Showing results by narrator "Jennifer Araya" in All Categories

When Pomona Afton, Upper East Side hotel heiress, stumbles out of a gala and upon the scene of her grandmother’s murder, her first thought is that the society queen won’t be missed for her kind, cookie-baking ways. In fact, she was mean, greedy, and paranoid—so paranoid that she secretly slipped a clause into her will mandating that, should she die an unnatural death, all the family assets get frozen. And if the “unnatural death” isn’t explained? Those accounts stay frozen.

Lauren is desperate to escape the massive shadow of her father’s and sister’s political careers. Matt is running from the biggest disappointment of his life. After a messy meeting in a snowbound airport, they launch a new friendship, founded on a mutual love for the Lord and an agreement of respect. They find themselves working together at the Lake Shore Resort, thankful to have each other as they each carve out a fresh start. But as the winter season wears on, and through a few interesting predicaments, one begins to feel more.

Elizabeth’s path has not been safe, nor has it been easy. When the dragons came, she was ensnared by a dragon prince. She fought his rule at every turn, but protecting her loved ones left her vulnerable. But now she’s discovered a secret their leader has been desperate to hide. And the dragon prince has uncovered the truth about her past. Can these two—a human and a dragon—work together to discover the heart the dragons need to survive, or will their digging destroy the world in the process?

Expert linguist Charlie and her team of NCIS agents are hot on the trail of the mysterious alien pods. But after a new arrival opens to reveal a young child, her investigation is thrown into chaos. Faced with terrifying questions about the true origins of their seemingly extra-terrestrial visitors, Charlie is plunged into a race against time to unscramble a mysterious text before more pods arrive.

Just a typical day at your summer job. When recent business school grad and meticulous ten-year planner, Kat McLauren, takes an unplanned au pair position in the French Riviera to schmooze a future employer, she haphazardly upholds her reputation while rejuvenating a local tourism magazine, grappling with three unruly kids, and avoiding a romance with the host family's eldest son. But if a summer full of well-aged wine, sizzling flirtation, and a bit of betrayal can promise one thing, it’s that sometimes the best things in life are the ones we don’t plan for.

When Felix Robbins gets a crush on Lily Goldstein, a classmate who is adopted from China, he decides to try to take her back in time so that she can see the country where she was born. Maisie discovers his plot, and foils it. But the twins end up in a small village on the Yangtze River, where they meet a girl named Pearl Buck in the days just before the Boxer Rebellion. With bandits chasing them, will they ever find safety . . . and return home?

While exploring The Treasure Chest, Felix and Maisie are transported to a Massachusetts farm in 1836. Disappointed that they have not landed in their beloved New York City, they wonder why they were brought to Massachusetts to meet a young girl named Clara Barton. Perhaps Clara has a message for the twins? Or maybe they have one for her?

Now that the twins have begun to settle into their new lives at Elm Medona, they delve deeper into The Treasure Chest and uncover more about the Pickworth family, including the disappearance of their great-uncle Thorne and the theft of priceless family artifacts. In this adventure, The Treasure Chest transports Felix and Maisie to tropical St. Croix in 1772. There they meet a young man named Alexander Hamilton who is about to embark on a journey to New York.

The last piece of the puzzle is about to fall into place—and the truth is more terrifying than anyone imagined. Time is running out for Charlie and the NCIS. After another pod survivor lands in the desert outside Las Vegas, a surprise encounter drives a wedge through the tight-knit group and sends the team spiraling into chaos.

Six-year-old Gracie Lynn is perpetually curious and bighearted. Convinced she knows how to save her beloved grandfather John from the 'worm' that is eating his brain—a metaphor her mother once used to explain John's dementia and sundown syndrome—Gracie helps him break out of his nursing home, and the two disappear together on a quest to chase the sun.

J.P. Green has always felt out of step. She doesn’t wear the right clothes, she doesn’t say the right things, and her body…well, she’d rather not talk about it. And seventh grade is shaping up to be the worst year yet. So when J.P. discovers a mysterious door in her neighbor’s treehouse, she doesn’t hesitate before walking through. The door sends her three days forward in time.

“Just do this one thing for me.” Drew's mother says it more often than good morning. Heidi Hill has been juggling shady side hustles for all of Drew’s seventeen years, and Drew knows that “one thing” really means all the tedious and necessary things her mother thinks are boring, including taking care of her fifteen-year-old sister and eight-year-old brother. In fact, Drew is the closest thing to a responsible adult they’ve ever known.

Ava Lafleur wants nothing more than a family and home of her own. When she is dumped by her boyfriend at Christmas, she arrives home to the small town of Kissing Bridge, Vermont, to find her inheritance is dependent on her winning a Christmas treasure hunt. Even worse news for Ava is there are also two other contenders trying to win her family home. She’s ready to give up when she realizes she has more fight in her than she thought.

Paranormal enthusiast Rebecca Graff isn’t happy about being dragged to Iowa to spend the summer with family she barely knows. But when she tracks a ghostly presence to an abandoned farmhouse, she starts to think the summer won’t be a total lost cause! The trouble is no one believes her. Then Rebecca finds a note stashed in a comic belonging to her late father—a note that proves the same spirit haunted him when he was twelve. Suddenly she feels a connection to the dad she pretends not to miss, and she is determined to uncover the story behind the haunting.

Eighteen-year-old Aria Hale loves her job at her father’s dream therapy company where she enters dementia patients’ dreams to save their memories. But when their lab is ransacked, two technicians are murdered, and her father is kidnapped, everything changes for her.

Pebble Cove will never be the same. The Rickster is notorious for telling tall tales around Pebble Cove. When he’s found on the dock holding a bloody knife, a crumpled body at his feet, of course he has a story to explain it away. But is his plea of innocence just another yarn?

While Phaedra Brighton might not have a Mr. Darcy (yet), she's quite content with her loving family and loyal cat. Phaedra's sister Hannah is the Jane to her Elizabeth, and Phaedra is ecstatic that Hannah has decided to move home for her next adventure—opening a business. All of Laurel Springs is out in full force to celebrate the grand unveiling of Hannah's new patisserie, Tout de Sweet, including local celebrity Rachel Brandon. Hannah is a master of her craft, with confections so divine, one bite will make you think you've died and gone to heaven.

Louisa Henry has had the worst year. She never imagined she would be a widow before the age of 40. To cope with the sudden loss of her husband, Lou moves across the country to live near her best friend in a town as cute as a button. Even though it means quitting her fancy New York editor job, she now owns the bookstore of her dreams.

When Tina Evans gets a call from her brother in the middle of the night, she doesn’t think much of it; she’s been fielding distress calls from Bill for the last twenty years, ever since the day their father killed their mother. At first, this call seems just like all the others: Bill’s holed up in a Brooklyn drug den and needs her to come rescue him. But when Tina gets there, her brother’s nowhere to be found. Instead, she discovers the body of a private detective hidden in the junk heap out back. He’s been shot to death, and his gun is missing from its holster.

The author offers listeners the information, guidance, and concrete strategies they need to support the well-being and well-becoming of all kids. In Whole Child, Whole Life Learning, the author draws from personal experiences as a mother, educator, social worker, and field leader. In each chapter she braids these personal experiences with stories from the field and the translation of cross-disciplinary research.