Frankie Corzo has narrated 69 audiobooks on Listento.it by 71 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.4★ across 484 ratings. The most-rated is Mexican Gothic.
The Happiest Girl in the World
Summary
From the acclaimed author of Mercy House comes a gripping new novel about a young woman’s dreams of Olympic gymnastic gold - and what it takes to reach the top. For Sera Wheeler, the Olympics is the reason for everything. It’s why she trains 30 hours a week, starves herself to less than 100 pounds, and pops Advil like Tic Tacs. For her mother, Charlene, hungry for glory she never had, it’s why she rises before dawn to drive Sera to practice in a different state and why the family scrimps, saves, and fractures. It’s why, when Sera’s best friend reports the gymnastics doctor to the authority who selects the Olympic Team, Sera denies what she knows about his treatments, thus preserving favor. Their friendship shatters. But Sera protected her dream - didn’t she? Sera doubles down, taping broken toes, numbing torn muscles, and pouring her family’s resources into the sport. Soon she isn’t training for the love of gymnastics. She’s training to make her disloyalty worthwhile. No matter the cost. The Happiest Girl in the World explores the dark history behind an athlete who stands on the world stage, biting gold. It's about the silence required of the exceptional, a tarnished friendship, and the sacrifices a parent will make for a child, even as a family is torn apart. It’s about the price of greatness.
©2021 Alena Dillon (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers
Twenty After Midnight
Summary
A dark and masterful portrait of a generation in crisis, from one of the most exciting young voices in international literature. The world had been theirs in the late '90s: They were the young provocateurs behind a countercultural scene, digital bohemians creating a new future. But 15 years later, Duke, the leader and undisputed genius of their group, has been murdered, and the three remaining members of their circle reunite to piece together what became of their lives and how they fell so short of their expectations. Now in their 30s, Aurora, Antero, and Emiliano have succumbed to the pressures of adulthood, the exigencies of carving out a life in a country that is fraying at the seams. Reunited after years of long-held grudges and painful crushes, the three try to resurrect the spirit of the all-night parties and early morning trysts, the protests and pornography of their youths. Lurking over them, as they puzzle out their fates, is the question of whether or not there is a future for them to believe in or if the end has already arrived. Twenty After Midnight is a portrait of the first generation of the digital age, a group that was promised everything but handed a fractured world. Daniel Galera has written a pre-apocalyptic tale of millennial longings.
©2020 Daniel Galera (P)2020 Penguin Audio
Costalegre
Summary
"A lush chronicle of wealth, art, adventure, loneliness, love, and folly told by a narrator you won't be able to forget."--Kirkus, starred review
One of Literary Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2019.
A Best Book of Summer at amNY, Moda Operandi, Publishers Weekly, Southern Living, and Thrillist.
A Best Book of July at The Washington Post, Hello Giggles, Refinery 29, TIME Magazine, and Mind Body Green.
It is 1937, and Europe is on the brink of war. In the haute-bohemian circles of Austria, Germany, and Paris, Hitler is circulating a most-wanted list of “cultural degenerates" - artists, writers, and thinkers whose work is deemed antithetical to the new regime. To prevent the destruction of her favorite art (and artists), the impetuous American heiress and modern art collector, Leonora Calaway, begins chartering boats and planes for an elite group of surrealists to Costalegre, a mysterious resort in the Mexican jungle, where she has a home.
The story of what happens to these artists when they reach their destination is told from the point of view of Lara, Leonora’s neglected 15-year-old daughter, who has been pulled out of school to follow her mother to Mexico. Forced from a young age to cohabit with her mother’s eccentric whims, tortured lovers, and entourage of gold-diggers, Lara suffers from emotional, educational, and geographical instability that a Mexican sojourn with surrealists isn’t going to help. But when she meets the outcast Dadaist sculptor Jack Klinger, a much older man who has already been living in Costalegre for some time, Lara thinks she might have found the love and understanding she so badly craves.
Sinuous and striking, heartbreaking and strange, Costalegre is heavily inspired by the real-life relationship between the heiress Peggy Guggenheim and her daughter, Pegeen. Acclaimed author Courtney Maum triumphs with this wildly imaginative and curiously touching story of a privileged teenager who has everything a girl could wish for - except for a mother who loves her back.
