Audiobooks narrated by Marisol Ramirez

Don’t Go: Stories of Segregation and How to Disrupt It

"Multiple times a day, in cities across the US and beyond, a simple yet powerful message is repeated by the well-meaning, the ignorant, and the bigoted: “don’t go”—avoid at all costs those Black and Brown disinvested neighborhoods that have become bywords for social disorder and urban decay. This book is a collection of intimate stories that uncover the hidden influence of both subtle and overt “don’t go” messages and the segregation they perpetuate in Chicago. Told by everyday people to Tonika Lewis Johnson and Maria Krysan—a Black artist and a White academic who met through their shared passion for anti-segregation work—the stories paint a rich picture of life in a segregated city. One by one, the storytellers upend pessimism with candid, deeply personal, humorous, and heartbreaking tales, and with novel ideas for simple actions that can serve as antidotes to both racism and “place-ism.” By inviting readers into the lives of regular people who have ignored the warning to stay away from “don’t go” neighborhoods or who live in those very same neighborhoods, the stories in Don’t Go illuminate the devastating consequences of racial segregation and disinvestment as well as the inevitable rewards of coming together. “Don’t Go is a remarkable piece of work that can change how we all live. The human voices and engaging, innovative approach do more than a mountain of data ever could to bridge racial barriers. This is a powerful and compelling book.”—Lawrence D. Bobo, Harvard University This audiobook is narrated by Robb Moreira, Jonathan Todd Ross, Kevin R. Free, Nan McNamara, Marisol Ramirez, Cindy Kay, Jasmin Walker, Lynnette R. Freeman, Tonika Lewis Johnson, and Maria Krysan."

Maria Krysan, Tonika Lewis Johnson (Author), Cindy Kay, Jasmin Walker, Jonathan Todd Ross, Kevin R. Free, Lynnette R. Freeman, Maria Krysan, Marisol Ramirez, Nan McNamara, Robb Moreira, Tonika Lewis Johnson (Narrator)

Audiobook

We Need No Wings

"TO BE FREE, WE MUST LEARN TO FLY. Tere Sánchez has always known who she was: a professor, a wife, a mother, and a friend. But when her husband dies unexpectedly, she finds herself completely broken. Taking a leave from the university, Tere hopes that she can mourn her husband and get back on her feet, but instead, she spends a year consumed by grief. Until the day she levitates. Suddenly, Tere’s life is thrown into disarray, and the repeated incidents of levitation not only make her question her sanity but also put her in danger. She decides she will do anything to stop them. So when she’s reminded that her family is related to the renowned levitating mystic Saint Teresa of Ávila, she leaves the refuge of her home and travels to Spain, hoping to find answers. But saints can be elusive, and not all answers are easily found. Tere will soon have to decide whether to remain shrouded in her grief or open her heart to a world where we need no wings to fly … “There is a wonderfully compelling authority on each and every page here, one borne from hard-earned wisdom, the kind that can only bloom from hardship and loss. But Ann Dávila Cardinal is able to capture all of this with humor and life-loving passion and poetic grace. Cardinal is the real deal, and once again, her fine writing soars.”—Andre Dubus III, New York Times bestselling author of House of Sand and Fog"

Ann Dávila Cardinal (Author), Marisol Ramirez (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Silver Women: How Black Women's Labor Made the Panama Canal

"In The Silver Women, Joan Flores-Villalobos argues that Black West Indian women made the Panama Canal construction possible by providing the indispensable everyday labor of social reproduction. West Indian women built a provisioning economy that fed, housed, and cared for the segregated Black West Indian labor force, in effect subsidizing the construction effort and the racial calculus that separated pay in silver for Black workers and gold for white Americans. But while also subject to racial discrimination and segregation, West Indian women mostly worked outside the umbrella of US canal authorities. They did not hold contracts, had little access to official services and wages, and received pay in both silver and gold. From this position, they found ways to skirt, and at times subvert, the legal, moral, and economic parameters imperial authorities sought to impose on the migrant workforce. West Indian women developed important strategies of claims-making, kinship, community building, and market adaptation that helped them navigate the contradictions and violence of the US empire. These strategies of social reproduction nurtured further West Indian migrations, linking Panama to places like Harlem and Santiago de Cuba. The Silver Women is thus a history of Black women's labor of social reproduction as integral to US imperial infrastructure, the global Caribbean diaspora, and women's own survival."

