Showing results by narrator "Victoria Villarreal" in All Categories

As a little girl and her dog embark on their daily walk through the city, they skip and spin to the familiar sounds of revving cars, clanking bikes, friendly barks, and whistling camote carts. But what they aren't expecting to hear is the terrifying sound of a rumbling earthquake...and then...silence. With captivating prose, this heartwarming story leaves listeners with the message that they can choose to be strong and brave even when they are scared, and can still find joy and hope in the midst of sadness.

Callie Taylor would never be seduced by a charming, wealthy man again! An island girl, she grew up hearing stories about her mother’s idyllic childhood in her native Turks and Caicos. She wondered if she’d ever find a love like her parents. Her Australian father moved halfway around the world to be with her mother after a chance meeting. He left his old life for their love.

Ever since she was a young girl, she's preferred walking barefoot on the wet sand. You know - the type that's been drenched by the ocean, the type that lies at the intersection of two forces colliding. She'd always been drawn to the forces of nature. So, at 18, she ran away from the rigid expectations of Connecticut living, leaving behind expectations to become a lawyer like the rest of her family and living a humdrum life where she went to the same restaurants with the same group of people on the same night every week.

Everyone's in love. Whatever. Victoria wasn’t one for love. It wasn’t in her destiny. Her parents hadn’t loved her enough to provide for her. None of the foster families loved her enough to adopt her. Her coworkers didn’t even like her, and she didn’t have any friends. But, she had herself. And, she would take care of herself just like she’d always had to. So, she was going to take full advantage of her vacation at the ultra-luxurious Sand Escape Resort and snag a billionaire! 

Cara Didion might be down on her luck, but her spirit is still as feisty as ever. Who needs luck, anyway, when you’ve got determination. And she’s determined not to be stuck forever. She’ll write her masterpiece. But, in the meantime, she is fine writing quick articles for her best friend’s popular online celebrity gossip site. Even if that means she has to go undercover in Charlotte’s high society scene.

When she was younger, “thirties” had felt so settled. She would be a high-powered interior designer with a handsome husband who was kind and a wonderful father to their son. No, daughter. No, she had wanted twins! Right? She couldn’t remember. That was so long ago, when he had been so lively and full of passion. Before she’d been betrayed.

A weight loss method which will not only help you get leaner in 12 weeks but also ensures that you don’t even have to sacrifice your favorite meals in the process. You see, losing weight, increasing athletic performance, and maintaining overall health is possible without going through all the strain and stress of a typical diet doesn't have to be hard. By following a revolutionary strategy developed by top athletes and bodybuilders, you can now burn fat and build muscles with the same success as them.

Coronary Artery Disease is the number one health threat among both American men and women. However, today’s research focuses almost entirely on men. When it comes to women, heart disease is under-researched, under-treated, and under-diagnosed. Dr. Nitza Alvarez, an accomplished cardiologist who has a particular passion for her female patients, has written this comprehensive guide, specifically for women, to help them in understanding and living with their “#1 threat,” heart disease.

Jasbir, aka Jazz, has always been a stellar student and an obedient, albeit wise-cracking, daughter. Everything has gone along just fine - she has good friends in the "genius" program she's been in since kindergarten, her teachers and principal adore her, and her parents dote on her. But now, in her junior year of high school, her mother hears that Jazz was seen hugging a boy on the street and goes ballistic.

Ava Granados will never forgive herself for being late to her beloved nana’s deathbed. But due to a flash flood that left Ava in a fender bender with a mysterious boy, she missed her grandmother’s mystical blessing - one that has been passed between the women of her family upon death for generations. 

Lola Reyes doesn’t want to leave Guatemala, a place full of warmth and sun, laughter and music—where her abuela and prima and tíos and tías surround her with love. Back in Sunnyside, it’s cold. There’s schoolwork and chores. And her mama transforms into Lola’s super-serious school principal, Dr. Reyes. Back at home...Lola can see, crystal clear, the empty place where Pop used to be. So Lola decides to bring a little bit of Guatemala—and Pop—back with her. She discovers his box of childhood worry dolls and sneaks them into her luggage, ignoring the warnings on the box not to use them.