©2019 Courtney Maum (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing., Inc., all rights reserved.
Everyday Angel Collection: New Beginnings, Second Chances, Last Wishes
Summary
Aria Blue seems like an ordinary 12-year-old. She loves music, and colorful shoelaces, and taste-testing various types of cookies. But there is much more to Aria than meets the eye. She can use her shadow like a door to travel from place to place. She can dream things into existence. And she can see when certain people need help. Because Aria is a guardian angel. Her mission? To find and guide three different girls - Gabby, Caroline, and Mikayla - through their different problems. If she succeeds, Aria will earn her wings. But helping these girls is no easy feat, even for someone with magic powers. Things like friendship and family and well, life, are all a lot trickier than Aria might have guessed. Still, she's pretty sure she's up for the challenge....
©2020 Scholastic Inc. (P)2020 Scholastic Inc.
The Death and Life of Aida Hernandez
Summary
One of AudioFile Magazine's Best Audiobooks of 2019 Shortlisted for the 2020 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Book Award Pacific NW Book Assoc Book Award This program includes a chapter read by the author. What happens when an undocumented teen mother takes on the US immigration system? When Aida Hernandez was born in 1987 in Agua Prieta, Mexico, the nearby US border was little more than a worn-down fence. Eight years later, Aida’s mother took her and her siblings to live in Douglas, Arizona. By then, the border had become one of the most heavily policed sites in America. Undocumented, Aida fought to make her way. She learned English, watched Friends, and, after having a baby at 16, dreamed of teaching dance and moving with her son to New York City. But life had other plans. Following a misstep that led to her deportation, Aida found herself in a Mexican city marked by violence, in a country that was not hers. To get back to the United States and reunite with her son, she embarked on a harrowing journey. The daughter of a rebel hero from the mountains of Chihuahua, Aida has a genius for survival - but returning to the United States was just the beginning of her quest. Taking us into detention centers, immigration courts, and the inner lives of Aida and other daring characters, The Death and Life of Aida Hernandez reveals the human consequences of militarizing what was once a more forgiving border. With emotional force and narrative suspense, Aaron Bobrow-Strain brings us into the heart of a violently unequal America. He also shows us that the heroes of our current immigration wars are less likely to be perfect paragons of virtue than complex, flawed human beings who deserve justice and empathy all the same.
©2019 Aaron Bobrow-Strain (P)2019 Macmillan Audio
Off Balance
Summary
"In this bleak world, one spark of hope soon turns into an inferno. And just like a fireball, once this story is ignited, it just doesn’t stop." (Maria V. Snyder, New York Times best-selling author of Navigating the Stars) "Erin’s world-building is excellent and her characters are big and bold...." (Escape into Worlds) From USA Today best-selling author Aileen Erin comes the second book in the Aunare Chronicles. Broken, beaten-down, and plagued by nightmares, Amihanna di Aetes is surrounded by the Aunare race that makes up the other half of her heritage, but she feels alien amongst them. She’s not sure which is worse: SpaceTech’s overt hatred of Aunare or the Aunare’s covert hatred of halfers. She hears their whispers whenever she enters a room and sees her death reflected in their eyes. Amihanna doesn’t know who to trust anymore, but she hasn’t survived this long by ignoring the warning signs all around her, especially when her instincts are screaming that a familiar choice is coming: flee or fight. Her parents assure her everything is okay - that there won’t be any reason for her to fight, let alone flee - but with Amihanna’s sudden return, questions arise among the Aunare: Who should be blamed for the start of a full-scale war with SpaceTech, how much danger will the war bring, and is Amihanna truly fit to be the next high queen? Honestly, Amihanna wants to forget all the politics, her betrothal to Lorne, and the possibility of being queen. Her needs are much more basic. All she wants is a solid night’s sleep where she doesn’t wake up screaming with the phantom pain of her skin burning. All she needs is to live without fear of a mob tearing her away from her family. All she hopes for is a chance to dream of a future instead of constantly fighting for her right to live. And yet, somehow, everything she does leads her back to Lorne. He always seems to know when she’s about to break under the pressures of her new life. His quiet patience is wearing Amihanna’s protective walls down, and she’s terrified of what will happen if they fall. "Suspenseful sci-fi with complex world-building and a tough-as-nails heroine you’ll want to root for!" (Elizabeth Briggs, New York Times best-selling author of Future Shock) "This has definitely sucked me in and I really am now invested in what's to come...." (Becky Bookworm)
©2020 Aileen Erin, Frankie Corzo (P)2020 Ink Monster Audio
Running
Summary
When 15-year-old Cuban American Mariana Ruiz's father runs for president, Mari starts to see him with new eyes. A novel about waking up and standing up, and what happens when you stop seeing your dad as your hero - while the whole country is watching. In this authentic, humorous, and gorgeously written debut novel about privacy, waking up, and speaking up, Senator Anthony Ruiz is running for president. Throughout his successful political career he has always had his daughter's vote, but a presidential campaign brings a whole new level of scrutiny to sheltered 15-year-old Mariana and the rest of her Cuban American family, from a 60 Minutes-style tour of their house to tabloids doctoring photos and inventing scandals. As tensions rise within the Ruiz family, Mari begins to learn about the details of her father's political positions, and she realizes that her father is not the man she thought he was. But how do you find your voice when everyone's watching? When it means disagreeing with your father - publicly? What do you do when your dad stops being your hero? Will Mari get a chance to confront her father? If she does, will she have the courage to seize it?