Joan Flores-Villalobos (Author), Marisol Ramirez (Narrator)

Audiobook

Biscayne Bay Breach

"Threatened by a deep-seated evil … that they can only stop together. When John Wilson realizes that his groundbreaking computer program is under attack, he enlists South Beach Security for help. Like it or not, SBS includes the alluring Mia Gonzalez. Beautiful, savvy Mia had enticed the tech billionaire in the past—before disappearing from his life. Now, whoever wants John’s brilliant invention is also after Mia and her family. This wasn’t the reunion John was hoping for, but only with Mia by his side can they hope to outsmart a killer …"

Caridad Pineiro (Author), Marisol Ramirez (Narrator)

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Brickell Avenue Ambush

"He’ll keep her safe even as their attraction intensifies with every hot Miami night … Mariela Hernandez has a target on her back, thanks to her abusive ex-husband’s latest plot. Teaming up with Ricky Gonzalez and his family’s respected private security firm is her only chance at survival. Keeping the vulnerable woman safe isn’t easy. Neither is denying their growing attraction. But with bullets flying, Ricky will risk it all to be the hero Mariela needs …"

Caridad Pineiro (Author), Marisol Ramirez (Narrator)

Audiobook

Lost In Little Havana

"Each brush with death makes their shared desire harder to ignore Detective Roni Lopez has been keeping a secret from Detective Trey Gonzalez her whole life. When his partner is gunned down in a Miami Beach nightclub, she has a new secret to keep. Trey can’t know that she’s working for Internal Affairs—just like he can’t know that she’s always loved him. But when their lives are on the line, she has to make some tough choices about what really matters …"

Caridad Pineiro (Author), Marisol Ramirez (Narrator)

Audiobook

Witnesses for the Dead: Stories

"Inspired by recent true events, the all-original stories in Witnesses for the Dead are set in motion by the act of witnessing. The characters who populate these pages are not themselves the perpetrators of crimes, but find their lives indelibly changed by what they see as they grapple with coming forward, taking action, or retreating into the shadows. In “Envy” by Christopher Chambers, a sweet, shy wallflower looks on as something horrific happens in his neighborhood—revealing something horrific about himself. Agatha Award–winner Richie Narvaez’s “The Gardener of Roses” sees a Puertorriqueña college student on the run from the FBI for her accidental involvement in a “terrorist” plot. Anthony Award–winner Gary Phillips confronts police corruption in “Spiders and Fly.” And the protagonist of “A Family Matter” by IPPY Award–winner Sarah M. Chen investigates the murder of a stranger, leading her to question the political structure of Taiwan entirely. Other stories feature a brothel, the film industry, immigrant detention centers at the Mexico-US border, World War II–torn France, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The stories are incisive, unflinching, wry, dark, and, in some cases, terrifying. You’ll ask yourself: If I saw what they saw, what would I do?"

Gary Phillips (Author), Arnell Powell, Brian Nishii, Christopher Salazar, Graciela Jones, Marisol Ramirez, Robertson Dean, Suzanne Toren, Tamika Katon-Donegal (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Storyteller's Death

"There was always an old woman dying in the back room of her family’s house when Isla was a child. Isla Larsen Sanchez’s life begins to unravel when her father passes away. Instead of being comforted at home in New Jersey, her mother starts leaving her in Puerto Rico with her grandmother and great-aunt each summer like a piece of forgotten luggage. When Isla turns eighteen, her grandmother, a great storyteller, dies. It is then that Isla discovers she has a gift passed down through her family’s cuentistas. The tales of dead family storytellers are brought back to life, replaying themselves over and over in front of her. At first, Isla is enchanted by this connection to the Sanchez cuentistas. But when Isla has a vision of an old murder mystery, she realizes that if she can’t solve it to make the loop end, these seemingly harmless stories could cost Isla her life."

Ann Dávila Cardinal (Author), Marisol Ramirez (Narrator)

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Concerning Those Who Have Fallen Asleep: Ghost Stories

"A collection of short stories moving through time and place, exploring the spaces where we haunt each other and ourselves through our choices, our institutions, and our dreams. Adam Soto, author of the debut novel This Weightless World, which Robin Sloan called “the social novel for the 21st century,” returns with Concerning Those Who Have Fallen Asleep. In the title story, a one-armed Harlem Hellfighter goes in search of his specially altered military uniform while Influenza ravages Philadelphia. In “Sleepy Things,” a man is bound to the bedside of his comatose girlfriend who haunts his mother’s dreams. In “Wren & Riley,” a couple travels to Wyoming to visit a childhood friend who killed her abusive husband. And in “The Vegetable Church,” a pair of Syrian sisters, refugees of the civil war, find themselves at a crossroads in the home of their European hosts while their dead father whispers to them words of comfort and guidance. The stories in Concerning Those Who Have Fallen Asleep, strange and unsettling, explore the quiet spaces where the living and the dead alike haunt one another through their choices, dreams, and institutions."