Luz Veliz is a soccer star—or rather, she was a soccer star. With her serious knee injury, it's unlikely she'll be back on the field anytime soon. But without soccer, who is she? Even her dad treats her differently now—like he doesn't know her or, worse, like he doesn't even like her. When Luz discovers she has a knack for coding, it feels like a lifeline to a better self. If she can just ace the May Showcase, she'll not only skip a level in her coding courses and impress Ms. Freeman and intriguing, brilliant Trevor—she'll have her parents cheering her on from the sidelines.

Some days, ten-year-old Margarita Sandoval feels as if the wind might blow her away. The country has been gripped by the Great Depression, so times are hard everywhere. Then she has to leave her familia in New Mexico—especially her beloved Abuelita—to move to Fort Steele, Wyoming, where her father has taken a job on the railroad. When Margarita meets Caroline, she's excited to have a friend her own age in Wyoming. But it often seems like Caroline, like many other people in town, doesn't understand or appreciate the Sandovals' Hispanic heritage.

When she was younger, “thirties” had felt so…settled. Before she’d been betrayed. But, that was then. She wouldn’t let herself be star-struck into foolishness. She wouldn’t let her dreams be shattered. Izzy would put her head down and do what she had to do until life became more than a struggle and allowed her to dream again. Gabriel Stone was not good at many things. Mainly relationships. Passionless. The word seemed harsh. But it was an accurate description of his life. Nobody cared for him and he had no one to care for. And he was fine with that.

Ana loves stories. She often makes them up to help her little brother fall asleep. But in her small village there are only a few books and she has read them all. One morning, Ana wakes up to the clip-clop of hooves, and there before her, is the most wonderful sight: a traveling library resting on the backs of two burros—all the books a little girl could dream of, with enough stories to encourage her to create one of her own.

What Elisa, Lucia, and Alice see–and judge–of each other from the outside is drastically different from how each girl feels inside. They attend the same classes in the same New York City middle school, but no one knows that Elisa is trying to navigate the bewildering asylum process having just arrived from El Salvador; or that Lucia, who also speaks Spanish and brims with self-confidence, is caught in the middle of her parents’ heartbreaking divorce; or that Alice, who appears to be a rebel in combat boots, carries the burden of her mother’s progressing cancer.

Lucía loves to watch the monarchs' migration from her home in Mexico with Papá. But this year, the monarchs' journey north holds extra weight; Papá is heading north, too, to look for work. He promises her that when "the weather turns cold and the monarcas return, our winged ancestors will guide me home." So while he spends the summer months harvesting produce on faraway farms, Lucía watches the skies for signs of the monarchs'—and her papá's—return.

Ever since Precious Perez was a child, she has loved music. Her family always praised her singing, saying she could even attend Berklee College of Music one day—planting a seed that would become her dream. Precious was born two and a half months prematurely and weighed just one pound. Her eyes did not fully develop, and she is blind. With an engaging, accessible voice, Precious delivers an empowering first-person account of her determination to achieve her dreams, even with the world stacking the odds against her.

When Lexi receives an invitation to participate in a brand-new escape room, along with her best friend Tess, she’s thrilled. They could both use the distraction after a recent tragedy. But once inside, they learn that they must compete against one another. What do you do when your best friend suddenly becomes your biggest adversary, and every choice you make puts her in danger? How far will you go to win?

In the heart of the Great Depression, Rancho Las Moras, like everywhere else in Texas, is gripped by the drought of the Dust Bowl, and resentment is building among white farmers against Mexican Americans. All around town, signs go up proclaiming “No Dogs or Mexicans” and “No Mexicans Allowed.” When Estrella organizes a protest against the treatment of tejanos in their town of Monteseco, Texas, her whole family becomes a target of “repatriation” efforts to send Mexicans “back to Mexico”—whether they were ever Mexican citizens or not.