Showing results by narrator "Hallie Ricardo" in All Categories

Adele - the beautiful fairy queen with wings of clockwork - despairs when her husband, the master tinker, dies before he finishes the great machine that will reignite the human-fairy war and drive the humans away. When she meets Dale, a human boy with natural talent - who can finish the machine - she enslaves him and binds his will with her fairy magic. However, Dale's twin sister, Nora, who has only recently discovered that she is a maker and has power of her own, escapes before she can be taken as well.

Five years have passed. The worlds above and below have recovered and changed. The fairies from the Clockwork Kingdom return every year, asking for Dale's help in vain. This year Cornelius, the head of the fairies, brings dread news: Kostya has returned. The maker has taught herself what she could about magic, but no teacher has ever arrived. Finally a herald manages to break through the spells surrounding the town to warn Nora that something, perhaps a monster, has been keeping them at bay. And it is stalking her for her power and her life.

Mellie has always been the reliable friend, the good student, the doting daughter. But when an unspeakable act leads her to withdraw from everyone she loves, she is faced with a life-altering choice - a choice she must face alone. Lise stands up - and speaks out - for what she believes in. And when she notices Mellie acting strangely, she gets caught up in trying to save her…all while trying to protect her own secret. One that might be the key to helping Mellie.

The road trip in the Winnie continues to Otiylo, Greece, but Lily and Romeo are being followed, and a trail of death and trouble lies behind them. Is that strange coin she holds a magical GPS? Nothing can keep Lily from searching for her mother, but she’s going to need help from a local coven.

Chestnut is a dog without a family. After being abandoned in the wild, Chestnut is wandering the North Carolina countryside trying to survive. When 12-year-old Meg stumbles upon him on the outskirts of her family’s Christmas tree farm, she just knows that they’re meant to be together forever. The only problem? The farm is on the brink of closing down, and her family can’t afford a pet. Meg knows she has what it takes to save the business and take care of Chestnut—she’ll just need to keep him a secret until then. Will Meg and Chestnut get their Christmas miracle?

Ten-year-old Sabine Wolfensberger was thrilled to attend Onaxx Academy for Mages. Then, the bullying began. Shapeshifting is a rare gift, and Sabine longs to spend her time at the magical academy learning how to focus her new ability in hopes of taking the form of a horse.

Every day Zoe struggles to keep going. The cruel winter took her father's life and left her angry and broken-hearted. As she carries her little brother through a snowstorm that could kill him in minutes, her only thought is finding shelter. The cabin beyond the woods is far from the place of safety she hoped it would be, but it is there that she meets a man whose muscular body marked with strange and primitive tattoos hints at an extraordinary story. He has the power to light up the lake, and with it Zoe's world.

After a post-graduation drive from Iowa City to NYC, Teddy and Marin have both had enough of each other to last the rest of their lives. But that doesn’t stop their paths from crossing over eight rocky years, punctuated by chance encounters and transatlantic visits, on a journey that eventually brings them right back to where it all started.

In a complicated world where the joy of true friendship can be hard to come by, Jan and her tight-knit group defy those odds. They share a bond that can't be broken, even in the hard times. Yet, that bond will be severely tested when Liz faces a critical illness and an uncertain future. But, as only women can do at the strangest times, the five decide to knock a shared dream off their bucket list, and to their astonishment, the experience will be nothing short of supernatural. Will this miracle be the one they so desperately need?

Most high school students never have received any instruction in how to write a personal essay. Yet at a time when getting admitted to their dream college is more competitive than ever, the admissions essay may turn out to be the single most important thing they will ever write. The stakes are high. In Writing Tools for the College Essay, veteran journalist and writing coach Roy Peter Clark shows how any student can showcase their unique achievements, intellect, and attributes to stand out from the crowd.

Five summers ago, Chelsea Woodridge met, fell in love with, and married ranger Theodore Lapierre in beautiful Bar Harbor. It was perfect, until her father’s manipulations cost her not only the man she loved but their child, spiraling her into a fog that lasted for years. Theo loved Chelsea the instant he saw her and thought the feelings returned. Her visit with her father has him questioning her love when instead of returning, he gets a note of rejection. And several months later, a newborn on his doorstep.

Hey, I’m Italian is an insider's look at growing up Italian in New York. Abducted at gunpoint, being bitten on the nose by the family dog two days before my wedding, and paying for a lavish Hawaiian honeymoon only to learn that our travel agent had absconded with our money, were but a few of the events that shaped my life. But growing up Italian in New York, well that can really shake you up.