©2020 Natalia Sylvester (P)2020 Recorded Books
Everyone Knows You Go Home
Summary
From the acclaimed author of Chasing the Sun comes a new novel about immigration and the depths to which one Mexican American family will go for forgiveness and redemption.
The first time Isabel meets her father-in-law, Omar, he’s already dead - an apparition appearing uninvited on her wedding day. Her husband, Martin, still unforgiving for having been abandoned by his father years ago, confesses that he never knew the old man had died. So Omar asks Isabel for the impossible: persuade Omar’s family - especially his wife, Elda - to let him redeem himself.
Isabel and Martin settle into married life in a Texas border town, and Omar returns each year on the celebratory Day of the Dead. Every year Isabel listens, but to the aggrieved Martin and Elda, Omar’s spirit remains invisible. Through his visits, Isabel gains insight into not just the truth about his disappearance and her husband’s childhood but also the ways grief can eat away at love. When Martin’s teenage nephew crosses the Mexican border and takes refuge in Isabel and Martin’s home, questions about past and future homes, borders, and belonging arise that may finally lead to forgiveness - and alter all their lives forever.
©2018 Natalia Sylvester (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved
Death of a Cheerleader
Summary
Betty and Veronica's cheerleading retreat with the River Vixens was supposed to be fun - not deadly. Betty, Veronica, Cheryl, and the rest of the River Vixens are heading out of town for the weekend on a cheerleading retreat. So Archie, Jughead, and the rest of the guys decide to have a poker night at La Bonne Nuit. But a storm causes the power to go out, and the speakeasy goes into lockdown. When the lights come back on, all of the cash is gone. The thief has to be someone the guys know - but who? A few hours away, the River Vixens are ready to enjoy a few days of nature and team bonding. But when they arrive at the cheerleading camp, there are two other feuding squads already there. The team from Stonewall Prep claims that the Greendale girls are the reason one of their teammates went missing two years ago. Betty and Veronica volunteer to investigate, but then creepy things start happening all over camp. And when one of the cheerleaders nearly drowns in the lake, B&V know they have to find out the truth before anyone else gets hurt - or worse.
©2020 Micol Ostow (P)2020 Scholastic Inc.
Goldie Vance: The Hotel Whodunit
Summary
Move over, Nancy Drew - there's a new sleuth in town! Inspired by the beloved comic series, Goldie Vance is ready to sleuth her way through never-before-seen mysteries in this original novel series by Lilliam Rivera featuring 16 full-color comic pages! Marigold "Goldie" Vance lives and works at the Crossed Palms Resort Hotel in Florida with a whole slew of characters: her dad, Art, the manager of the joint; Cheryl Lebeaux, the concierge and Goldie's best friend; and Walter Tooey, the hired hotel detective. Her mom, Sylvie, works nearby at the Mermaid Club. While life at the Crossed Palms is always busy, the resort is currently overrun with Hollywood-types filming the hottest new creature feature, and tensions are at an all-time high. Even Goldie's mom is in on the movie act, doing what she does best: playing a mermaid. Just when Goldie thinks the movie biz couldn't get any more exciting, a diamond-encrusted swimming cap goes missing, and all fingers point to Goldie's mom as the culprit. Can Goldie uncover the true thief before it's too late? Based on Hope Larson and Brittney Williams' critically acclaimed Goldie Vance comic, this thrilling novel explores a never-before-seen caper and features 16 full-color comic pages essential to unraveling the mystery. Text and Illustration copyright: © 2020 BOOM! StudiosGoldie Vance(TM) and © 2020 Hope Larson & Brittney Williams
©2020 Lilliam Rivera (P)2020 Little, Brown Young Readers
Who Was Celia Cruz?
