Showing results by narrator "Lauren Fortgang" in All Categories

Gorgeous Vivi is the star of the Aquacade synchronized swimming spectacular, and plucky Max is a journalist for the fair's daily paper. Both are striving to make their way in a world where men try to control their actions and where secrets are closely kept. But when Vivi and Max become friends and their personal and professional prospects are put in jeopardy, they team up to help each other succeed and to realize their dreams during the most meaningful summer of their lives.

In an alternate 19th-century Italy, Elsa has an incredible gift: She can craft new worlds with precise lines of script written in books. But political extremists have stolen the most dangerous book ever scribed - one that can rewrite the Earth itself. Now Elsa must track down the friend who betrayed her and recover the book before its destructive power is unleashed. Can she handle the secrets she’ll uncover along the way - including the ones hiding in her own heart?

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 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.

Eva and her husband, Peter, are in Hong Kong on a romantic getaway from London when Peter wakes up in their hotel room to an empty bed, his wife gone without a trace. His worst fears are confirmed: Eva wasn’t imagining things. Suddenly, he finds himself the number-one suspect in his wife’s disappearance, trapped in a foreign country with no one to turn to. He calls his boss, Forrest "Holly" Holcomb, who enlists the help of Catherine, his ex-flame and the enigmatic operator behind the darknet witness-protection program known as the Burial Society.

World-renowned artist and sharp-tongued wit Clementine Pritchard is done. Years of therapy and medication have gifted her with little more than sweaty palms and gastric upset. Now, after flushing away a cabinet full of prescriptions, she gives herself 30 days to tie up loose ends (finish one final painting, make nice with her ex-husband, find a home for her cat) and enjoy one last month of art-world parties, road trips, and outrageous acts.

There are many ways the world could end. A fire. A catastrophic flood. A super eruption that spews lakes of lava. Ellis Kimball has made note of all possible scenarios, and she is prepared for each one. What she doesn’t expect is meeting Hannah Marks in her therapist’s waiting room. Hannah calls their meeting fate. After all, Ellis is scared about the end of the world; Hannah knows when it’s going to happen.

It is 1922. Myrtle Wilson lives a lonely, desolate existence above her husband’s garage in the “valley of ashes” between New York and Long Island. All her dreams—and her marriage itself—are turning to dust until she crosses paths with Tom Buchanan on the subway. In one moment, Myrtle’s life is irrevocably changed. “You can’t live forever, you can’t live forever” becomes the mantra that galvanizes her decision to embark on a fateful affair with the wealthy stranger.

Margaret "Cuckoo" Clarke recently had a brief stay in a mental institution following an emotional breakdown, but she's turning over a new leaf with her "Operation Happiness." She's determined to beat down the bad vibes of the Haters, the Terror Teachers, and all of the trials and tribulations of high school by writing and drawing in her diary. And when life gets really tough, she works through her own moments of uncertainty through imaginary conversations with her favorite literary characters.

Knit me into a cocoon. Help me eat a burrito. Pretend to be a chair at my dinner party. Wrestle a Komodo dragon. Race me in a lobster suit. Author Kelly Mahon posts absurd gig ads online and shares the conversations she had with the brave souls who wanted the job.

The traditional “check list” of becoming an adult has existed for decades. Sociologists have long identified these markers of adulthood as: completing school, leaving home, establishing a career/becoming financially independent, getting married, and having children. But the signifiers of being in our thirties today are not the same - repeated economic upheaval, rising debt, decreasing marriage rates, fertility treatments, and a more open-minded society have all led to a shifting definition of adulthood.

For too long, women have been caught in the relentless cycle of dieting fads and fleeting body-positivity trends, quick-fix weight-loss solutions, and intimidating lifestyle overhauls. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by society’s false promises and conflicting advice, you’re not alone. Jordan Lee Dooley knows this struggle well. She has navigated the same confusing landscape, all while grappling with the constant feeling of never doing enough. In Be Good to Your Body, Jordan invites you on a powerful journey of health and faith.

Clara and Alaric make their way to Nightwich to make an appearance before the queen in the heart of the vampire court. Surrounded by vampires, they must make them all believe Clara bears the mark of her vampire master. She must quickly learn to play by the rules set by the Vampire Queen. But games have never been more deadly.

When Kate Cleary’s son, Jake, dies at his elite liberal arts college, she refuses to believe it was the suicide it appeared to be. Something sinister is at play, and Kate becomes determined to retrace Jake’s steps during his final days. Descending into a spiral of obsession that threatens her grip on reality, Kate falls farther into a dangerous mystery even as she gets closer to the terrifying truth that Jake himself wanted to keep hidden.