Showing results by narrator "Kimberly Woods" in All Categories

Did you know that Theodore Roosevelt was shot before a rally, and went on to give his speech with the bullet in his chest? Or that he skinny-dipped in the Potomac River? Bet you didn’t know that he had a zebra, a lion, and a one-legged rooster at the White House! Siblings Paige and Turner have collected some of the most unusual and surprising facts about the larger-than-life president, from his childhood and his Rough Rider days to his rise to politics and his complicated presidential legacy.

It wasn't Tillie's choice to leave Philadelphia. But after everything that happened junior year, her mom insisted the quiet suburb of Willow Creek was the perfect place to get a fresh start, to put the trauma and rumors behind them. Madison Frank is the perfect distraction. Beautiful, fun, and from the wealthy side of town, Madison is the kind of girl who has a pull stronger than gravity. She commands attention, even inspires obsession. And by the end of summer, Tillie's forgotten everything―everyone―she left in Philadelphia. Almost. Then Madison goes missing.

How quickly the ground shifts beneath our feet. We make choices—in the face of love, or violence, or necessity—and the effects ripple outward. In these moving short stories, acclaimed authors examine the foundations of the past, uncovering the irreversible decisions and life-changing encounters that mark the turning point between before and after.

When Colleen Kinder put out a call for authors to write a letter to a stranger about an unforgettable encounter, she opened the floodgates. The responses—intimate and addictive, all written in the second person—began pouring in. These short, insightful essays by a remarkable cast of writers guide us both across the globe and through the mysteries of human connection. Moving and unforgettable, Letter to a Stranger is an irresistible listen for the literary traveler and the perfect gift for anyone who is haunted by a person they met once and will remember forever.

Men do not become mystics. They become warriors. But eighteen-year-old Salo has never been good at conforming to his tribe’s expectations. For as long as he can remember, he has loved books and magic in a culture where such things are considered unmanly. Despite it being sacrilege, Salo has worked on a magical device in secret that will awaken his latent magical powers. And when his village is attacked by a cruel enchantress, Salo knows that it is time to take action.

Against all odds, Janneke has survived the Hunt for the Stag - but all good things come with a cost. Lydian might be dead, but he took the Stag with him. Janneke now holds the mantle, while Soren, now her equal in every way, has become the new Erlking. Janneke's powers as the new Stag has brought along haunting visions of a world thrown into chaos and the ghost of Lydian taunts her with the riddles he spoke of when he was alive. When Janneke discovers the truth of Lydian and his madness, she's forced to see her tormentor in a different light for the first time.

At seventeen, Angela returns to the place where she was raised—a stunning island town that lies at the border of Canada and Minnesota—where she finds that an eager developer is planning a hydroelectric dam that will leave sacred land flooded and abandoned. Joining up with three other concerned residents, Angela fights the project, reconnecting with her ancestral roots as she does so.

Salo’s queen has finally accepted his desire to be a mystic despite taboos concerning men’s use of magic. But her acceptance is not support; it is strategy. Under a disguise of the queen’s making, Salo enters Jungle City as a pilgrim to the Red Temple, only to find a magical barrier barring his entrance. Left at the mercy of the warring political factions that run the city, Salo faces a series of obstacles wrought by an unseen hand, knowing he cannot return home without completing his pilgrimage. But Isa, King of the Saire clan, has her own plans for Salo.

Evie Von Rathe has been home for only a few weeks from her adventure in the strange world of seven houses when Blight Harbor’s beloved ghosts begin to disappear. Did they leave without saying goodbye, or has something gone horribly wrong? Soon Evie is invited to a mysterious council meeting, where she learns about the Dark Sun Side and a terrible secret.

Yes, the ghosts have gone missing. And that means serious trouble.

Deicide is one-part public service, one-part revenge . . . or at least that's why Lilith does it. An operative of the multiverse-spanning Eifni Organization, she travels to new worlds to clear out the local deities before they can eat everyone's souls. It's a tricky process, requiring advanced sociological science and an arsenal of tools weaponizing meaning itself. But a god once tried to eat her, and she's not one to easily forgive. When Lilith deploys to pre-industrial Theria, she finds their gods aren't willing to go quietly.

