.