Showing results by narrator "Aysha Kala" in All Categories

When 12-year-old Georgie makes friends with an eccentric retired scientist, she becomes the test subject for a thrilling new experiment: a virtual reality, 3-D version of the future. Then a deadly virus threatens to wipe out every dog in the country, and Georgie’s beloved dog, Mr Mash, gets sick. Which is bad - but worse is still to come. As the world is thrown into chaos, Georgie embarks on a desperate quest: to save every dog on earth and all of humanity....

Faiza has always wanted to fit in. She has her banker husband, three beautiful children and gorgeous house in a sought-after corner of London, but behind the expensive clothes, make-up and furniture lies a big secret. Faiza has been dipping into the family savings account in her attempt to belong, promising herself that one day she'll put the money back. Now Faiza has six weeks to put it all back before her husband or her friends notice she is penniless.

Having taken down the Fate-Weaver and freed the future, Ember thought things in Everspring would be easier. But not everyone is happy. People don't know how to live their lives without the Fate Cards telling them what to do. Then, Ember discovers something terrible on Mount Never. Someone has been cutting people's Fate Threads. Convinced it's her fault and determined to do something to stop the Thread-Cutter, Ember heads off to look for clues with Hans, eventually discovering that her only chance at preventing the Thread-Cutter from harming anyone is to go back in time to stop them.

Yesterday Crumb is determined, brave and nearly ready to defeat a formidable foe: Mr Weep, the Lord of the Dead. Reunited with her beloved Dwimmerly End - a magical walking teashop - apprentice tea witch Yesterday and her friends begin to search for Mr Weep's weakness. Except the dark influence of a strange flower is taking hold of Yesterday's friends and allies, turning them cold-hearted and pitting them against each other. As the flower's effects spread further, Yesterday needs to save her friends and rally the magical world to overcome Mr Weep's dark reign.

Ever since Ember Shadows freed her world from the Fate Cards that fixed everyone's fates, things have been changing in her world ... and not always for the better. Now that people are learning about the existence of the magical landscapes, they want to explore them. But the landscapes are delicate, and the desire to access them is causing a terrible reaction: the Emocean is producing far, far too much greed, poisoning the lands.

How do you heal a broken house? First you unlock its secrets. Alone on an island, surrounded by flowers that shine as dusk begins to fall, sits an old, faded house. Rooms cannot be rented here and visits are only for those haunted by the memory of loss. When Liddy receives an invitation, she thinks there must be some mistake - she's never experienced loss. But with her curiosity stirred, and no other way to escape a life in which she feels trapped, she decides to accept.

Born in a Soviet prison camp, Lina has never seen the world outside until the night she escapes with her best friend, Bogdan. As the pair journey across a snowy wilderness, they are pursued by a vengeful sorceress and her pack of shadow wolves. The children will need every ounce of courage - and a whisper of magic - if they are to survive.

It's New Year's Eve, and Madeline Bright, fresh to the exotic opulence of colonial India, is yearning for all she's left behind in England. But then, at the stroke of midnight, Maddy meets Luke Devereaux, and as the year changes so do their lives - forever...Bold and charismatic, Luke opens her eyes to the wonders of Bombay, while Maddy's beauty and vivacity captures his heart. Only her mother disapproves, preferring the devoted Guy Bowen as a match for her daughter.

Apprentice tea witch Yesterday Crumb is on a mission to find her mother. First stop in her search is London to watch The Wild Feast, the biggest magical cooking competition in Europe. But when the teashop Yesterday and her friends call home is shrunk by the Faerie Queen's Spymaster, she must join the competition to win it back. Yesterday will have to face more than just a fierce competition when new enemies emerge and members of the Faerie Court start to go missing.

Meet 10-year-old Joy Applebloom, a girl with a knack for finding the silver lining in even the darkest of rainclouds. After years of travelling the world with her family, Joy feels like she’s finally found a place she can call home. She’s settled in at school, has a new best friend called Benny and she’s finally making a difference in the world. But when a new girl, Phoebe Dark, joins class 6C, Joy discovers there’s a whole world out there that she hasn’t explored yet. Could Plane Tree Gardens be just the beginning?

