Showing results by narrator "Nick Podehl" in All Categories

Azeril can't remember anything about his life before he came to live as a ward of the Church - except his desire to assassinate wizards. He's become the Church's most cunning weapon. By day, Az hides in plain sight as a student, with only his beloved obsidian knife as a reminder of who he is.

Isabella Rodrigues has been blessed with an abundance of charm and perseverance. She needed both to convince her fellow Georgia Institute of Technology students that storming Area 51 was a good idea.

In the tradition of Colson Whitehead's Zone One, a visionary debut novel about shelter, escape, family, violence, and dumpster diving. It's the story of a restless group of young squatters. They've run away from their families and their pasts, questing after knowledge of their most wild selves, roaming the half-empty suburbs of America, occupying the homes of the foreclosed or vacationing, never staying in one place long enough to attract attention while shoplifting beer at the local Speedy Stop.

The Fracking King follows Winston Crwth - a boarding-school kid, loner, and Scrabble prodigy - who becomes an unlikely hero in the fight to stop fracking in Pennsylvania. Truth is a rare commodity in politics, and the idea of "winning" a debate as cleanly and simply as you'd win a Scrabble game can seem impossible. But with the truth on his side, a jar of toxic "frackwater", and the belief that he can win a Scrabble tournament whose first prize is a meeting with Governor Linda King LaRue, Winston creates a moment of devastating truth.

In a remote northern village, a close-knit community survives at the edge of the known world. On the far bank of the river that no one crosses lies an unnaturally straight road. Nothing ever grows on the road, and the curious heat emanating from its surface keeps it uncannily clear of snow and ice. Along this road, Aaron and his companions must travel. It is rumored that at the end of the road lies an object - the work of the devil - which is responsible for the untimely deaths of the villagers. The small band of men have volunteered to destroy this thing, whatever it is, at whatever cost.

Gary Paulsen was one of the kids who slipped through the cracks, until art and dogs saved him. So are Jake, Jojo, and Jamie, all 12-year-olds who, like Gary Paulsen, had to grow up too fast. Gary Paulsen’s three poignant novellas add up to an unforgettable book.

Morning in Whitehorse, and everything is normal. All too normal. A girlfriend who loves him; an evening at the farmer’s market in Shipyard’s Park. Idyllic, relaxing, peaceful. What more could a man want? John Lee isn’t sure, but stray thoughts intrude, and memories of a different time, a different place, a different world keep intruding. Angst-ridden, exhausting memories of a world of pain and struggle. Nothing like the paradise he lives in. Now, if only John wasn’t so attracted to them.

On the night of October 6, 1998, a gay 21-year-old University of Wyoming student named Matthew Shepard was lured from a bar by two young men, then savagely beaten, tied to a fence on the outskirts of Laramie, and left to die. Five days later, Lesléa Newman arrived on campus to give the keynote speech for the University of Wyoming’s Gay Awareness Week. October Mourning is Lesléa Newman’s deeply personal response to the events of that tragic day and its brutal aftermath.

Taemon has always known he’s a bit different. But in the walled city of Deliverance, where everyone possesses a form of telekinesis known as psi, being different is dangerous. Being different can get you labeled a freakling. Or worse, see you banished to the Powerless Colony, where even the simplest tasks, like getting dressed or turning on the lights, must be done by hand.

Nomad didn't expect to run into anyone as he perused the city junkyard. He most certainly didn't expect he'd meet anyone like Azrael, an old man shrouded in mystery. Although they've never met, Azrael appears to know a lot about Nomad and his family. How his mother seems to be lost in another world. Nomad knows something isn't right, but when it comes time for Nomad to face the truth, only Azrael can help. This is a short story told at its natural length that you might find yourself listening to twice.

Dylan doesn't have a lot of experience with comfort. His room in the falling-down Village Estates can generously be categorized as squalid, and he sure isn't getting any love from his mother, who seems to - no, definitely does - enjoy the perks that go along with being the parent of a "cancer kid". His only escape has been in the form of his favorite video game - World of Warcraft - and the one true friend who makes him feel understood, even if it is just online: Arden.

Everybody likes Chris Goodman. Sure, he's a little odd. He wears those funny bell-bottoms and he really likes the word ennui and he shakes your hand when he meets you, but he's also the kind of guy who's always up for a good time, always happy to lend a hand. Everybody likes Chris Goodman, which makes it especially shocking when he's murdered.

Brimming with life and unforgettable voices, the stories in Austin Bunn's dazzling collection explore the existential question: what happens at the end, and what lies beyond it? In the wry but affecting "How to Win an Unwinnable War", a summer class on nuclear war for gifted teenagers turns a struggling family upside down. A young couple's idyllic beach honeymoon is interrupted by terrorism in the lush, haunting "Getting There and Away".

Growing up, Adrien and his sister, Grace, competed viciously for everything. It wasn't easy being the adopted sibling, but Adrien tried to get along; it was Grace who didn't want anything to do with him. When their scientist parents died in a terrible lab fire, there was nothing left to hold them together. Now, after years apart, Adrien and Grace are forced to reunite at the elite boarding school where their parents were teachers.

For more than twenty years, the Homeland has been immersed in a brutal, unwinnable war. Young men are drafted and sent to fight in a faraway jungle. Those who come back are scarred in body and mind. Lance, two weeks shy of turning eighteen, has watched his older brothers leave and his mother fall apart when they fail to return. He's never imagined a different future for himself - until he meets an idealistic young woman named Lorrie and impulsively flees town with her.

What is the XYZ factor? The XYZ Factor isn't a place or a company or an age. It's a new kind of culture where innovation, accessibility, and transparency are the norm. It's an environment created on the principles of the Millennial generation to foster intergenerational productivity in a new kind of office culture. An XYZ organization's employees are challenged, engaged, and excited to produce. Simply put, XYZ companies have an "it" factor that helps them rise above the competition. Any company can become an XYZ company. This audiobook is your blueprint.

Gabe is officially living in Vegas. It's his dream scenario - except for the fact that his girlfriend, Irina, is back in Seattle and surrounded by college guys. And his apartment is a little sketchy. Still, Gabe manages to pull off the bluff of a century: he finishes bartending school and gets a job at a club, even though, technically, he's not of legal age to serve. Being a man means paying the bills, and Gabe wants to show everyone that he can make it on his own and stay faithful to Irina.

The catcher is a statistical savant, the first baseman speaks in Buddhist koans, and the twin star pitchers may or may not derive mystical powers from scars betraying their Siamese birth. In fact, everything about the Birmingham Barons baseball team is remarkable - except for their performance on the field. For decades, the Barons have been woefully mediocre and Pudge Morrison - former better-than-average left fielder now long past his prime - has become the symbol for the team's disappointment.

Unemployed Colin is living back at home in the small town where he grew up in the shadow of his older brother and a gang of neighborhood bullies. He's still struggling to overcome his best friend Danny's unexpected death five years before. The strange series of events that took place on Danny's last night haunt Colin, and as he puts the pieces together, he discovers it may not have been an accident after all.

Four months ago, Taemon was able to stave off an invasion by the Republik Army by using tricks to convince his enemies that the people of Deliverance still had the telekinetic ability known as psi. Now, though, the truth of his deception has come to light, and the Republik is preprared to mount another attack, led by General Sarin and his son, Gevri.