Laura Ortiz has narrated 4 audiobooks on Listento.it by 3 authors, with an average listener rating of 4★ across 6 ratings. The most-rated is Hideaway.
Hideaway
Summary
2020 Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel
"Authentic, disturbing and unbearably tense, Hideaway will leave you reeling." (Shari Lapena, number-one internationally best-selling author of The Couple Next Door)
Gloria Janes appears to be a doting suburban mother and loving wife. But beyond her canary-yellow door, Gloria controls her husband, Telly, as well as seven-year-old Maisy and her older brother Rowan, through a disorienting cycle of adoration and banishment.
When Telly leaves, Gloria turns on Rowan. He runs away, finding unlikely refuge with a homeless man named Carl, with whom he forms the kind of bond he has never found with his parents. After they are menaced by strangers, Rowan follows Carl to an isolated cottage, where he accidentally sets off a burst of heightened paranoia in Carl, and their adventure takes a dark turn.
Gloria is publicly desperate for the safe return of her son while privately plotting ever wilder ways to lure Telly home for good. Her behaviour grows more erratic and her manipulation of Maisy begins to seem dedicated toward an outcome that only she can see. The two storylines drive relentlessly toward a climax that is both shocking and emotionally riveting.
Suspenseful, unsettling, and masterful, Hideaway explores the secrets of a troubled family and illuminates an unlikely hero and a source of unexpected strength.
©2019 Nicole Lundrigan (P)2019 Viking
The Three Billy Goats Buenos
Summary
Humor abounds in this masterfully-bilingual twist on The Three Billy Goats Gruff that dares to ask the question: why is that troll so grumpy anyway? Three little cabritos have a clever plan to get past the grumpiest troll in the land. But then one of the billy goats wonders: Why is that gigante so grumpy, anyway? This thoughtful question sends their plan in a new direction, and the results are better than they ever imagined. Dashes of humor, empathy, and kindness make this modern twist on a classic tale a charming delight.
©2020 Susan Middleton Elya (P)2020 Listening Library
La Princesa and the Pea
Summary
The Princess and the Pea gets a fresh twist in this charming bilingual retelling. El príncipe knows this girl is the one for him, but, as usual, his mother doesn't agree. The queen has a secret test in mind to see if this girl is really a princesa, but the prince might just have a sneaky plan, too... Listeners will be enchanted by this Latino twist on the classic story, and captivated by the vibrant culture of Peru.
©2017 Susan Middleton Elya (P)2018 Listening Library
The Care and Feeding of a Pet Black Hole
Summary
A girl's friendship with a lonely black hole leads her to face her own sadness in this original, funny, and touching middle grade novel for fans of Crenshaw and Flora & Ulysses. When 11-year-old Stella Rodriguez shows up at NASA to request that her recording be included in Carl Sagan's Golden Record, something unexpected happens: A black hole follows her home and sets out to live in her house as a pet. The black hole swallows everything he touches, which is challenging, to say the least - but also turns out to be a convenient way to get rid of those items that Stella doesn't want around. Soon the ugly sweaters her aunt has made for her all disappear within the black hole, as does the smelly class hamster she's taking care of, and, most important, all the reminders of her dead father that are just too painful to have around. It's not until Stella; her younger brother, Cosmo; the family puppy; and even the bathroom tub all get swallowed up by the black hole that Stella comes to realize she has been letting her own grief consume her. And that's not the only thing she realizes as she attempts to get back home. This is an astonishingly original and funny adventure with a great big heart.
©2017 Michelle Cuevas (P)2017 Listening Library