Summary
How did a working-class girl from Cuba become a symbol of artistic freedom for Cuban Americans and the "Queen of Salsa"? Find out in this addition to the Who HQ library! Although her family and friends know her as Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso, the world refers to her simply as Celia Cruz. Starting her career in 1950, Celia grew increasingly popular as the new lead singer of the Cuban band Sonora Matancera. Her exceptional vocal range and flashy costumes made fans fall in love with her. Celia's talent took her all around the world, including the United States. After Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba, she wasn't allowed to return to her native country. She and other Cubans who were exiled used their music to express their love for their homeland. Celia rose to the top of the charts in a genre that was dominated by men. She become an award-winning singer and the most popular Latin artist of the 20th century. Azucar! indeed!
©2020 Pam Pollack, Meg Belviso, and Who HQ (P)2020 Listening Library
We Are Here to Stay
Summary
The Stonewall Honor-winning author of Beyond Magenta shares the intimate, eye-opening stories of nine undocumented young adults living in America. “Maybe next time they hear someone railing about how terrible immigrants are, they'll think about me. I’m a real person.” Meet nine courageous young adults who have lived in the United States with a secret for much of their lives: they are not U.S. citizens. They came from Colombia, Mexico, Ghana, Independent Samoa, and Korea. They came seeking education, fleeing violence, and escaping poverty. All have heartbreaking and hopeful stories about leaving their homelands and starting a new life in America. And all are weary of living in the shadows. We Are Here to Stay is a very different book than it was intended to be when originally slated for a 2017 release, illustrated with Susan Kuklin’s gorgeous full-color portraits. Since the last presidential election and the repeal of DACA, it is no longer safe for these young adults to be identified in photographs or by name. In the print version of this book, their photographs have been replaced with empty frames. Their names are represented by first initials. We are honored to publish these enlightening, honest, and brave accounts that encourage open, thoughtful conversation about the complexities of immigration - and the uncertain future of immigrants in America.
©2019 Susan Kuklin, original book published by Candlewick Press. (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
Alicia Alonso Takes the Stage
Summary
From the world of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls comes the historical novel based on the life of Alicia Alonso, a world-renowned prima ballerina from Cuba. Alicia Alonso was born to dance. Her first big role came when she was only 10 years old, and she knew right then that she was going to be a ballerina one day. Only a few years later, she moved from Cuba to the United States to fulfill her dreams. As she danced, however, Alicia began to have trouble seeing. She was quickly going blind. How could a ballerina dance on stage if she couldn't see where she was going? Alicia worried. But she wouldn't let it stop her. With lots of practice, great dance partners, and a few on-stage tricks, Alicia found a way to keep doing what she loved: dancing all over the globe and as one of the world's most beloved prima ballerinas.
©2020 Rebel Girls (P)2020 Listening Library
Come Together, Fall Apart
Summary
These eight short stories and novella travel from Panama’s dusty city streets to its humid beaches to create an affecting portrait of a country in transition. They illustrate family bonds and generational conflicts, youthful infatuation and genuine passion.
Tender, ambitious, bold, and unflinching, they reveal a fresh, exciting, and lavishly talented voice in American literature.
©2019 Cristina Henríquez (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Riverdale: Get Out of Town
Summary
When Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead take a road trip, they discover that their small-town problems seem to follow them wherever they go. Archie's on trial for murder, and the evidence is stacked against him. Betty, Veronica, and Jughead all know that Archie is being framed by Hiram Lodge, but how can they prove it? The gang comes up with a last-ditch plan to prove Archie's innocence: They have to go back to the scene of the crime. They have to go back to Shadow Lake. Threats are around every corner deep in the woods at the Lodge family cabin. Will the teens find the evidence they need to clear Archie's name? And more importantly, will they make it back to Riverdale alive?