With the death of Sunny’s mother, matriarch of the wealthy Behre family, Sunny’s once picture-perfect life is thrown into turmoil. Her mother had groomed her to be the family’s next leader, so Sunny is confused when the only instructions her mother leaves is a mysterious note: “Take care of Dom.”

As summer comes to an end, Evie Von Rathe is determined to begin the search for her parents in earnest. Armed with her knowledge of the otherworldly, her mom’s violet glasses, and a pendant full of doors, Evie begins to piece together clues. When she realizes her mother’s bedtime story might be a roadmap to finding them, Evie follows it back to the Dark Sun Side.

A heartwarming collection of short stories depicting the bond between a grandpa and his grandchildren chronicling what happens when a grandpa tells a tall tale to his grandchildren. Written with the hopeful desire to connect listeners with their own fond memories as well as introduce joyful memories to those that never had the chance. Told by an adult recalling childhood.

Overachievement isn’t a bad word—for Berlin, it’s the goal. She’s securing excellent grades, planning her future, and working a part-time job at Pink Mountain Pizza, a legendary local business. Who says she needs a best friend by her side? Dropping out of high school wasn’t smart—but it was necessary for Cameron. Since his cousin Kiki’s disappearance, it’s hard enough to find the funny side of life, especially when the whole town has forgotten Kiki. To them, she’s just another missing Native girl.

Anastasia Vila's family can turn into swans, but just once she'd like them to turn into responsible adults. After hundreds of years, they still cling to the blood feud with the Renard family. No one remembers how it started in the first place—but foxes and swans just don't get along. Vilas can only transform into their swan shape after they have fallen in love for the first time, but between balancing schoolwork, family obligations, and the escalating blood feud, Ana's got no time for love. The only thing keeping her sane is her best friend, Pierce Kent.

Afice is the last of nine generations of women who have survived enslavement, sickness, and hunger. Alone at age seventeen, she sets out through the Louisiana swamps to follow the trail of her ancestors and hear their songs anew. On this journey, Afice must decide how to honor her ancestors while embracing her own future.

Inside every loggerhead turtle is genius: the ability to find their first home, no matter how far away. Follow one, from her birth on a beach in Australia...to her trip across an ocean filled with sharks and seahorses and much more...to her rescue from a net by a fisherman, who names her Yoshi...to her rehabilitation at an aquarium...to her record-breaking swim across the Indian Ocean to the beach on which she hatched, to lay her eggs.

Dylan Woods hasn’t seen her best friend, Langston, in years. After he moved to Los Angeles, he ghosted her. Then he became Legendary, the biggest teen R&B artist on the planet. For the most part, Dylan has moved on, with her sights set on Juilliard. But when her parents announce that Langston is coming for a short stay with them, the entire family is thrilled. Except for Dylan. The idea of sharing a house with music’s biggest bad boy makes her stomach churn.

Timbuktu, western Africa, 1706. Folashade, the fourteen-year-old daughter of a professor of linguistics, is sent south with her older sisters, Bibi and Adaeze, to endure the painful ceremony that a girl on the cusp of womanhood is expected to. In Djenné, on the banks of the Niger, the sisters’ fate and that of their fellow Bambara are changed forever when they’re kidnapped, marched toward grueling indignities on Gorée Island, and eventually hauled aboard an English slaver bound for the Americas.

Sixteen-year-old Faith has always known she was different, and her peers never let her forget it; she can communicate with the dead, she can start fires with a flick of her wrist, and she can transform into a sleek black panther. She's just never known why. Faith is relieved when her cold father and distant relatives raise no objections to her invitation to an elite school for the gifted. Which, coincidentally, happens to be where her parents met. In her search for answers, Faith meets the charismatic Lex, a senior with eyes like snow who looks at Faith with such intensity.