From Lagos to Mexico City, Australia to the Caribbean, Toronto to Los Angeles, Darjeeling to rural New Zealand, London to New York—22 best-selling crime writers from diverse cultures come together from across the world in a razor sharp and deliciously sinister collection of crime stories.

Maeve gets an unexpected call from her brother, Sean. It's no surprise to her that he is in trouble again. But she's the only family he's got, so she must saddle up and ride to the rescue. Or at least, scrounge a lift from Aimee and drive there. Otis and Eric insist they can help, and Maeve's mission becomes a summer holiday road trip. Sean's been partying with a group of decadent socialites who have now accused him of a crime. The evidence against him is pretty damning. Trying to clear his name, Maeve and friends integrate themselves into the rich kids' circle.

A collection of honest, fierce and beautiful poems about being a mother, from pregnancy and birth to growing up and leaving home. Curated by acclaimed anthology Ana Sampson, Night Feeds and Morning Songs examines motherhood from all angles, capturing the mess and the madness, to the joy and the wonder....

Hi! My name is Joy Applebloom, and I'm 10 years old. People say I am a ‘glass half full’ kind of person, which basically means I see the good in everything. Right now, I’m going to need all my powers of positive thinking to fix a really tricky situation. My new best friend, Benny, just hasn’t been himself lately. I have to find out what’s going on and bring back Benny’s special smile for good.

1944. The Battle of Kohima. James Ash dies leaving behind two families: his ‘wife’ Josmi and two children, Jay and Molly, and his parents and sister in England who know nothing about his Indian family. 2012. Emmie is raising her own daughter, Jasmine, in a world she wants to be very different from the racist England of her childhood. Her father, Jay, doesn’t even have a photograph of the mother he lost and still refuses to discuss his life in India. Emmie finds comfort in the local museum – a treasure trove of another family’s stories and artefacts.

Allyship is a journey, but it's not always easy to know where to start. See things from a different perspective with heartfelt real-life stories by writers from diverse backgrounds, abilities and circumstances. Wherever you are in your allyship journey, these stories about what it means to be an ally can empower you to help make the world a better place for everyone. Find out what you can do and take an active role with resources like self-reflective questions, journaling ideas, prompts and further learning. Be the reason someone feels seen, heard and supported.

Susan wakes up alone in a room she doesn't recognise, with no memory of how she got there. She knows only that she is trapped, and her daughter is missing. The relief that engulfs her when she hears her daughter's voice through the wall is quickly replaced by fear. The person who has imprisoned her has her daughter, too. Devising a plan to keep her daughter safe, Susan begins to get closer to her unknown captor. And suddenly, she realises that she has met him before.

The tapestry of life may be more fragile than it seems: pull one thread, and all will unravel. In The City of Woven Streets, human life has little value. You practice a craft to keep you alive, or you are an outcast, unwanted and tainted. Eliana is a young weaver in the House of Webs, but secretly knows she doesn't really belong there. She is hiding a shameful birth defect that would, if anyone knew about it, land her in the House of the Tainted, a prison for those whose very existence is considered a curse.

Celestine North lives a perfect life. She's a model daughter and sister, she's well liked by her classmates and teachers and she's dating the impossibly charming Art Crevan. But then Celestine encounters a situation in which she makes an instinctive decision. She breaks a rule and now faces life-changing repercussions. She could be imprisoned. She could be branded. She could be found Flawed.

On holiday with her family and adoring fiancé, Jed, Emily couldn't be happier. But overnight, the idyllic trip turns into a waking nightmare when one of the group is found dead in what appears to be a terrible accident. The devastated party returns to London to cope with their loss while trying to resume their normal lives. But new revelations set Emily on a perilous journey to discover the truth about what happened....