Showing results by narrator "Samara Naeymi" in All Categories

Spark is not your average teddy bear. She's soft and cuddly, sure, but she's also a fierce warrior. At night she fulfills her sacred duty: to protect the household from monsters. But Spark's owner Loretta is growing up and thinks she doesn't need her old teddy anymore. When a monster unlike any other descends on the quiet home, everything changes. Children are going missing, and the monster wants Loretta next. Only Spark can stop it. She must call upon the ancient League of Ursus - a secret alliance of teddy bears who are pledged to protect their human friends

Yske, daughter of the legendary warrior priestess Hessa, has dedicated her life to medicine and pacifism in service to Aita, the Great Healer. When her twin brother Berin, hungry for glory, gathers a party to investigate rumours of strange sightings in the Unmade—shadows in the darkness at the end of the world—Yske joins the mission, to keep him safe. Their journey east takes them through primal forests, walking paths last trod when gods were at war and ancient, powerful beasts were defeated and bound.

Desperate to accomplish her dream and finish her building, Jenna returns to New York City to hit the project by storm. Unfortunately, the threat that was neutralized in the woods of Colorado wasn't enough to see her safe. The crime bosses are out for blood, and they will achieve vengeance in any way possible, including a hit on Jenna's head.

After their first deployment, Shaya and her Lance made a splash at the Arcadian Academy of War and Magic by overcoming incredible odds that no first-year student should have had to face alone. At the same time, with some clever maneuvering, Shaya removed her rival at the Academy from the equation... at least for now. With that nuisance out of the picture, she can focus on what matters most: growing stronger. With the help of her friends and mentors, Shaya will learn how to best harness the demonic blood in her veins and embrace the full plethora of powers at her disposal.

Julie Weathers isn't sure if she's running away or starting over, but moving to a remote island off the coast of Maine feels right for someone with reasons to flee her old life. The sun-washed, sea-stormed speck of land seems welcoming, the lobster plentiful, and the community close and tightly knit. She finds friends in her nearest neighbor and Callum, a man who appears to be using the island for the same thing as she: escape. But soon she comes to suspect that she may have traded one place shrouded in trouble for another.

Meticulously researched through primary sources and in-depth interviews, Loch Ness Uncovered is the fascinating true story of the conspiracy that sparked intrigue worldwide. With an engaging narrative, here is a nonfiction book that will transport young listeners to a thrilling world of monster madness.

It's been three years since Emma Cochran endured the worst possible tragedy - the sudden, unexpected death of her two-year-old son. The emotional trauma tore her marriage apart, but now her divorce is final and she wants to begin again. She's found happiness at last with her fiancé, Luke, who is eager to start a family with her.

Claire Radcliffe has been blessed with a wonderful life - a loving husband, a fulfilling career, and a perfect house in a charming historic neighborhood. But with each Christmas that passes, the one thing she longs for most of all continues to elude her, and before long, her life doesn't seem so perfect anymore.

A young novelist trapped in a bad relationship takes the first step toward true pleasure and tenderness…but does she have the courage to be swept off her feet? It doesn’t matter how many people read and like her new book, there’s only one man’s opinion that matters to Clara…or at least that’s what she thinks. But when a chance encounter at a film premiere introduces her to someone new - someone who understands her in a way the first man can’t - Clara finally discovers the validation she really wants and needs.

Through her own stories and interviews with other immigrant families, Masha Rumer paints a realistic and compassionate picture of what it’s like for immigrant parents raising a child in America while honoring their cultural identities. Parenting with an Accent incorporates a diverse collection of voices and experiences, giving listeners an intimate look at the lives of many different immigrant families across the country. Using empirical data, humor, and on-the-ground reportage, Rumer offers interviews with experts on various aspects of parenting as an immigrant.

The Facebook Narcissist is the first book dedicated to exploring the relationship between narcissism and social media. Lena Derhally, a licensed psychotherapist certified in Imago therapy, delves into how social media enhances individual and cultural narcissism and how it may create or exacerbate toxic narcissistic tendencies in people who use it. Social media is here to stay, but with education and awareness on how it makes us and the world more narcissistic, we can change the narrative and focus on the ways in which social media can be positive, and even improve the world.

In a bid to repair the relationship with her son, Audrey Fields plans a getaway for the two of them at a remote, off-the-grid campsite. No electricity, no phones, no distractions. When things don’t go as planned, Audrey begins her journey home, only to make the horrifying discovery that 90 percent of the population has suddenly died. Whatever happened sent cars spiraling out of control and planes falling from the sky. Alone and separated from her family, Audrey is soon joined by two other survivors. Their trek across Virginia is a nothing less than walking through a minefield.

When the body of troubled teenager Elodie Duncan is pulled from the river in Abbeyford, the case is at first assumed to be a straightforward suicide. Detective Sergeant Kate Redman is shocked to discover that she'd met the victim the night before her death, introduced by Kate's younger brother Jay. As the case develops, it becomes clear that Elodie was murdered.

The emergence of genomic science in the last quarter century has revolutionized medicine, the justice system, and our understanding of who we are. We use genomics to determine guilt and exonerate the falsely convicted; devise new medicines; test embryos; and discover our ethnic and national roots. One might think that, given these advances, most would favor the availability of genomic tools. Yet as Jennifer Hochschild explains in Genomic Politics, the uses of genomic science are both politically charged and hotly contested.

War, persecution, natural disasters, and climate change continue to drive millions around the world from their homes. In this “tender, intimate, and important book—a carefully reported rebuttal to the xenophobic narratives that define so much of modern American politics” (Sarah Stillman, staff writer, The New Yorker), journalist Susan Hartman follows 3 refugees over 8 years and tells the story of how they built new lives in the old manufacturing town of Utica, New York.

Working to Restore examines revolutionary approaches in nine areas: agriculture, waste, supply chain, inclusivity for the collective good, women in the workforce, travel, health, energy, and finance. The companies profiled are solving global issues: promoting responsible production and consumption, creating equitable opportunities for all, encouraging climate action, and more. Chhabra highlights how their work moves beyond the greenwashed idea of “sustainability” into a new era of regeneration and restoration.

I didn’t even want to go to the party. Seriously, I’d rather have stayed home with my librarian-witch grandmother and her mystical book club than go. But my best friend, Skyler, begged me. So I went. And it was the worst party of my life. The last party of my life. Not only was the band downright horrible, but the lead singer bit me afterward. And then stole Skyler. Now I’m chasing down a band of angry vamps with my other best friend, Vaughn, in tow - and a buttload of feelings between us we can’t even begin to address. And worse, I’m changing into something else.

In this hilarious, yet fact-filled book, Elise Gravel uses her kid-friendly wit to break down what disinformation is, why people spread it, and how to tell what is real and what isn't. And that's the truth!

Lauren is angry enough that her mother couldn’t find time to show up to the opening of her new art gallery. But when she gets home and discovers the gift her mother has sent instead, Lauren comes undone in the face of a temptation that will push her to the edge, closer to her demons and the bitter taste of a mother’s love.

In the twelve unforgettable tales of Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century, the strange is made familiar and the familiar strange, such that a girl growing wings on her legs feels like an ordinary rite of passage, while a bug-infested house becomes an impossible, Kafkaesque nightmare. Each story builds a new world all its own: a group of children steal a haunted doll, a runaway bride encounters a sea monster, a vendor sells toy boxes that seemingly control the passage of time, an insomniac is seduced by the Sandman.