Showing results by narrator "Nick Podehl" in All Categories

Derek Stone just turned 14. He's lived in the heart of New Orleans with his dad and older brother, Ronny, his whole life. He's a little overweight. He can't hear well out of his left ear. Oh, and he's on the run from the dead. Derek never imagined that the dead could be anything but dead. But there's no denying it. They're back - and they're after him. He just doesn't know why. And he doesn't have long to figure it out.

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.

Boldly go where no geek has gone before! You keep your action figures in their original packaging. Your closets are full of officially licensed Star Wars merchandise. You’re hooked on Elder Scrolls and Metal Gear, but now you’ve discovered an even bigger obsession: the new girl who just moved in down the hall. What’s a geek to do? Take some tips from The Geek’s Guide to Dating. This hilarious primer is jam-packed with cheat codes, walkthroughs, and power-ups for navigating the perils and pitfalls of your love life with ease.

It’s been fifteen years since Mandy Reasoner was murdered - a crime for which her boyfriend, Duke, was convicted. But when high school students and best friends Betty and June discover that Mandy was June’s long-forgotten aunt, they decide to pursue the mystery. Galvanized by the growing community who doubts the evidence against Duke and is rallying to free him, the two girls start on a path that will bring them not only to Duke himself but smack into Nickel, tough-as-nails teenage P.I. attempting to keep his own life together.

For decades scientists have speculated about the untapped potential of the human brain. Now, neuroscientist Chuck Brenton has made an astonishing breakthrough. He has discovered the key - the crucial combination of practice and conditioning - to access the incredible power dormant in 90 percent of our brains. Applying his methods to test subjects, he has stimulated abilities that elevate brain function to seemingly godlike levels.

Rosa Guerrero beat the odds as she rose to the top of the corporate world. An attractive woman of a certain age, the longtime chief of human resources at Ellery Consumer Research is still a formidable presence, even if her most vital days are behind her. A leader who wields power with grace and discretion, she has earned the devotion and loyalty of her staff. No one admires Rosa more than her doting lieutenant Leo Smalls, a benefits vice president whose whole world is Ellery.

Nestled in the Pennsylvania countryside, Florence University frames an idyllic college world, complete with cute coeds and handsome jocks - not to mention plenty of booze and sex with virtually no responsibility. For three seniors, the vagaries of life have rarely been so terrifying. Drawn together by their struggles for identity, the three students form a fateful friendship that will change the courses of their lives forever. Sexy, fast paced, and layered with intimate insight about life’s most formative years, The Fall is a compelling coming-of-age story.

School is finally over, and Will Carter has (barely) survived his freshman year. Unfortunately, he quickly learns that the summer break he’s been craving just might break him. When he and his girlfriend, Abby, part ways, Carter can’t help but think his summer is ruined. Things start to look up after he’s unexpectedly cast in an independent film opposite the world’s biggest tween sensation, Hilary Idaho. With Hollywood knocking on his door, Carter gets a taste of the good life. Suddenly, his small town, friends, and family don’t seem as great as they used to.

People in Merit, Wisconsin, always said Jimmy was...you know. But people said all sorts of stupid stuff. Nobody really knew anything. Nobody really knew Jimmy. I guess you could say I knew Jimmy as well as anyone (which was not very well). I knew what scared him. And I knew he had dreams even if I didn't understand them. Even if he nearly ruined my life to pursue them. Jimmy's dead now, and I definitely know that better than anyone. I know about blood and bone and how bodies decompose. I know about shadows and stones and hatchets. I know what a last cry for help sounds like.

James was the guy no one noticed - another 15-year-old living in a small town. So when he gets into the American Science and Mathematics Academy (or ASMA), a public boarding school, James decides that it’s time to leave the past behind. In a student body made up of nerds and geeks, being cool is easy. All it takes is a few harmless lies to invent the new James: rebel, punk, street fighter. Everyone’s impressed - except for the beautiful Ellie Frost.

Rust and Metro live life to the fullest in the small Finnish city of Kotka. The lovers work together by day and write graffiti by night, always staying one step ahead of the law. But their luck runs out after an ambush by rogue security guards causes Rust to fall to his death. Having literally left their marks all over the city, Metro cannot help but be reminded of Rust everywhere she goes, making it impossible for her to move past the tragedy.

In 1839, after decades of conflict, the Russian army and the Muslims of Chechnya are on the verge of a truce. To prove his commitment to peace, warrior chief Imam Shamil offers a hostage: his son, Jamal Eddin. But once the truce is signed, the Russians spirit Jamal Eddin back to Russia, where Czar Nicholas “adopts” the boy. Immersed in imperial court life, Jamal Eddin matures into the consummate courtier. Still, he maintains his Muslim faith - until he falls in love with a beautiful Russian aristocrat.

You care about your connection and relationship with God, but you are also experiencing all the ups and downs of teenage life. These 101 stories are written by teens who share their own experiences growing up as a Christian teen. You will be supported and inspired by these heartfelt true stories, as teens like you use their faith to help them navigate their teenage years.

Seventeen-year-old Elijah Brighton wants to become an ascender--a post-Singularity human/machine hybrid--after all, they're smarter, more enlightened, more compassionate, and above all, achingly beautiful. But Eli is a legacy human, preserved and cherished for his unaltered genetic code, just like the rainforest he paints. When a fugue state possesses him and creates great art, Eli miraculously lands a sponsor for the creative Olympics. If he could just master the fugue, he could take the gold and win the right to ascend, bringing everything he's yearned for within reach...

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".

To become a demon, you must die in complete and utter despair. Three hundred years ago, Max passed that test with flying colors and joined the afterlife resolving never again to have innocent blood on his hands. Now Max has been given the job of breaking a young witch's family curse. But what she doesn't know, what Max can't bring himself to tell her, is that completing his mission almost certainly means her death.

When Dan, Abby, and Jordan meet Oliver in Catacomb - the third book in the Asylum series - he is a mysterious young antiques dealer with a dark past. But before he was stuck in America's most haunted city, he was a teenager with a bright future ahead of him. In this story we find Oliver saving up to attend his dream college in the fall and leave behind his family's New Orleans antique shop for good. And if his job just happens to involve robbing graves for a group calling themselves the Bone Artists, well - money is money, and it's only for now.

Coop is cooking up another sure-misfire scheme (big surprise), and this time the comedy plays out from Sean’s point of view. What’s the new master plan? Making a cheapo horror movie guaranteed to make Coop, Sean, and Matt filthy rich! It’s a terrible idea, and Sean knows it. But he actually is desperate for cash - and for a way to wipe that big fat L off his girlfriend-less forehead. But when he agrees to write a script about the attack of zombie-vampire humanzees, he has no idea just how powerful a chick magnet this movie will be. Suddenly Sean is juggling not one but three interested ladies.

Derek's brother Ronny isn't himself.... No, really. Ronny's body has been taken over by the long-dead soul of a man named Virgil Black. Lucky for him, Virgil is one of the good guys. Not all of them are. In fact, a Legion of evil souls is staging a serious comeback. And they're staging it at Bayou Malpierre, the site of Derek's most horrible nightmare. That nightmare is about to get even worse. . . .

Sebastien Ranes has drifted aimlessly since graduating from high school six months ago. Down on his luck, the 19-year-old is recovering from pneumonia, working a dead-end job, and living in a shabby makeshift bedroom in the basement of his mother and stepfather’s home. Looking to escape his lousy situation, Sebastien robs a local grocery store and makes off with $4,800 - but not without the store’s security cameras spotting him. Driven to a state of panic, Sebastien is hit by a drunk driver.