Showing results by narrator "Michael Goldstrom" in All Categories

With eloquence and wit, Wayne Hoffman explores the unlikely camaraderie between a young Jewish man and an Orthodox rabbi, in this rich, insightful novel about love, honesty, faith, and belonging. In Yiddish, there is a word for it: bashert - the person you are fated to meet. Twenty-something Benji Steiner views the concept with skepticism. But the elderly rabbi who stumbles into Benji's office one day has no such doubts. Jacob Zuckerman's late wife, Sophie, was his bashert. And now that she's gone, Rabbi Zuckerman grapples with overwhelming grief and loneliness.

During the Nazi occupation of Ukraine, a match was set up between Dynamo Kiev’s players, playing as FC Start, and a German side. Kiev won. And when the Germans fielded a better side, Kiev beat them, too. And again, and again. Until the half-starved FC Start players faced an international-calibre German side, under the threat of execution if they didn’t let the occupiers win.... An astonishing true story.

Everyone knows the flooded quarry is a dangerous place. But when Jacob spots the tail of a huge reptile disappearing into the undergrowth, nobody believes him! He needs to get a photo as proof before anyone will take him seriously. And that means hunting the beast himself....

Jimmy can’t stand Dax’s bullying any longer. He steals $150 from his father and runs away. But Dax is on the same train - and he sees the money. Now Jimmy and Dax are locked in a frantic chase. Can Jimmy run fast enough and far enough?

After the battle in Italy, Joseph tries to live a normal life, but that's just not in the cards for him. He's engaged to the Illuminator's sister Jenna, has a Fallen Angel bodyguard, and plans on adopting the cutest five year old anyone's ever seen. If that isn't enough to keep anyone busy, now Joseph's home is under attack by reporters and protestors. After a frightening incident that leaves his house in ashes, he decides he's had enough. It's war.

Andy is a troubled teenager. Fighting is the only thing he’s good at, it gives him his reputation, and he does a lot of it - so much that he’s going to be expelled and dumped if he can’t change his ways. The Head suggests a boxing club, but Andy reckons boxing is for wusses...until he’s knocked out in his first match by a kid half his size. Now Andy faces losing his reputation at school - and that’s about all he has left. Will boxing be Andy’s doom, or his salvation?

Scott, Jaz, Lee, and Mo get bored of scary videos at Hallowe'en. Mo tells them about how Ouija boards work using the power of suggestion, so the four friends decide to make up details about a fake 'ghost' to see if their collective imaginations will create 'messages' from it. The messages start to come, all right. And then so do the accidents...

Nathan has been locked in his room ever since "it" started growing back. They’re going to come for him soon, so he’s got precious little time to tell us what is happening.

Struggling with the sudden, nagging notion that his mother once assassinated a prominent neo-Nazi leader, Ben - a performance artist, about to turn 40 - doesn’t know where to turn. His parents are both dead and his brother, having previously been institutionalized, is a lousy source of information. In a non-chronological montage of memories, this inventive tale blends suburban realism with out-of-body surrealism as Ben travels back and forth through life events, attempting to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Jake’s mobile is going wrong. It’s sending weird texts to his friends. Then they start appearing on his phone - from himself. Then the voice messages begin. A girl is trapped in a storm drain, begging him for help. But the messages delete as soon as he hears them. Finally he gets a live call from her, and he knows he has to track her down. Will it be too late for the girl - or for Jake?

In a riveting novel of love and adventure, young Julius Meyer comes to the New World to find himself acting as translator for the famed Indian chief, Standing Bear. Young Jewish immigrant Julius comes of age surrounded by the wild world of 1867 Nebraska. He befriends the mysterious Prophet John, who saves his life when the two are captured by the Ponca Indian tribe. Living as a slave, Julius meets the noble chief Standing Bear and his young daughter, Prairie Flower, with whom he falls in love.

The world financial market has become unbalanced. Nations in South America, Africa, and Eastern Europe are trillions of dollars in debt, and a default by any one of them could start a domino effect that would eventually topple the economies of America and Europe. Across the Western hemisphere, economists such as Tom Pike are devising a brilliant plan to head off the collapse. The situation is dire, but with transatlantic cooperation there should be time to stave off disaster. But something is not as it seems. Before long, Tom realizes that the economic turmoil was deliberately created.

With eviction looming, St. Ives searches for a big payday and a rare book. Philip St. Ives has no love for New York's drafty, broken-down Adelphi Hotel, but he is in no mood to be evicted from it. His cash dwindling, he is happy to learn about a job that calls for his specific talents as a mediator between thieves and their victims. It sounds like the set-up to a bad joke: A thief, an insurance salesman, and the Library of Congress call Philip's lawyer to ask about a stolen copy of Pliny's Historia Naturalis. To find it, Philip will risk becoming history himself.

Arthur Vance walks into P.I. Joe Scintilla's office and tells him an incredible story: his wife, Katharine, had commited suicide a year and a half before, and yet he is convinced that she is now passing under the name of Elena Cavalieri, having just been married to another man. Is Vance merely distraught over his wife's death, or is he correct in believing that "The Removal Company" - a shadowy organization that appears to help those who wish to slough off the burden of existence, and which assisted Katharine in her self-destruction-is something much more sinister than it appears?

Ian was the one who chased the majestic buck into the forest. (His motto: act first, think later.) Kendra didn't want to become separated from the other sixth graders, but she followed Ian anyway, despite what her analytical mind told her. PJ followed him too. Even though he was scared, he figured he might catch some amazing footage with his video camera. They all hoped to return to the hiking trail before anyone noticed they were gone. However, the mountain had other plans for them: dark, sinister plans that only nightmares are made of.

His wish led to the addition of a new system to Genesis Online: siege mechanics. Rival guilds can now declare war and attack each others' cities. If the attackers win, they take ownership of the defeated settlement. With few details on how the new system will work, Kevin must build up defenses to protect the town of Prosperity. He will need to train hard with his guild members and recruit allies to ensure they will have enough defenders when the attack finally comes. Will they be ready to withstand the forces of an enemy determined to get revenge?