Showing results by narrator "Johnathan McClain" in All Categories

Why are some cats cuddly and others standoffish? Why are some dogs adventuresome, others homebodies? As any pet owner can attest, we feel that the animals we've formed bonds with are unique, as particular (and peculiar) as any human friend or loved one. Recent years have brought an increased understanding of animal intelligence and emotion. But is there a scientific basis for animal personality and individuality, or is this notion purely sentimental?

Twenty-one-year-old Hardy “Hardly” Reed—good-natured, easygoing, usually stoned—is drifting through life. A minimum-wage scare actor at an amusement park, he avoids unnecessary effort and unrealistic ambitions. Then one day he notices two children, around six or seven, sitting all alone on a bench. Hardly checks if they’re okay and sees injuries on both children. Someone is hurting these kids. He reports the incident to Child Protective Service.

Bjorn’s Berserkers was a respected and flourishing mercenary company. Founded by Bjorn Tovesson I, it was now commanded by his son, Bjorn Tovesson II. Commander Tovesson wanted nothing more than to eventually pass on the Berserkers to his son, Bjorn Tovesson III. But young Bjorn had a different destiny in mind. He didn’t want a future of fighting aliens and risking death on some distant planet. One fateful afternoon in the Alaska wilderness changed everything, though, when a bear attack left Bjorn maimed.

Picasso Lane is twelve years old when her father, Oliver, is murdered at their summer beach house. Her mother, Diana, is the primary suspect - until the police discover his second wife, and then his third. The women say they have never met - but Picasso knows otherwise. Picasso remembers the morning beautiful Jewels showed up at their house, carrying the same purse as her mother, and a family portrait featuring her father with two strange boys.

The aviators. The Amtrak. The ice cream cones. The memes. Few politicians are as iconic, or as beloved, as Joe Biden. Now, in The Book of Joe, Biden fans will finally have the definitive look at America's favorite vice president - and what he can teach us. Structured around key moments in Biden's life and career - and filled with Biden-isms like "That's a bunch of malarkey" and "I may be Irish, but I'm not stupid" - this blend of biography, advice, and humor will reveal the experiences that forged Joe Biden, and the lessons we can use in our own lives.

Nimh still holds on to her divinity, if only by a thread. In her final confrontation with Inshara, the woman determined to take her place and rule Nimh’s kingdom, both Nimh and her enemy were sent to the world above, in the cloudlands. Now North looks to the sky, left behind on the surface world. Desperate for a chance to join the girl he loves and save his world, North will stop at nothing to find a way back to his home in the sky-city of Ciel. Before it’s too late to save anyone.

It all begins on a Monday, when four people board an elevator in a Manhattan office tower. Each presses a button for their floor, but the elevator proceeds, nonstop, to the top. Once there, it stops for a few seconds, and then plummets. Right to the bottom of the shaft. It appears to be a horrific, random tragedy. But then, on Tuesday, it happens again, in a different skyscraper. And when Wednesday brings yet another high-rise catastrophe, one of the most vertical cities in the world - and the nation’s capital of media, finance and entertainment - is plunged into chaos.

Your dad’s not a good person. Your dad killed people, son. These are some of the last words Jack Givins’s father spoke to him before he was whisked away by witness protection, leaving Jack and his mother to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives. Years later, Jack is a struggling author, recruited by the U.S. Marshals to create false histories for people in witness protection. Jack realises this may be a chance to find his dad – but then he discovers he’s gone missing, and he could be in serious danger.

When high school English teacher Richard Boyle comes face-to-face with an ex-student determined to commit an atrocity, his whole world changes. Thanks to his quick thinking, Richard averts a major tragedy and is hailed as a hero, with his face splashed across the media. But not all the attention coming his way is good…Somewhere out there, a memory is triggered by someone watching the news of the incident. A plan is hatched. When Richard receives the first threat, it’s very clear: it’s time to talk about what you did to me…

Susan the duck has the worst luck. Her rollerskates are two sizes too big. She's lost her favorite marble. And she's run out of pickles. But with each unfortunate discovery, Wolf shows up with a gift she's won. Her luck has turned around . . . hasn't it? Come see just how lucky Susan is, in this slyly funny story about finding luck when you least expect it.

Ellie Larrabee’s life is perfect. She’s thriving at work, living in a fabulous apartment, and engaged to the man of her dreams. To all appearances, Ellie and Rob Beauman are a golden couple—blessed with good looks, success, and romantic chemistry that’s off the charts.

When Yu-jin wakes up covered in blood and finds the body of his mother downstairs, he decides to hide the evidence and pursue the killer himself. Then young women start disappearing in his South Korean town. Whom is he hunting? And why does the answer take him back to his brother and father, who lost their lives many years ago? The Good Son is inspired by a true story.

From the New York Times and internationally best-selling authors of The Illuminae Files comes a new science fiction epic.... It's 2380, and the graduating students of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Tyler Jones has been a star pupil who hopes to recruit the squad of his dreams but ends up with a mixed and volatile crew. And Ty's squad isn't even his biggest problem - that'd be Aurora Jie-Lin O'Malley, the girl he's just rescued from interdimensional space.

American Desperado is possibly the most jaw-dropping, event-filled, adrenaline-soaked criminal autobiography ever written. Like a real-life Scarface Jon was born into the upper levels of the Gambino crime family and witnessed his first murder at age seven. He became a one-man juvenile crime wave before joining an assassination squad in Vietnam.

From the critically-acclaimed, award-winning author, Douglas Clegg, comes a twisting, dark psychological thriller of dangerous obsession. Owen Crites has watched Jenna Montgomery become a beautiful young woman as they've practically grown up together through the summer. Owen is the gardener's son, and one day he will become groundskeeper of the Montgomery summer estate on Outerbridge Island, off the New England coast.

Paul Conklin engages in a deadly war with Lawrence St Germain. In a violent duel St Germain watches as Conklin murders his hapless partner and after a daring prison escape, Conklin will collide with St Germain once more, in a cliffside struggle worthy of "High Sierra".

In Psyched Up, acclaimed journalist Daniel McGinn explains why mental preparation is the key to mastering any challenge. Examining the latest scientific research into the smartest ways to deal with a flood of adrenaline, increase focus, minimise negative thoughts and optimise emotions, Psyched Up teaches you what do in the last few minutes before a major event.

What happens when you ask a bunch of losers, discipline cases and misfits to save the galaxy from an ancient evil? The ancient evil wins, of course.

Prince North’s home is in the sky, in a gleaming city held aloft by intricate unknown technology. But North believes his sky island is sinking. Its engines are failing, and the key to saving his home is to venture to the place the engines were first created. Nimh is the living goddess of her people on the surface, responsible for providing answers, direction - hope. But in the midst of the surface’s worst crisis yet, a mist that spreads madness and poison, doubts have arisen among the people about Nimh’s divinity.

Everett Green is a singing, dancing palm tree waiting for his big break. He dreams of being a star, yet has no idea how to make it happen—until he sees the Rockefeller Tree on TV. Determined to become the most famous Christmas tree ever, Everett is ready to hightail it out of Hawaii and make his big debut in the Big Apple. But it's not all clear skies for Everett when a New York snowstorm grounds his flight. Stuck in the airport with hundreds of disgruntled travelers, Everett must dig deep for holiday spirit if he wants to become a real Christmas tree!