Showing results by narrator "Todd Haberkorn" in All Categories

Let’s face it: Talking about race can be difficult. It’s a slippery subject, rife with as many perspectives as there are people in the world. But laughter gets us talking. It has the power to break down barriers and draw us closer together. In Open Mic, acclaimed author and speaker Mitali Perkins invites us to listen in as 10 authors for young adults - some familiar, some new - step up to the mic and share their stories about what it’s like growing up between cultures.

Sixth grader Spencer Lemon is rapidly losing his eyesight. So he has no idea why he was chosen to guard Pandora’s Book. When Ed, the old guy at a nursing home, hands over the book, there’s no time to explain the rules to Spencer. Spencer only knows that the book contains famous dead people - who can be brought back to life. Then Ed disappears, and a strange man shows up on Spencer’s doorstep - and he seems to know a lot about Pandora’s Book. Is he a bad guy? Or can he help Spencer unravel the secrets of the book?

Seven square miles of paradise, surrounded by an eight-foot chain-link fence: this is Nodd, the land of the Grace. It is all seventeen-year-old Jacob knows. Beyond the fence lies the World, a wicked, terrible place, doomed to destruction. When the Archangel Zerachiel descends from Heaven, only the Grace will be spared the horrors of the apocalypse.

SideQuests are stand-alone stories that chronicle The Foreworld Saga across numerous eras and ages. As Mt. Vesuvius rumbles ominously, Pompeiian Councilor Valerius needs assistance in performing rituals to protect the city from the wrath of the fire-god, Vulcan. But his agenda is far from benevolent, as he cares less about quieting the volcano than taming it and taking the power for himself. Now it’s up to Horatius, a former legionnaire and gladiator, to prevent Valerius’s sinister rites from coming to fruition.

Sometimes happy endings are just the beginning of an even harder road. Although her aunt and sister believe she should get help to deal with her past demons, Patience believes the only thing she needs is Zeke. When he comes back into her world, her life couldn't be more perfect. Except old demons pick the worst time to surface, and once again their happiness is threatened. Help was never a necessity, but Patience finds out that love isn't always all you need. Zeke's dealt with a lot in his life, but nothing could prepare him for watching the person he loves fall apart.

August DuPont has spent his whole life inside a dilapidated house with his aunt Hydrangea. His lonely existence ends abruptly with the arrival of an invitation to meet an aunt - and cousins - he didn't even know existed. When Aunt Orchid suggests that August attend school with his cousins, it's a dream come true. But August has scarcely begun to celebrate his reversal of fortune when he is confronted by a small problem on his way home. So begins an adventure filled with a wild child, a zombie, a fabled white alligator, and an unimaginable family secret.

Anti-shifter sentiment is at an all-time high when Kayla's transormation to werecat is captured on video and uploaded for the world to see. Suddenly, she becomes a symbol of the werebeast threat and - along with fellow cat Yoshi, lion-possum Clyde, and human Aimee - a hunted fugitive.

Johnny Tom, a Chinese immigrant, is promised Johnny Tom, a Chinese immigrant, is promised American citizenship if he serves with the Union Army. But first he must survive the carnage of battles and rampant racism among the ranks. Desperate to find him, his daughter, Era, becomes a Union spy while nursing soldiers in Confederate camps. She falls in love with Warren, a one-armed cavalryman, and her loyalties become divided between her beloved father in the North and the man who sustains her in the South.

Tony’s mom, Al, is a terrific single mother who works as a dancer at the Kitty Kat Club. Twelve-year-old Tony is a budding artist, inspired by backstage life at the club. When some of his drawings end up in an art show and catch the attention of the social services agency, Al and Tony find themselves in the middle of a legal wrangle and a media circus. Is Al a responsible mother? It’s the case of the stripper vs. the state, and Al isn’t giving Tony up without a fight.

Azalea is not happy about being dropped off to care for Grandmother Clark. Paris Junction is nothing like her Texas hometown. And now she's been thrown together with troubled Willis DeLoach, gossipy Melinda Bowman, and Billy Wong, a Chinese American boy who has his own troubles. Billy's parents own the Lucky Foods grocery store, where days are long and folks aren't always friendly.

