Showing results by narrator "Emily Woo Zeller" in All Categories

In the near future, climate change has hit hard; unemployment is high, and controversial longevity treatments are only available to the very rich. Enter DC Police Detective Jen B. Lu and her partner, Chandler, a SIM implant in her brain providing an instant link to the internet and police records. As a detective in the Elder Abuse Unit, Jen is supposed to be investigating kids pushing their aging parents to exit so that they’re eligible to get the longevity drug. But what really has her attention are the persistent rumors about Eden, a black-market version of the longevity drug.

In Those Who Wander, Vivian Ho delves deep into a rising subculture that’s changing the very fabric of her city and all of urban America. Moving beyond the disheartening statistics, she gives voices to these young people - victims of abuse, failed foster care, mental illness, and drug addiction. She also doesn’t ignore the threat they pose to themselves and to others as a dangerous dark side emerges. With alarming urgency, she asks what can be done to save the next generation of America’s vagabond youth.

When the Last Days came, the planet of Laterre promised hope, a new life for a wealthy French family and their descendants. But 500 years later, it’s now a place where an extravagant elite class reigns supreme; where the clouds hide the stars and the poor starve in the streets; where a rebel group, long thought dead, is resurfacing. Whispers of revolution have begun - a revolution that hinges on three unlikely heroes.

Acclaimed, award-winning author Linda Sue Park has placed a young half-Asian girl, Hanna, in a small town in America's heartland, in 1880. Hanna's adjustment to her new surroundings, which primarily means negotiating the townspeople's almost unanimous prejudice against Asians, is at the heart of the story. Told from the viewpoint of Hanna, the novel has poignant moments yet sparkles with humor, introducing a captivating heroine whose wry, observant voice will resonate with listeners.

In 2157, the Adryil, an advanced race of telepathic humanoids contacted Earth. A century later, 15-year-old violist Iris Lei considers herself lucky to attend Papilio, a prestigious performing arts school powered by their technology. A sudden encounter with an Adryil boy upends her world. Iris longs to learn about him and his faraway realm, but the only evidence she has of his existence is the mysterious alien device he slipped to her. When she starts hearing his voice in her head, she wonders if her world of backstabbing artists and pressure for perfection is driving her insane.

Only days have passed since a freak accident granted four college students superhuman powers. Now Jools and her friends (who haven’t even picked out a name for their superhero team yet) get caught up in the hunt for a Mad Genius’ misplaced super-weapon. But when Jools falls in with a modern-day Robin Hood and his band of superpowered Merry Men, she finds it hard to sort out the Good Guys from the Bad Guys - and to figure out which side she truly belongs on. Especially since nobody knows exactly what the Gun does....

Before Jennifer Egan, Louise Erdrich, Luis Alberto Urrea, and Jonathan Lethem became revered authors, they were readers. In this ebullient book, America’s favorite librarian Nancy Pearl and noted-playwright Jeff Schwager interview a diverse range of America's most notable and influential writers about the books that shaped them and inspired them to leave their own literary mark. The Writer’s Library is a revelatory exploration of the studies, libraries, and bookstores of today’s favorite authors.

Even though twelve-year-old Alexis was born in Hawaii, she won’t surf or swim with her friends - not since the ocean and its hidden creatures swept her out to sea. Instead, she grabs her best detective hat and decodes her mom’s latest challenge.

He plays the bass with expert fingers. He plays women with intoxicating charm. And he’ll play me with the ease of a virtuoso. Who better to teach me to play than the master himself? I’m his model student, front row, pencil sharp. Pick-up lines? I’ve got them. Free drinks? By the dozen. Kissing? Let me grab my chapstick. But the most valuable lesson I’ve learned is that there’s so much I don’t know - like why his touch sets off a chain reaction straight to my nethers…or how I’m certain each kiss is the best I’ll ever have…until the moment his lips take mine again.

Six years after a virus wiped out most of the planet’s population, former pop star Moira is living under a new identity to escape her past. Desperate for a fresh start herself, jaded event planner Krista navigates the world for those still too traumatized to go outside, but she never reaches out on her own behalf. Rob has tried to protect his daughter, Sunny, by keeping a heartbreaking secret, but when strict government rules threaten to separate parent and child, Rob needs to prove himself worthy in the city’s eyes by connecting with people again.

