Jessica Almasy has narrated 128 audiobooks on Listento.it by 79 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.4★ across 2,820 ratings. The most-rated is Cosmos.
Cosmos
Summary
Cosmos is one of the bestselling science books of all time. In clear-eyed prose, Sagan reveals a jewel-like blue world inhabited by a life form that is just beginning to discover its own identity and to venture into the vast ocean of space. Featuring a new Introduction by Sagan's collaborator, Ann Druyan, and a new Foreword by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cosmos retraces the fourteen billion years of cosmic evolution that have transformed matter into consciousness, exploring such topics as the origin of life, the human brain, Egyptian hieroglyphics, spacecraft missions, the death of the Sun, the evolution of galaxies, and the forces and individuals who helped to shape modern science. Includes introductory music: Heaven and Hell by Vangelis from Cosmos: A Personal Voyage used with permission from Druyan-Sagan Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.
©1980 Carl Sagan Productions, Inc (P)2017 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. Foreword © 2013 by Ann Druyan. “Reflections on Carl Sagan’s Cosmos” essay © 2013 by Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Small Great Things
Summary
Number-one New York Times Best Seller With richly layered characters and a gripping moral dilemma that will lead listeners to question everything they know about privilege, power, and race, Small Great Things is the stunning new pause-resister from Jodi Picoult. Soon to be a major motion picture “[Picoult] offers a thought-provoking examination of racism in America today, both overt and subtle. Her many readers will find much to discuss in the pages of this topical, moving book.” (Booklist [starred review]) Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than 20 years’ experience. During her shift, Ruth begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she’s been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don’t want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery. Does she obey orders or does she intervene? Ruth hesitates before performing CPR and, as a result, is charged with a serious crime. Kennedy McQuarrie, a white public defender, takes her case but gives unexpected advice: Kennedy insists that mentioning race in the courtroom is not a winning strategy. Conflicted by Kennedy’s counsel, Ruth tries to keep life as normal as possible for her family - especially her teenage son - as the case becomes a media sensation. As the trial moves forward, Ruth and Kennedy must gain each other’s trust, and come to see that what they’ve been taught their whole lives about others - and themselves - might be wrong. With incredible empathy, intelligence, and candor, Jodi Picoult tackles race, privilege, prejudice, justice, and compassion - and doesn’t offer easy answers. Small Great Things is a remarkable achievement from a writer at the top of her game. Praise for Small Great Things “Small Great Things is the most important novel Jodi Picoult has ever written.... It will challenge her readers...[and] expand our cultural conversation about race and prejudice.” (The Washington Post) “A novel that puts its finger on the very pulse of the nation that we live in today...a fantastic read from beginning to end, as can always be expected from Picoult, this novel maintains a steady, page-turning pace that makes it hard for readers to put down.” (San Francisco Book Review)
©2016 Jodi Picoult (P)2016 Random House Audio
Orphan Train
Summary
Orphan Train is a gripping story of friendship and second chances from Christina Baker Kline, author of Bird in Hand and The Way Life Should Be. Penobscot Indian Molly Ayer is close to "aging out" out of the foster care system. A community-service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping Molly out of juvie and worse.... As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly learns that she and Vivian aren’t as different as they seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance. Molly discovers that she has the power to help Vivian find answers to mysteries that have haunted her for her entire life - answers that will ultimately free them both. Rich in detail and epic in scope, Orphan Train is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of unexpected friendship, and of the secrets we carry that keep us from finding out who we are.
©2013 Christina Baker Kline (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
WWW: Wake
Summary
Caitlin Decter is young, pretty, feisty, a genius at math - and blind. Still, she can surf the net with the best of them, following its complex paths clearly in her mind.But Caitlin's brain long ago co-opted her primary visual cortex to help her navigate online. So when she receives an implant to restore her sight, instead of seeing reality, the landscape of the World Wide Web explodes into her consciousness, spreading out all around her in a riot of colors and shapes.While exploring this amazing realm, she discovers something - some other - lurking in the background. And it's getting more and more intelligent with each passing day.BONUS AUDIO: Includes an exclusive introduction written and read by author Robert J. Sawyer.
©2009 Ace (P)2009 Audible, Inc.