Fynn has always been lazy: his favorite activities are skipping class, smoking, and lounging around. When his girlfriend breaks up with him, telling him to try doing something else for a change, he has no idea where to even start. One night, on a walk around the neighborhood, he comes across Niko stargazing on a hill. Niko wants nothing to do with this chain-smoking, loud-mouthed guy getting in the way of his astronomy - but Fynn is intrigued. What's up with this nerdy boy who loves to watch the stars, and why is Fynn so captivated by him?

When a zombie followed August DuPont home one day, he didn't expect her to stick around. But Claudette is in no hurry to leave August's side. And when he decides to go to Croissant City in search of the elusive Zombie Stone, Claudette joins him. It's a good thing she does, because no sooner had August set out than a mysterious white alligator began to follow him. Reptiles aren't the only creatures to look out for, though. When August is reunited with his dour cousins the Malveaus, and their menacing mother, Orchid, finding the stone before they do takes on a new urgency.

Finn's re-adaptation to the human world is not going so well. He's got a great girlfriend, and is figuring out how things like the internet work, but he is still carrying the disembodied personality of Alynon, Prince of the Silver Demesne, the fae who had occupied his body during his imprisonment. And he's not getting along at all with his older brother. And oh, by the way, his dead grandfather is still trying to possess him in order to bring about Armageddon.

Flux Destiny is the first installment in a coming-of-age series following Marco Mendoza and Hugo Wandschneider - two teenage outcasts with supernatural talents in a universe where destiny itself is a controllable force. When the mysterious Board of Trials orders them and their headstrong Clockbot, Lucky, to investigate a situation at Anderes - an isolated city straddling a gigantic rupture in space-time nicknamed Big Mouth - they discover a plague of blood-thirsty, biomechanical creatures called Cankers that are wreaking havoc on the city.

Wilmington, Delaware, is one of those cities that feels more like a small town. Neighbors know one another, and businesses cater to the needs of the citizenry. But what happens when the local car salesman suffers one lost sale too many, when one more customer decides to buy from the competition because the price is too high, interest rates aren’t friendly, or that shade of blue just won’t work?

Blending the piercing humor of Alexandra Kleeman and the jagged satire of Black Mirror, an audacious, eerily prescient debut novel that chronicles the rise and fall of a massive high-rise housing complex, and the lives it affected before - and after - its demise. Standing nearly 500 stories tall, Los Verticalés once bustled with life and excitement. Now this marvel of modern architecture and nontraditional urban planning has collapsed into a pile of rubble known as the Heap.

The adopted daughter of two respectable human parents, Kayla is a werecat in the closet. All she knows is the human world. When she comes out to her boyfriend, tragedy ensues, and her determination to know and embrace her heritage grows. Help appears in the lithe form of sexy male werecat Yoshi, backed up by Aimee and Clyde, as the four set out to solve the mystery of a possessed antique carousel while fielding miscast magic, obsessive strangers, and mounting species intolerance.

His uncle wanted him to stay home and work the farm. But the boy knew there was a world out there he had to see. Yet being a runaway meant you were outside the law - fair game. That’s how he got caught on the farm gang. There was no way out, until Tiltawhirl John picked him up and taught him how to be a carnie, how to stay one step ahead of the suckers. But there was one man from the past even T-John couldn’t keep ahead of. How could the kid keep him from destroying his future?

This previously rare, out-of-print collection is being republished with a new prefatory meditation by the author. Featuring Fowler's characteristic imagination, sly wit, and penetrating insight, Black Glass will be a welcome treat for fans new and old.

Twelve-year-old Reggie Wong has a quick temper that's always getting him into trouble at school, while at home his mom struggles to get out of bed—let alone leave their apartment. That's why Reggie desperately needs his dad back. One problem: His dad is dead. Enter the Conductor, a man who promises to make Reggie's wish to see his father come true. All he must do is climb aboard the man's subway train. Desperate to have his dad and happy family back, Reggie takes him up on the offer, only to discover the train is filled with other children who have lost a loved one, just like him.