©2019 Archie Comic Publications, Inc. (P)2019 Scholastic Inc.
Who Is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez?
Summary
The inspiring story of the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, told in the new Who HQ Now format for trending topics. On June 26, 2018, 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a bartender from New York City, became the youngest woman ever elected to serve on Congress. Her win shocked the political world, and she became a celebrity overnight. Soon, everyone knew her by her initials: AOC. As soon as she was sworn into office, AOC became a vocal champion for health care for all and the fight against climate change. This exciting story details the defining moments of what led to her victory and all the monumental ones since that have shaped her into a smart politician willing to fight for others, the environment, and the future of America.
©2021 Kirsten Anderson, Who HQ (P)2021 Listening Library
Dark Power
Summary
Evil has finally come home. After discovering an army of rogue vampires hiding in a network of secretive caves beneath Darkhaven, Ava López finds herself trapped by the sun with an enemy who bears a striking resemblance to someone she believed was lost forever. The longer Ava is imprisoned with the mysterious newcomer and his legion of undead, the more she questions everything the hunters have taught her. She fears the worst - that they too have lied to her. Out of allies and losing hope, Ava is forced to turn to a very unlikely source for help. A human. While Ava’s new companion has no reason to trust her, she sees her own broken past in the eyes of the desperate hybrid and can’t turn her away. Their shared curiosity uncovers an unsettling truth about vampires and leads them down a dangerous path - one where evil lurks at every turn.
©2021 Waterhouse Press, LLC. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
The Nicotine Chronicles
Summary
In recent years, nicotine has become as verboten as many hard drugs. The literary styles in this volume are as varied as the moral quandaries herein, and the authors have successfully unleashed their incandescent imaginations on the subject matter, fashioning an immensely addictive collection. Featuring brand-new stories by: Lee Child, Joyce Carol Oates, Jonathan Ames, Eric Bogosian, Achy Obejas, Michael Imperioli, Hannah Tinti, Ariel Gore, Bernice L. McFadden, Cara Black, Christopher Sorrentino, David L. Ulin, Jerry Stahl, Lauren Sanders, Peter Kimani, and Robert Arellano. Inspired by the ongoing international success of the city-based Akashic Noir Series (Brooklyn Noir, Boston Noir, Paris Noir, etc.), Akashic created the Drug Chronicles Series in 2011. Following The Speed Chronicles (William T. Vollmann, Megan Abbott), The Cocaine Chronicles (Lee Child, Laura Lippman), The Heroin Chronicles (Jerry Stahl, Eric Bogosian, Lydia Lunch), and The Marijuana Chronicles (Lee Child, Joyce Carol Oates) comes The Nicotine Chronicles, masterfully curated by blockbuster hit maker Lee Child.
©2020 Lee Child (P)2020 Random House Audio
Dark Shadow
Summary
There’s a new vampire in town, and he’s out for blood. It’s been four weeks since Ava López cursed her coven, extinguishing any chance they had of restoring their magic. But as Ava and her vampire nestmates try to rebound from the chaos she caused, she discovers the war hasn’t ended. The humans of Darkhaven are suspicious of recent events, and a mysterious note etched in the ashes of tragedy shakes Ava to her core. On top of everything, she is forced to rely on information provided by a newcomer - a fire witch hot on the trail of a particularly malicious rogue vampire. The very same who may well be responsible for upending Ava’s life. Though Darkhaven’s newest resident claims to come in peace, Ava tries to convince her vampire nest that their visitor is hiding a past far more sinister than they realize. But even Ava is blind to the true darkness... The darkness that resides in the crystal nestled close to her heart.
©2021 by Waterhouse Press, LLC. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
Dreams from Many Rivers
Summary
From Juana Briones and Juan Ponce de León to 18th-century slaves and modern-day sixth graders, the many and varied people depicted here speak to the experiences and contributions of Latinos throughout the history of the United States, from the earliest known stories up to the present day.
A portrait of a great, enormously varied, and enduring heritage, this is a compelling treatment of an important topic. Some voices are composite characters, not historical figures.
©2019 Dreamscape Media, LLC (P)2019 Dreamscape Media, LLC