Slacker
Summary
Cameron Boxer is very happy to spend his life avoiding homework, hanging out with his friends, and gaming for hours in his basement. It's not too hard for him to get away with it...until he gets so caught up in one game that he almost lets his house burn down around him. Oops. It's time for some serious damage control - so Cameron and his friends invent a fake school club that will make it seem like they're doing good deeds instead of slacking off. The problem? Some kids think the club is real - and Cameron is stuck being president. Soon, Cameron is part of a mission to save a beaver named Elvis from certain extinction. Along the way, he makes some new friends - and some powerful new enemies. The guy who never cared about anything is now at the center of everything...and it's going to take all his slacker skills to win this round.
©2016 Gordon Korman (P)2016 Recorded Books
The Mystery of Alice
Summary
An enthralling and inventive thriller, only on Audible Thirteen-year-old Emily Poe has been given the opportunity of a lifetime: A chance to attend the exclusive Audyn School in Manhattan. But to win the scholarship, she has to pass a test like nothing she’s ever experienced before: A nearly bare room, a set of strange clues, a locked door. And a mysterious organization - the Leopold Foundation - that’s watching her every move. But the real test has just begun. Despite the strange circumstances - in a new house, at a new school - Emily instantly bonds with fellow scholarship winner Alice Wray. And then Alice goes missing. Chronicling every surprising twist and turn of her search through her own private video diary, Emily sets out to find the truth behind Alice’s disappearance. Soon she’s drawn deep into the inner circle of the Audyn School’s elite, the Nobility, who each have secrets of their own. As clues and lies mount, Emily must sort truth from fiction to solve the Mystery of Alice before it’s too late.
©2019 Lee Bacon (P)2019 Audible Originals, LLC.
WWW: Watch
Summary
Webmind is an emerging consciousness that has befriended Caitlin Decter and grown eager to learn about her world. But Webmind has also come to the attention of WATCH - the secret government agency that monitors the Internet for any threat to the United States - and they're fully aware of Caitlin's involvement in its awakening. WATCH is convinced that Webmind represents a risk to national security and wants it purged from cyberspace. But Caitlin believes in Webmind's capacity for compassion - and she will do anything and everything necessary to protect her friend.BONUS AUDIO: Includes an exclusive introduction by author Robert J. Sawyer.
©2010 Robert J. Sawyer (P)2010 Audible, Inc.
WWW: Wonder
Summary
"A writer of boundless confidence and bold scientific extrapolation" (New York Times) concludes his mindbending trilogy. Webmind - the vast consciousness that spontaneously emerged from the infrastructure of the World Wide Web - has proven its worth to humanity by aiding in everything from curing cancer to easing international tensions. But the brass at the Pentagon see Webmind as a threat that needs to be eliminated. Caitlin Decter - the once-blind 16-year-old math genius who discovered, and bonded with, Webmind - wants desperately to protect her friend. And if she doesn't act, everything - Webmind included - may come crashing down. BONUS AUDIO: Includes an exclusive introduction written and read by author Robert J. Sawyer.
©2011 Robert J. Sawyer (P)2011 Audible, Inc.
Handle with Care
Summary
When Willow is born with severe osteogenesis imperfecta, her parents are devastated - she will suffer hundreds of broken bones as she grows, a lifetime of pain. In this provocative story from the number-one New York Times best-selling author, "Picoult writes with unassuming brilliance" (Stephen King). Every expectant parent will tell you that they don't want a perfect baby, just a healthy one. Charlotte and Sean O'Keefe would have asked for a healthy baby, too, if they'd been given the choice. Instead their lives are made up of sleepless nights, mounting bills, the pitying stares of "luckier" parents, and, maybe worst of all, the what-ifs. What if their child had been born healthy? But it's all worth it because Willow is, funny as it seems, perfect. She's smart as a whip, on her way to being as pretty as her mother, kind, brave, and, for a five-year-old, an unexpectedly deep source of wisdom. Willow is Willow, in sickness and in health. Everything changes, though, after a series of events forces Charlotte and her husband to confront the most serious what-ifs of all. What if Charlotte had known earlier of Willow's illness? What if things could have been different? What if their beloved Willow had never been born? To do Willow justice, Charlotte must ask herself these questions and one more: What constitutes a valuable life? Emotionally riveting and profoundly moving, Handle with Care is an unforgettable novel about the fragility of life and the lengths we will go to protect it.
©2016 Jodi Picoult (P)2016 Simon & Schuster
Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: Spark of the Resistance
Summary
When a distress plea goes up from the isolated planet Minfar, Resistance heroes Rey, Poe, and Rose hear the call! Together, they will face down a First Order battalion, terrifying flying creatures, and a weapon that could change the course of the war!