Memories of motherhood and marriage are fresh for Julia Presley...though tragedy took away both years ago. Finding comfort in the routine of running the Peach Orchard Inn, she lets the historic, mysterious place fill the voids of love and family. No more pleasure of a man's gentle kiss. No more joy in hearing a child call her Mommy. Life is calm, unchanging - until a stranger with a young boy and soul-deep secrets shows up in her Tennessee town and disrupts the loneliness of her world.

It’s a miracle. The fountain of youth discovered flowing through the veins of postmillennials. In idyllic planned communities, freed from adulting and student loans, the young can live in guilt-free organic luxury. All it costs them is a weekly blood donation to extend the lives of their privileged elders. But prices are going up. There’s much more to the utopian Sunset Consortium than anyone realizes in this chilling trilogy.

Clara Shin lives for pranks and disruption. When she takes one joke too far, her dad sentences her to a summer working on his food truck, the Honeycut, alongside her uptight classmate Rose Carver. Not the carefree summer Clara imagined. But maybe Rose isn't so bad. Maybe the boy named Hamlet (yes, Hamlet) on the truck next door is pretty cute. Maybe Clara's estranged mom deserves a second chance. What if taking these relationships seriously means leaving her old self behind?

Have you ever wondered about the origin of the terrifying Wendigo? How about the Philippine shape-shifting vampire? What about the Māori forest spirits? Join award winning podcaster and researcher Kamuela Kaneshiro as he takes you on a thrilling trip through Asia, the Americas, and other fascinating cultures touching the Pacific Ocean. And as you marvel at this captivating assortment of deities, monsters, and historical backdrops, you’re sure to have your imagination sparked by the wonders of the world.

Third Sister in the Tao family, Ailin has watched her two older sisters go through the painful process of having their feet bound. In China in 1911, all the women of good families follow this ancient tradition. Ailin rebels and refuses to follow this torturous tradition. But as she enters adolescence, Ailin finds that her family is no longer willing to support her. With a bold conviction and an indomitable spirit, Ailin is determined to forge her own destiny. Her story is a tribute to all those women whose courage created new options for the generations who came after them.

Don’t be intimidated by Shakespeare. These audiobook editions make the Bard’s plays accessible and enjoyable.

At 17, Mei should be in high school, but skipping fourth grade was part of her parents' master plan. Now a freshman at MIT, she is on track to fulfill the rest of this predetermined future: become a doctor, marry a preapproved Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer, produce a litter of babies. With everything her parents have sacrificed to make her cushy life a reality, Mei can't bring herself to tell them the truth - that she (one) hates germs, (two) falls asleep in biology lectures, and (three) has a crush on her classmate Darren Takahashi, who is decidedly not Taiwanese.

Is it possible to eat well, drink wine, and still lose weight? Melanie Avalon is living proof that, heck yeah, it's not only possible, it's unbelievably simple and straightforward. It's all about the what (mostly paleo, but she's not a monster about it), the when (believe it or not, brief fasting can mean freedom rather than restriction), and the wine (red wine can be a secret bullet for weight loss). It's a combination that Avalon discovered after years of self-experimentation and intense research on the mechanics of body fat regulation.

It's been three months since Lane made her first kill - the sadistic Decapitator - and now she feels both closer and more alienated than ever from her united, grieving family. Haunted by conflicting memories of her mother, Lane resumes her role as the vigilante Masked Savior out of a feeling of obligation - but her heart just isn't in it anymore. Now that Lane has felt the rush of deeper, darker thrills, a growing part of her wants to revisit its seductive power, and she's not sure how long she can resist.

The last time Carl, Volka, and 6T9 fought the Dark, 6T9 failed Volka. If he wants her and all the carbon-based life forms that he loves to survive, he needs to change. Change is as easy as flipping a switch for an android, but dealing with the consequences is not so simple. In order to save Volka, he’ll have to give up a part of himself that Volka adores. He’ll need to become something an innocent, peace-loving sex ‘bot was never designed to be...something he despises. To save Volka and the galaxy he’ll need to become Android General 1.