Showing results by narrator "Kyla Garcia" in All Categories

The autobiographical essays in The Girls in My Town create an unforgettable portrait of a family in Los Angeles. Reaching back to her grandmother's childhood and navigating through her own girlhood and on to the present, Angela Morales contemplates moments of loss and longing, truth and beauty, motherhood and daughterhood.

Seventeen-year-old vegan feminist Ellen Lopez-Rourke has one muggy Houston summer left before college. She plans to spend every last moment with her two best friends before they go off to the opposite ends of Texas for school. But when Ellen is grounded for the entire summer by her (sometimes) evil stepmother, all her plans are thrown out the window.

It's 2004 in Muriga, a quiet town in Spain's northern Basque Country, a place with more secrets than inhabitants. Five years have passed since the kidnapping and murder of a young local politician - a family man and father - and the town's rhythms have almost returned to normal. But in the aftermath of the Atocha train bombings in Madrid, an act of terrorism that rocked the nation and the world, the townspeople want a reckoning of Muriga's own troubled past.

Club promoters Layla, Aster, and Tommy never imagined that entering the Unrivaled competition would land them in the middle of a celebrity murder investigation, but sometimes fate can be as nasty as the anonymous comments on a Hollywood gossip blog. But Madison Brooks isn’t dead. Layla, Aster, and Tommy have been set up, and as Madison’s dirty little secrets creep closer to the light, they discover Madison will do anything to keep her past hidden - no matter who gets caught in the crossfire.

Of the approximately twelve million undocumented immigrants living in the United States, as many as two million came as children. They grow up here, going to elementary, middle, and high school, and then the country they call home won’t—in most states—offer financial aid for college and they’re unable to be legally employed. In 2001, US senator Dick Durbin introduced the DREAM Act to Congress, an initiative that would allow these young people to become legal residents if they met certain requirements.

It's the summer before eighth grade and Flor is stuck at home and working at her family's mattress store, while her best friend goes off to band camp (probably to make new friends). It becomes even worse when she's asked to compete in the local honey pageant. This means Flor has to spend the summer practicing her talent (recorder) and volunteering (helping a recluse bee-keeper) with Candice, her former friend who's still bitter about losing the pageant crown to Flor when they were in second grade. And she can't say no.

Callie Martinez-Silva didn't mean to turn her best friend into a pop star. But when a simple pep talk leads to miraculous results, Callie learns she's the newest muse of epic poetry, one of the nine Muses of Greek mythology tasked with protecting humanity's fate in secret. Whisked away to Muse Headquarters, she joins three recruits her age, who call themselves the Muse Squad. Together, the junior muses are tasked with using their magic to inspire and empower - not an easy feat when you're 11 and still figuring out the goddess within.

America is a nation of immigrants. People have come to the United States from around the world seeking a better life and more opportunities, and our country would not be what it is today without their contributions. From writers like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, to scientists like Albert Einstein, to innovators like Elon Musk, this book honors the immigrants who have changed the way we think, eat, and live. Their stories serve as powerful reminders of the progress we've made, and the work that is still left to be done.

The Russos are headed to the Caribbean for a family vacation, and Alex is less than thrilled. And to top it off, her parents have decided that there will be no magic allowed on the trip! Alex is totally bored and decides to conjure up a little magic...with disastrous results. Her parents have now completely forgotten they ever met! Alex and her brothers, Justin and Max, have only 48 hours to find the magical Stone of Dreams, which has the power to reverse the spell. Will they find the stone and save their family in time?

The time is now. The place is San Francisco. The world is filled with adults devoid of emotion and children on the cusp of losing their feelings - of "waning" - when they reach their teens. Natalia Peña has already waned. So why does she love her little brother with such ferocity that, when he's kidnapped by a Big Brother-esque corporation, she'll do anything to get him back?

Now is an extraordinary time. Across the country, people are losing their loved ones, their livelihoods, their homes, and even their own lives to COVID-19. Despite the pandemic, countless protests erupted this summer over the recurring loss of Black lives. Reverberations of shock and outrage remain with us all. There's a Revolution Outside, My Love captures and articulates all of these roiling sentiments unleashed by a profound national reckoning.

Life on Starland is anything but normal these days. The Star Darlings continue to experience mysterious phenomena while trying to focus on their studies and maintain their cover.Star athlete Astra is chosen for the next Wish Mission. Her overconfident nature leads her to quick conclusions about her Wisher’s true wish. Can Astra put aside her own interests and assumptions and help Emma before time runs out?

Just before her father's sudden death, Cuban-American artist Veronica Gonzalez is offered her first gallery exhibit, a real chance to break into the art world. Torn between the need to mourn and the pressure to create new artwork, Veronica is propelled into a fever-dream of productivity and grief, amidst memories of her tumultuous relationship with her colorful but infuriating Cuban emigre father, a volatile man of outsize appetites and passions who never stopped longing for his homeland.

Annie Radford desperately needs a job but the only one going is videographer for the basketball team at her Alma Mater. The same job she fled from years ago... Returning to Ardwyn University was hard enough, but on her first day back she learns that the team is facing budget cuts and her new job is already on the line. After a run-in with the annoyingly wholesome and seriously hot Ben, her old friend and now arch nemesis, things are going from bad to worse.

Charming Libby is a people pleaser who is slow at making decisions. She has to learn how to say no, stand up for herself, and feel more confident about her choices. All of the Star Darling roommates have received beautiful bouquets of sparkly flowers welcoming them to Star Academy. The band tryouts begin and many different girls show up to audition. Meanwhile, the Star Darlings are dealing with their personal conflicts and issues.

An unprecedented 10th muse has been awakened somewhere in Queens, putting Callie in the perfect position to help find her. And she’ll have help - thanks to a runaway mold problem in London, Muse Headquarters is moving to the New York Hall of Science. But balancing missions and family-mandated arts camp proves difficult for Callie, especially once mysterious messages from spiders (yikes!) begin to weave a tale of ancient injustice involving Callie’s campmate Ari.

The Crescent Empire teeters on the edge of a revolution, and the Five Daughters of the Moon are the ones to determine its future.

Juniper is a young girl who dreams of making it big in the movies along with her horse, Able. In particular, Juniper is obsessed with getting Able onto her favorite television show, Castle MacAvoy, and will do anything, even slay dragons, to make that happen.

Tess da Costa is a saint - a hand-to-god miracle-producing saint. At least that's what the people in her hometown of New Avon, Massachusetts, seem to believe. And when Tess suddenly and tragically passes away, her small city begins feverishly petitioning the Pope to make Tess' sainthood official. Tess' mother is ecstatic over the fervor while her sister Callie, the one who knew Tess best, is disgusted - overcome with the feeling that her sister is being stolen from her all over again.

FBI Agent Nell Flynn is about to work the most personal case of her life. Back home for the first time in a decade, Nell is getting ready to close the family estate after her father's death. But there's one piece of unfinished business. Her father, a homicide detective, was investigating the murders of two young women. Now his partner has asked for Nell's help. Nell soon realises that her father should be the prime suspect, and that his friends on the force are covering for him.