Showing results by narrator "Taylor Meskimen" in All Categories

Twelve-year-old Lark Heron-Finch is steeling herself to spend the summer on Swallowtail Island off the shores of Lake Erie. It’s the first time that she and her sister will have seen the old house since their mom passed away. And while her stepfather and his boys are okay, the island’s always been full of happy memories—and now everything is different. When Nadine, a close family friend, tells Lark about a tragic boat accident that happened off the coast many years before, Lark's enthralled with the story.

Loretta and her twin brother, Waylon, are headed to middle school. Loretta has always been quick with her fists and her wits. Since Waylon is on the small side, Loretta doesn’t let anyone mess with him. But now she worries he won’t survive without her by his side. Her secret plan: Bulk him up with muscle over the summer. Little does she know that Waylon has a plan of his own. He’ll show his sister he can take care of himself.

Super spies reporting for duty! When Maddie Robinson and her team are assigned a new super secret mission to protect the world’s most famous pop star from a mysterious foe, she knows she’ll need every tool available. That’s when she discovers a secret buried deep within the Illuminati’s archives: a device that can predict the future, invented by renowned Renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci himself!

A short-story magazine that assembles a thrilling new mix of stories from genres including horror, science fiction, comedy, and suspense. Buried at the heart of every story in the magazine is a unique artifact, an object that has inspired our storytellers to create a big idea, an irresistible question, a new immersive world, or a sense of wonder. Unearth your next great story with Assemble Artifacts.

If high school seniors Siena and Patrick were a superlative, they'd be Couple Most Likely to Marry. Three solid years of dating, and everyone agrees they're perfect for each other. But with college on the horizon, Siena begins to wonder whether staying together is the best idea. Does she really want to be tied down during the most transformative years of her life? So she makes a decision to break up with Patrick, convincing herself it's for the best. Though, before she can get the words out, he beats her to the punch: His family is moving.

Adam, a Southern gentleman, knew the call to arms was near when President Lincoln asked for 100,000 men to stop secession and rebellion in the South. He joined the Union Cavalry - but not before he married his best, and only, friend. Abby, an Irish immigrant that settled with her family in Virginia, was as Southern as you could get.

In many ways, the Hamilton children are like any other kids. Eleven-year-old Mia and ten-year-old Will love playing Minecraft, eating pizza, and playing in the yard. But Mia knows that because Will is on the autism spectrum, some things are different for him. For starters, he doesn’t like things to change. Pizza has to be just so crispy, or he won’t eat it. He uses lines from movies to answer most questions. If his toast is too dark, Will could have a total meltdown. When Mom and Dad announce they’re getting a babysitter for the first time, Mia is alarmed.

Welcome to Pity Party, where the social anxieties that plague us all are twisted into funny, deeply resonant, and ultimately reassuring psychological thrills. There's a story about a mood ring that tells the absolute truth. One about social media followers who literally follow you around. And one about a kid whose wish for a new, improved self is answered when a mysterious box arrives in the mail. There's also a personality test, a fortune teller, a letter from the Department of Insecurity, and an interactive Choose Your Own Catastrophe.

The dark truth behind the Johnstown Flood of 1889 - one of the greatest calamities our country has ever experienced - is revealed in a beautiful, harrowing story, told in luminous verse.

Spring break...heartache? For coder extraordinaire Ashley, high school is all about prepping for college. Her love life? Virtually nonexistent. She's never been on a date. Never been kissed. Never been in love. When her plans veer off course, Ashley realizes she might be missing out on her high school experience. Now that spring break is finally here, Ashley vows to have fun...and, for the first time, follow her heart.

Maddie Robinson has always been overlooked: by her parents (who disappeared), by her friends (who are nonexistent), and even science fair judges (who think she has “so much...potential”). So when a mysterious man called The Recruiter invites her to join a secret society of spies, Maddie is floored. Then she discovers that these super secret super spies are the Illuminati - the world’s most covert organization rumored to control, well, everything. And one more thing: The Illuminati are kids, like Maddie!

Being recruited by the CIA to join a top-secret intelligence program should be the opportunity of a lifetime. For Issa, it's a shot at creating a new and better life for herself and her siblings. For clever con artist Harper, it's a chance to bury the secrets of her troubled past and make sure those secrets stay buried. But for Owen - honor student, star quarterback, and computer-hacking genius - it sounds like a trap. He's right. They've all been tricked by a multibillion-dollar tech company into creating the ultimate computer virus.

Fifteen-year-old Alyx Atlas was raised as a boy, yet she knows something others don't. She's a girl. And after her dad dies, it becomes painfully obvious that she must prove it now - to herself and to the world. Born with ambiguous genitalia, Alyx has always felt a little different. But it's after she sustains a terrible beating behind a 7-Eleven that she and her mother pack up their belongings and move from California to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to start a new life - and Alyx begins over again, this time as a girl.

Twelve-year-old Olivia Hales has a foolproof plan for winning a million dollars so that she and her little sister, Berkeley, can leave behind Sunny Pines Trailer Park. But first she has to: Fix the swamp cooler and make dinner and put Berkeley to bed because her mom is too busy to do all that. Write another letter to her dad even though he hasn't written back yet. Teach Berk the important stuff, like how to make chalk drawings, because they can't afford day care and Olivia has to stay home from school to watch her.

It's October 1942, in Oslo, Norway. Fifteen-year-old Ilse Stern is waiting to meet boy-next-door Hermann Rod for their first date. She was beginning to think he'd never ask her; she's had a crush on him for as long as she can remember. But Hermann won't be able to make it tonight. What Ilse doesn't know is that Hermann is secretly working in the Resistance, helping Norwegian Jews flee the country to escape the Nazis.

Port Winston, Texas - home to sun, sand, and shopping. What's not to like? Everything to 14-year-old Elizabeth Barker. Port Winston is a far cry from small-town Missouri where Elizabeth used to be somebody and family meant something a whole lot different. Taunted at school as the newbie camera geek, Elizabeth's given up trying to fit in. Between Mom's journalism assignment in Mexico, Dad's 14-hour workdays on top of weekends minding Grandpa and his shrimp boat, Elizabeth's once close-knit family life is in shreds....

A husband’s search for his wife’s lover, lost amid the turbulence of the Yom Kippur War, is the heart of this dreamlike novel. Through five different perspectives, Yehoshua explores the realities and consequences of the affair and the search, laying bare deep-rooted tensions within family, between generations, between Jews and Arabs.

Jenny Kennedy appears to have it all. She’s the perfect daughter, the popular girl at school and a successful beauty queen. But then Jenny is found dead in a murder that rocks the small town she grew up in to the core. Her estranged half-sister Virginia finds herself thrust into the spotlight as the case dominates the news and is desperate to uncover who killed Jenny. But she soon realises that maybe Jenny’s life wasn’t so perfect after all. The truth is that Jenny has more than a few secrets of her own, and so do her neighbours. What really happened that night?

Across a treacherous strait where deep ocean waters rip back and forth with the tides, and during the depths of the Great Depression, daring teams of engineers and builders set out to make something many thought impossible. Begun in 1933 and officially opened on May 27, 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge and its awe-inspiring and groundbreaking construction are truly a testament to the power of hope and perseverance.

How does a kid grow up to become a scientist? This enthralling nonfiction book from New York Times bestselling author Kate Messner explores the unexpected beginnings behind some of the most fascinating discoveries in scientific history. This book of unexpected beginnings powerfully shows that the great scientists of the future could be practically anyone . . . including you.