©2019 Justina Ireland (P)2019 Listening Library
The Bite of the Mango
Summary
The astounding story of one girl's journey from war victim to UNICEF Special Representative. As a child in a small rural village in Sierra Leone, Mariatu Kamara lived peacefully surrounded by family and friends. Rumors of rebel attacks were no more than a distant worry. But when 12-year-old Mariatu set out for a neighboring village, she never arrived. Heavily armed rebel soldiers, many no older than children themselves, attacked and tortured Mariatu. During this brutal act of senseless violence, they cut off both of her hands. Stumbling through the countryside, Mariatu miraculously survived. The sweet taste of a mango, her first food after the attack, reaffirmed her desire to live, but the challenge of clutching the fruit in her bloodied arms reinforced the grim new reality that stood before her. With no parents or living adult to support her and living in a refugee camp, she turned to begging in the streets of Freetown.In this gripping and heartbreaking true story, Mariatu shares with readers the details of the brutal attack, its aftermath, and her eventual arrival in Toronto. There, she began to pull together the pieces of her broken life with courage, astonishing resilience and hope.
©2008 Mariatu Kamara, Susan McClelland (P)2011 Audible, Inc.
The Summer I Turned Pretty
Summary
This bittersweet novel by Jenny Han recounts the summer of Belly's 16th birthday. When she and her family arrive at the beach house that June, her longtime summer pal, Jeremiah, appears standoffish and awkward in her presence. And his older brother Conrad - her secret crush - seems distant and cold. But her blossoming beauty isn't the only reason for their change in behavior. For as Belly enjoys the sun and surf, she'll ultimately learn the painful secret that dampens the spirit of her childhood friends.
©2009 Jenny Han (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC
Rules
Summary
Catherine, a 12-year-old girl with big responsibilities, loves her autistic younger brother David and makes lists of rules she thinks will help him get by. But she often feels that her parents, focused on special care for David, forget that she exists, too. Rules, Cynthia Lord's Newbery and ALA Award-winning debut novel, is a tender look at the frustration, struggle, devotion, and hope experienced by families with autistic children.
©2006 Cynthia Lord (P)2007 Recorded Books
Level 13
Summary
Cameron Boxer, king of the slackers, has found something worth his time. By playing video games online in front of an audience, he can find both fame and fortune - especially with Elvis (a beaver who seems to love video games as much as Cam) at his side. The only problem? Things keep getting in Cam's way. Like school. And the club he accidentally started. And the misguided people in his life who don't think beavers should be playing video games. It's going to take some trickery, some close calls, and a fierce devotion to slacking in order for Cam to get to his goal - conquering the game's infamous Level 13. But if any slacker can do it, Cam can.
©2019 Gordon Korman (P)2019 Recorded Books
Fashionably Dead
Summary
Vampyres don't exist. They absolutely do not exist. At least I didn't think they did 'til I tried to quit smoking and ended up Undead. Who in the hell did I screw over in a former life that my getting healthy equates with dead? Now I'm a Vampyre. Yes, we exist whether we want to or not. However, I have to admit, the perks aren't bad. My girls no longer jiggle, my ass is higher than a kite, and the latest Prada keeps finding its way to my wardrobe. On the downside, I'm stuck with an obscenely profane Guardian Angel who looks like Oprah and a Fairy Fighting Coach who's teaching me to annihilate like the Terminator. To complicate matters, my libido has increased to Vampyric proportions, and my attraction to a hotter-than-Satan's-underpants killer rogue Vampyre is not only dangerous...it's possibly deadly. For real dead. Permanent death isn't on my agenda. Avoiding him is my only option. Of course, since he thinks I'm his, it's easier said than done. Like that's not enough to deal with, all the other Vampyres think I'm some sort of Chosen One. Holy hell, if I'm in charge of saving an entire race of blood suckers, the Undead are in for one hell of a ride.
©2014 Robyn Peterman (P)2016 Audible, Inc.
Book Scavenger
Summary
For 12-year-old Emily, the best thing about moving to San Francisco is that it's the home city of her literary idol: Garrison Griswold, book publisher and creator of the online sensation Book Scavenger (a game where books are hidden in cities all over the country and clues to find them are revealed through puzzles). Upon her arrival, however, Emily learns that Griswold has been attacked and is now in a coma, and no one knows anything about the epic new game he had been poised to launch. Then Emily and her new friend, James, discover an odd book, which they come to believe is from Griswold himself and might contain the only copy of his mysterious new game. Racing against time, Emily and James rush from clue to clue, desperate to figure out the secret at the heart of Griswold's new game - before those who attacked Griswold come after them, too.
