Showing results by narrator "Sandy Rustin" in All Categories

World War II is over, but the Honeycutt family is still feeling its devastating effects. Especially Daddy, who can’t forget what he saw on the battlefield and sometimes can’t cope with everyday life. Fourteen-year-old Ellie Honeycutt finds escape at the NASCAR speedway and in her dreams of travel and college. Her twin sister, Ida, clings to family and finds solace in her sketchbook. Once inseparable, the two sisters find themselves growing apart with the start of high school. 

The insect world is a fascinating place. You may not think so. You may think insects are gross. Or scary. Or dangerous. But there’s so much more to insects than what meets the eye. Told through hilarious prose and packed full of jaw-dropping facts, Brenna Maloney’s first-person narrative presents the big picture on bugs. Insects play a critical role on our planet—as pollinators, garbage collectors, artistic muses, research partners, and even as “dinner.”

Twenty-five years ago, a body was discovered in the Turney family barn—and the locals were all too ready to believe that killing blood ran through Turney veins. Every member of the family came under suspicion, their reputations crumbled to pieces, and with no convictions, no one has ever been cleared. Daughter Jill, now a Chicago lawyer, is ready for this case to be solved and for her broken family to be repaired at last.

Ginny Shepard is glad to be in Montana for a month of backcountry camping before she starts high school. The world is on fire. That's the awful truth. And Ginny would much rather be hiking in the mountains than doing the summer college prep classes her parents think will help her future. Because, the future? Who even knows what that is anymore. But once Ginny gets to camp, things get complicated fast. She meets her tripmates: five challenging, rebellious, tech-addicted boys. And she finds out TrackFinders is designed for kids who need extra "support." 

Meg Lowman was always fascinated by the natural world above her head—the colors, the branches, and, most of all, the leaves and mysterious organisms living there. Meg set out to climb up and investigate the rain forest tree canopies—and to be the first scientist to do so. But she encountered challenge after challenge. Male teachers would not let her into their classrooms, the high canopy was difficult to get to, and worst of all, people were logging and clearing the forests. Meg never gave up or gave in. 

Flight 133 disappeared over the ocean. No wreckage. No distress signal. Just gone. Suddenly, everyone on the news and social media is talking about whether the pilot intentionally crashed it?everyone but me. Because I know her. The pilot was my mom, and there's no way she would hurt anyone. No one else knows that before she left, she wrote me a note. Trust me, it said.

Mara Holdfast is a young woman gifted with the ability to see and use all the colors of magic. Two other people share this talent: the Autarch, who draws upon the very life-force of his subjects to retain his control over the kingdom, and the legendary Lady of Pain and Fire, the only person who has ever truly challenged his despotic reign. After a devastating battle that takes a dreadful toll on both the rebel unMasked Army and the forces of Prince Chell, their ally from across the sea, Mara and her fellow survivors have no one to turn to for help but the Lady of Pain and Fire.

Eleven-year-old Ash McNulty is one of the “gifted and talented” kids at her school, spending most of her day in a special class with a few other advanced students. As the end of fifth grade rolls around, she should be on top of the world. According to everyone, she’s going to rock junior high! But Ash has a secret: She can’t keep up with her advanced classmates anymore.

Twelve-year-old Emmie is working to raise money for a tricked-out wheelchair to get serious about WCMX, when a mishap on a poorly designed ramp at school throws her plans into a tailspin. Instead of replacing the ramp, her school provides her with a kind but unwelcome aide and, seeing a golden media opportunity, launches a public fundraiser for her new wheels. Emmie loves her close-knit rural town, but she can’t shake the feeling that her goals—and her choices—suddenly aren’t hers anymore.

In Jen Doll's young adult debut novel, Unclaimed Baggage, Doris - a lone liberal in a conservative small town - has mostly kept to herself since the terrible waterslide incident a few years ago. Nell had to leave behind her best friends, perfect life, and too-good-to-be-true boyfriend in Chicago to move to Alabama. Grant was the star quarterback and epitome of "Mr. Popular" whose drinking problem has all but destroyed his life.  

