Showing results by author "Dusti Bowling" in All Categories

The audio edition of the best-selling middle grade novel about a spunky girl born without arms and a boy with Tourette syndrome navigating the challenges of middle school, disability, and friendship - all while solving a mystery in a western theme park. Aven Green loves to tell people that she lost her arms in an alligator wrestling match, or a wildfire in Tanzania, but the truth is that she was born without them.

Connor Bradley is dreading the first day of high school. Not just because he is new, or because he misses his best friends, but because he knows the other kids won't understand his barking and tics. Connor has Tourette Syndrome, and every day has been a challenge—from the mimicking to the laughing, the questions, and the stares. It turns out school isn't quite as bad as he expected. Connor forms a fast friendship with a girl who also has Tourette's and is welcomed into her accepting circle of friends. 

"High School. Two words that struck fear into the heart of every armless middle schooler I knew. Which was me. And like two people online." Just as Aven starts to feel comfortable in Stagecoach Pass, with her friends and schoolmates accustomed to her lack of "armage", everything changes once again. She's about to begin high school...with 2,300 new kids to stare at her. And no matter how much Aven tries to play it cool, nothing prepares her for the reality. In a year filled with confusion, humiliation, fears, loss, and just maybe love, can Aven manage to stay true to herself?

Third-grader Aven Green has been solving mysteries for a really long time—a whole month! She has solved many important cases like The Mystery of the Cranky Mom, The Mystery of the Missing Ice Cream, and The Mystery of the Smelly Feet. Her record is nearly 100 percent, with only The Mystery of the Cereal in My Underpants remaining unsolved to this day. Aven asks all the right questions, wields her detective kit carefully, and follows up on every clue. Then her teacher’s lunch bag, with her lunch still in it, is taken, and Aven’s great-grandma’s beloved dog goes missing.

Award-winning author Dusti Bowling masterfully crafts a wild ride on Arizona’s Salt River in this Hitchcockian thriller that’s perfect for fans of Holly Jackson and Karen M. McManus. It’s the late 1990s, and seventeen-year-old Christian is content with his summer plans to work and hang out...

Twelve-year-old Jolene spends every day she can at the library watching her favorite livestream: The Desert Aviator, where twelve-year-old "Addie Earhart" shares her adventures flying an ultralight plane over the desert. While watching this daring girl fly through the sky, Jolene can dream of what it would be like to fly with her, far away from her own troubled home life where her mother struggles with a narcotic addiction. And Addie, who is grieving the loss of her father, finds solace in her online conversations with Jolene, her biggest - and only - fan.

Bloomsbury presents Holding on for Dear Life by Dusti Bowling read by Jay Reum Acclaimed author Dusti Bowling takes the bull by the horns in this moving novel about a boy struggling to keep his family together while facing the side effects of bull riding. Thirteen-year-old Canyon loves bull...

Hatchet meets Long Way Down in this heartfelt and gripping novel in verse about a young girl's struggle for survival after a climbing trip with her father goes terribly wrong. One year after a random shooting changed their family forever, Nora and her father are exploring a slot canyon deep in...

Third-grader Aven Green is an expert soccer player. She even has her own top secret moves! But when her friend Sujata joins the team, Aven has a hard time learning to help the new player shine. When the time comes to choose a new team captain, will Aven learn to share the spotlight and understand what it means to be a team player?

Third-grader Aven Green is a real professional musician! She just needs to choose what instrument to play. When she decides to try the piano, Aven is disappointed when she can’t master Mozart in one whole day. To pick up Aven’s beat, her parents take her for a four-hour drive to see someone just like her play the guitar. With new inspiration and a special gift from her great-grandma, Aven is ready to take on the school talent show. Will she be ready in time? Or will she blow her big chance?

A girl who struggles to breathe befriends a boy who seems shrouded in dust, in this unmissable tour de force from bestselling and award-winning author Dusti Bowling. After Avalyn nearly died from an asthma attack, her parents moved her to the clear, dry air of Clear Canyon City, Arizona. And for...

Aven knows she is an expert baker of cakes and cookies since she has been baking with her mom for a really long time. Plus no one bakes quite like she does. She cracks eggs with her feet and measures sugar and flour with her feet—plus measuring cups—since she was born without arms. And now Aven has her eye on the prize: a beautiful blue ribbon for baking at the county fair. So she teams up with her friends Kayla, Emily, and Sujata. But it turns out they all have very different tastes and a lot of opinions about baking.

Welcome to Nowhere, Arizona, the least livable town in the United States. For Gus, a bright 13-year-old with dreams of getting out and going to college, life there is made even worse by Bo Taylor, Nowhere's biggest, baddest bully. When Bo tries to force Gus to eat a dangerously spiny cactus, Rossi Scott, one of the best racers in Nowhere, comes to his rescue - but in return she has to give Bo her prized dirt bike.