The first of Bruce Coville's acclaimed "Oddlies". this collection of stories iss performed by some of Full Cast's favorite narrators (including Bruce himself). Some are funny, some are scary, some are both. The topics range from unicorns to werewolves, vampires to angels to brownies.
Three Mormon high school friends, perky Nikki, studious Alicia, and football player Sam, make a pact of the Pygmalion style-they decide to help the "untapped" students at their school. Their plan is to transform three classmates and take them to the prom. But the experiment doesn't go exactly as planned. They slowly begin to realize that there is more to most people than meets the eye. A popular author and ALA Best Book for Young Adults winner, Kristen D. Randle explores many important concerns teens face every day. The mixed emotions of Nikki, Alicia, and Sam are brought to life through the hopeful narration.
Caitlin is spending the summer on the windswept island that is her home. She is caught between girlhood and maturity, and feels utterly isolated from the rest of the world. Then she meets Lucas, who is the embodiment of freedom and honesty. She is instantly drawn to him. But Caitlin must also grapple with the darker forces that seem to be confronting her family. Lucas himself further complicates matters when he is hunted for an awful crime that Caitlin herself becomes involved in. This gripping story, which takes place over one incredible month, will captivate young adult readers.
Avi's swashbuckling tale of murder and mutiny on the high seas has a fascinating twist: the heroine is a 13-year-old girl. In 1832, Charlotte Doyle boards a ship bound for America and is caught in a battle between a mad captain and his ruthless crew. If you're looking for an action-packed adventure story for girls, you'll find it in The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.
Coretta Scott King award-winner and National Teacher of the Year, Sharon M. Draper uses a brilliant variety of styles and voices to tell this compelling first story of her Hazelwood High trilogy. The night that changes everything in Andy's life begins as a great time. His basketball team wins a big game, and he and his best friend have some cold brews stashed in the car, just waiting for the rolling party to begin. Nothing anyone can say or do afterwards will convince Andy that what happens next isn't his fault.
In 1985 southern Sudan is ravaged by war. Rebels and government forces battle for control, with ordinary people . . . people like the boy, Salva Dut . . . caught in the middle. When Salva's village is attacked, he must embark on a harrowing journey that will propel him through horror and heartbreak, across a harsh desert, and into a strange new life.
Years later, in contemporary South Sudan, a girl named Nya must walk eight hours a day to fetch water. The walk is grueling, but there is unexpected hope.
How these two stories intersect is told in this fascinating dual narrative, performed by David Baker and Cynthia Bishop, with the assistance of dialect coach James Achueil . . . who actually made the same journey across Africa when he was one of the "Lost Boys of the Sudan." This true story is an amazing adventure with a wonderful conclusion. Great for classroom discussions, it is literature drawn from the real world!
Although a year has passed, not a day goes by without Meggie thinking of Inkheart, the book whose characters came to life–and changed her life forever.
But for Dustfinger, the fire-eater brought into being from words, the need to return to the original tale has become desperate. When he finds a crooked storyteller with the magical ability to read him back, Dustfinger leaves behind his young apprentice Farid and plunges into the medieval inkscape once more.
Distraught, Farid goes in search of Meggie, and before long both are caught inside the book, too. There they meet Inkheart's author, Fenoglio, now living within his own story. But the tale is much changed, and threatening to evolve in ways none of them would have ever imagined. Will Meggie, Farid, and Fenoglio manage to write the wrongs of a charmed world? Or is their story on the brink of a very bad ending?
The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women is a fairly typical all-girls school - that is, it would be if every school taught advanced martial arts in PE and the latest in chemical warfare in science, and students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class. The Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses, but it's really a school for spies. Cammie Morgan is a second-generation Gallagher Girl, and by her sophomore year she's already fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways (one of which involves a piece of uncooked spaghetti). But the one thing the Gallagher Academy hasn't prepared her for is what to do when she falls for a boy who thinks she's an ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, and track him through town without his ever being the wiser - but can she have a relationship with a regular boy who can never know the truth about her? Cammie may be an elite spy-in-training, but in her sophomore year, she's beginning her most dangerous mission - falling in love.
Peewee idolizes Jake, a big brother whose dream of auto mechanic glory are fueled by the hard road coming to link their Indiana town and futures with the twentieth century. And motoring down the road comes Irene Ridpath, a young librarian with plans to astonish them all and turn Peewee's life upside down.
This novel, with its quirky characters, folksy setting, classic cars, and hilariously larger-than-life moments, is vintage Richard Peck-an offbeat, deliciously wicked comedy that is also unexpectedly moving.
In serious need of a vacation after their last laser-beam-filled exploit, Lily, Jasper, and Katie have dashed off in their Gyroscopic Sky Suite for a restful sojourn at the Moose Tongue Lodge and Resort, a stunning spot filled with roaring fires, Cocoa Splurges, and many fine displays of taxidermy.
But in a bizarre turn of events, a number of other children's book heroes also happen to be unwinding at the vintage mountain retreat, including the dim but well-built Manley Boys, the boy-crazy Cutesy Dell Twins, and Eddie Wax from the little-known classic Stumpy Rides to Glory. And then there are the adorable mystery-solving Hooper Quints, who, along with a wealthy heiress's priceless diamond necklace and numerous mounted animal heads, have suddenly gone missing.
Meaningless coincidence? Or could it all be part of a nefarious plot involving duct tape, some Bavarian folk pants, and a slew of counterfeit dinner coupons? Tough to say, but one thing's for sure: Katie, Lily, and Jasper are the only swell youngsters around who can solve this spine-tingling mystery
Lily Gefelty is just an average twelve-year-old girl. But her dad–a normal-enough seeming guy–just so happens to work for an evil genius who plans to unleash an army of extremely cranky, stilt-walking, laser-beam-eyed whales upon the world. Lucky for Lily, her two best friends are anything but average. Both of them are famous for their adventures. Jasper Dash, Boy Technonaut, invents gadgets; Katie Mulligan spends her spare time fighting off zombies and were-goats. Surely they'll know what to do. And if they don't? then it will be up to Lily–average, everyday Lily–to come up with a plan.
With this crazy comic ride of a novel, M. T. Anderson launches a riotous and wonderfully weird new series for listeners who like their thrilling tales with tongue firmly in cheek.
Froggy can't wait to get to his friend Max's house for their sleepover. So he packs everything in his big sack and flop flop flops over. But there are scary noises at Max's. And when they go back to Froggy's house, Max gets a stomachache. With all this shlooping back and forth, will they ever get to sleep? Jonathan London's award-winning Froggy books are always a hit with kids, and John McDonough expertly narrates Froggy's fun sound effects.