A 13-year-old girl seeks answers about her past in the fourth dimension - and beyond - in this think-outside-the-box adventure. What do you do when it turns out your whole life has been a lie? Jadie Martin was always told she was abandoned by her parents. Creatures from the fourth dimension rescued her and placed her with a loving adoptive family. Now, Jadie acts as an agent for the beings, also known as Seers. She uses the fourth dimension as a shortcut to travel anywhere on Earth, performing missions calculated to guide the world toward a brighter future.  

Some secrets have deadly consequences. Brynlee Parker thought her biggest challenge would be hiking to Dead Man’s Bluff and fulfilling her dad’s last wishes. She never thought she’d witness two men being viciously murdered while on a mountainous trail. Even worse, the deadly predator is now hunting her. Boone Wilder wants nothing to do with Dead Man’s Bluff, not after his wife died there. But he can’t seem to mind his own business when a mysterious out-of-towner burst into his camp store in a frenzied panic. Something - or someone - deadly is out there.

Bina has never forgotten the time she and her mother ran away from home. Her mother promised they would hitchhike to the city to escape Bina's cruel father and start over. But before they could even leave town, Bina had a new stepfather, two new stepsisters, and a humming sense of betrayal pulling apart the bond with her mother - a bond Bina thought was unbreakable. Eight years later, after too many lies and with trouble on her heels, Bina finds herself on the side of the road again, the city of her dreams calling for her.

Reliance, Illinois tells the story of a young woman faced with choices that will alter the course of her own future, and offers a brilliant window into American life during a period of tumultuous change. Illinois, 1874: With a birthmark covering half her face, 13-year-old Madelyn Branch is accustomed to cold and awkward greetings, and expects no less in the struggling town of Reliance. After all, her mother, Rebecca, was careful not to mention a daughter in the Matrimonial Times ad that brought them there.

When the world started to fall apart, the government gave everyone two choices: move into the Bubble Cities… or take their chances outside. Maggie's family chose to live in the world left behind. Maggie rechristens herself ‘Ford Falcon’ — a name inspired by the beat-up car at a nearby...

Sixth-grader Ruth Mudd-Flaherty hasn't yet found her place at Humberboldt Middle School, at least that's how her moms see it. She prefers to be a lone wolf now that her very best friend, Charlotte Diamond, has moved on to a new, more socially acceptable group of friends. Ruth has been spending most of her time at the public library studying words for their school's upcoming spelling bee. She just knows that winning the bee will make people see her differently.

When the world started to fall apart, the government gave everyone two choices: move into the Bubble Cities... or take their chances outside. Twelve-year-old Maggie and her family chose the latter. They live in the world that was left behind. Deciding it's time to grow up and grow tough, Maggie rechristens herself "Ford Falcon" - a name taken from the beat-up car she finds at a nearby junkyard. This is where Ford's family goes to scavenge for things they can use and barter with.

In 2009, amid the global financial crisis, 21-year-old Shannon Young graduated from college with a degree in English and more than $80,000 in student debt. Less than five years later, she was completely debt-free. This is her story - a cautionary tale with a surprisingly hopeful outcome.

Two young women who've dated the same man navigate love, destiny, loss, and choice in this powerful debut. Peter Herring was the center of Anne's universe in college, and now, a few years later, he's become the center of Anna's, and merely a minor player in his ex-girlfriend's world. That is...

It's the summer before senior year of high school. It's supposed to be one of the biggest summers of her life, but Pippa is headed to an art program she has no interest in. The one saving grace is that it's in Italy. And when the opportunity strikes, she decides to ditch the program and travel around Italy accomplishing her own list of goals - things like swimming in the Mediterranean Sea, eating a whole pizza in one sitting… and falling in love with an Italian boy!