Adam Soto (Author), Arnell Powell, Christopher Salazar, Dele Ogundiran, Jeed Saddy, Marisol Ramirez, Shridhar Solanki (Narrator)

Audiobook

Unleashed: A Novel

"Set amid California's wildfire season, a vivid and magical novel following a family in crisis thrust on a collision course with the world around them that has an outcome beyond their wildest imaginings . . . When Lu and George Barnes drop their only daughter, Pippa, off at college, they return to their Sonoma home to find that their paths have diverged. Confronted with an empty nest, Lu's increasing dissatisfaction with their materialistic lives becomes impossible to ignore. She is most content outdoors, finding the animals in her backyard far superior company to her pretentious neighbors. In contrast, George is eager to throw himself into his business, a local winery with an elite clientele, as well as his art collection. He cannot for the life of him understand his wife's discontent. Meanwhile, Pippa feels completely adrift at school in the bustle of LA-its unfamiliar noises, its unfriendly atmosphere. She finds comfort only in the beloved family cat she's brought with her and in her zoology class, which makes the world seem just a bit brighter. As Lu, George, and Pippa struggle to adapt, growing apart in the process, tensions outside the family are mounting as well; women have been disappearing across the country with no worldly explanation, all while California's wildfire season is swiftly approaching, bringing with it a reckoning that none of the Barneses can avoid. At once a grounded story about love and family, and a transcendent tale about the power of nature, Unleashed is a stunning look at what matters in an all too chaotic world, the things that sustain us when we are on the verge of losing it all, and how we might find ourselves in the most unexpected of ways."

Cai Emmons (Author), Marisol Ramirez (Narrator)

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Stolen City

"The city of Leithon is under Imperial occupation, and Arian Athensor has made it her playground. In stealing magical artifacts for the Resistance, bounding over rooftops to evade Imperial soldiers, and establishing herself as the darling thief of the underground, Arian lives a life wrapped in danger and trained toward survival. She’ll steal anything for the right price, and if she runs fast enough, she can almost escape the fact that her mother is dead, her father is missing, and her brother, Liam, is hiding a wealth of power in a city that has outlawed magic. But then the mysterious Cavar comes to town with a job for the twins: steal an artifact capable of ripping the souls from the living—the same artifact that used to hang around the neck of their mother. Suddenly, Arian’s past is no longer buried under adrenaline but intimately tied to the mission at hand, and she must face her guilt and pain head-on in order to pull off the heist. As Arian and Cavar infiltrate the strongest fortress in Leithon and Liam joins the Resistance as their resident mage, the twins find themselves embroiled in court politics and family secrets, and the mission becomes more than just another artifact theft. The target is now the Imperial rule, and Arian will do whatever is necessary to steal her city back."

Elisa A. Bonnin (Author), Marisol Ramirez (Narrator)

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Twice a Quinceañera

"Acclaimed author of the Reese Witherspoon YA Book Club Pick Furia, Yamile Saied Méndez makes her adult fiction debut with this sparkling, whimsical novel of an accomplished young woman who discovers what it really means to come into her own … One month short of her wedding day—and her thirtieth birthday—Nadia Palacio finds herself standing up to her infuriating, cheating fiancé for the first time in … well, ever. But that same courage doesn’t translate to breaking the news to her Argentinian family. She’s hyperventilating before facing them when she glimpses a magazine piece about a Latina woman celebrating herself—with a second quinceañera, aka Sweet 15! And that gives Nadia a brilliant idea … With a wedding venue already paid for, and family from all over the world with plane tickets, Nadia is determined to create her own happily-ever-after. Since the math adds up perfectly, she’ll celebrate her treintañera, her double quinces. As the first professional in her family, raising a glass to her achievements is the best plan she’s had in years. Until she discovers that the man in charge of the venue is none other than her college fling that became far more than a fling. And he looks even more delicious than a three-tiered cake … Full of exuberant heart, Twice a Quinceañera is a pure delight for every woman who needs to be her own biggest fan—and who dreams of a second chance at first love."

Yamile Saied Méndez (Author), Marisol Ramirez (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Marisol Ramirez