©2015 Jennifer Chamblis Bertman (P)2015 Recorded Books
How Hard Can It Be?
Summary
What happens when an accountant decides to grab life by the horns and try something new? Apparently a pirate named Dave, a lot of pastel fleece, and blackmail - just to start with.... Visualize and succeed, Oprah said. I was sure as hell trying, even if my campaign to score a job as the local weather girl had ended in a restraining order. Okay, TV was not my strength. But a lack of talent has never stopped me before. Which is why I've embarked on a writing career. I mean, how hard can it be to come up with a sexy romance? Leave it to me to wind up in a group of porno-writing grannies who discuss sex toys and apple cobbler in the same breath. Also, leave it to me to leak an outlandish plot idea to a best-selling author with the morals of a rabid squirrel. And only I could get arrested for a jewelry heist I didn't commit - by a hunky cop whose handcuffs just might tempt me to sign up for a life of crime. Maybe I've found my calling after all.
©2013 Robyn Peterman (P)2017 Audible, Inc.
Fashionably Dead and Wed
Summary
I know I'm already mated.... I wanna get married. What do you get when you combine a three-headed monster named Charles; a rotund, gay, dancing Demon named Doug; a culinary disaster baked by Mother Nature; a celibate premarital councilor named Jeff; an offer from Satan that's impossible to refuse; and Steve Perry? You get the royal wedding from hell - or, to be more accurate, possibly in hell. All I want to do is marry the Vampyre of my dreams, with my closest friends and family in attendance. Yep, I know nuptials in the undead world are unheard of, but I'm still hanging on to my humanity if only by a thread. Being mated is great, but getting married is important to me. Tacky invitations and cake that causes food poisoning aside, I also need to deal with the stream of Demons entering my world from mysteriously opened portals. Not to mention Angel Jeff is going to fail us on the premarital test if we participate in any nookie before the wedding. I'm trying really hard not to go bridezilla on everyone. With five days to plan the wedding, I have to figure out who's opening the portals and deal with our hostile allies who think our wedding is a farce. It's been a very difficult week - especially the no nookie part. All I know is this: I will say "I do" on Saturday even if I have to go to hell and back to accomplish it.
©2016 Robyn Peterman (P)2016 Audible, Inc.
Fashionably Dead Down Under
Summary
Welcome to Hell. Literally. The Hell where the Prince of Darkness is hotter than Hades, Hell Hounds smell like brownies, and the Seven Deadly Sins are addicted to Facebook.... Not to mention the soundtrack in the Underworld is Journey. For real. I should have known no good could come from offing my parents in the space of 20 minutes no matter how psychotic and evil they were.... Now I find out my family tree includes almost every deity and mythological being alive while Ethan, the one and only love of my undead life, has a limited time down under before he turns to dust. In the land of Sin, you'd think I'd get some nookie time with my man, but no. Baby Demons, cousins, and grandparents put the kibosh on that. Blue balls are the new normal. What the hell does a half-Vampyre/half-Demon have to do to catch a break? Apparently find a freakin' sword, calm Mother Nature's unmedicated mood swings, and make sure Mr. Rogers keeps his sticky fingers to himself during weekly poker with the Devil. And I have three days to do it. By all that's unholy, I thought Ethan's Vampyre family was crazy.... Trust me, they have nothing on the Demons.
©2014 Robyn Peterman (P)2016 Audible, Inc.
The Unbreakable Code
Summary
Emily and James's teacher Mr. Quisling is up to something mysterious. First, there's the news clipping with an unusual note that he drops at a book event. Then Emily and James discover their teacher has been receiving encrypted messages in a series of Mark Twain books hidden through Book Scavenger. When Emily and James decipher the messages, they begin to suspect Mr. Quisling is hunting a long-rumored treasure of buried gold. Intrigued by this prospect and what it could mean for her family's financial struggles, Emily and James set out to best their teacher. But when they research Mark Twain and the Gold Rush era, they learn about a serial arsonist from the 1800s who called himself The Lightkeeper, and the seemingly unrelated string of arson fires around San Francisco suddenly seem more ominous. Especially when they realize the fires have been set in the exact locations where Mr. Quisling found the Mark Twain books. Is a copycat Lightkeeper trying to stop Mr. Quisling? Or could Mr. Quisling himself be the arsonist? By the time Emily and James uncover the answers, much more is at stake than whether or not Emily will have to move again.
©2017 Jennifer Chambliss Bertman (P)2017 Recorded Books