Audiobooks narrated by Sandy Rustin

Leaf Detective: How Margaret Lowman Uncovered Secrets in the Rainforest

2022 Green Earth Book Award Winner NSTA/CBC Best STEM Book John Burroughs Association Riverby Award Honorable Mention, Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award This picture book biography tells the story of Meg Lowman, a groundbreaking female scientist called a 'real life Lorax' by National Geographic, who was determined to investigate the marvelous, undiscovered world of the rainforest treetops. Meg Lowman was always fascinated by the natural world above her head — the colors, the branches, and, most of all, the leaves and mysterious organisms living there. Meg set out to climb up and investigate the rain forest tree canopies — and to be the first scientist to do so. But she encountered challenge after challenge. Male teachers would not let her into their classrooms, the high canopy was difficult to get to, and worst of all, people were logging and clearing the forests. Meg never gave up or gave in. She studied, invented, and persevered, not only creating a future for herself as a scientist, but making sure that the rainforests had a future as well. Working closely with Meg Lowman, author Heather Lang and artist Jana Christy beautifully capture Meg's world in the treetops. 'Meg Lowman or 'Canopy Meg' is a true hero, a courageous explorer, who made amazing discoveries high in the forest canopy. The Leaf Detective captures the magic of that little-known world with its clear, informative text and fabulous illustrations. Young readers everywhere will be fascinated and inspired to learn more about nature.' —Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and Pioneer of Peace “Margaret Lowman is a pioneer scientist in a discipline that demands exceptional imagination, courage, and physical rigor. But of equal importance, she has created an extraordinarily important branch of environmental and conservation research. Heather Lang and Jana Christy, in this charming introduction, have invited us to climb on up and visit her.” —Edward O. Wilson, Pulitzer Prize winner and Professor Emeritus, Harvard University

Heather Lang (Author), Sandy Rustin (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Gravity of Missing Things

Flight 133 disappeared over the ocean. No wreckage. No distress signal. Just gone. Suddenly, everyone on the news and social media is talking about whether the pilot intentionally crashed it—everyone but me. Because I know her. The pilot was my mom, and there’s no way she would hurt anyone. No one else knows that before she left, she wrote me a note. Trust me, it said. Now it feels like someone split my world—and me—in two, and the only person who believes me is Landon. I want to trust him, to let him see who I really am, but I can’t. I have my secrets, the same way Mom has hers. All I know is falling for him will only make things more complicated. Just as I start to open up, the answer to what really happened to Flight 133 could rip my world apart all over again—for good this time.

Marisa Urgo (Author), Sandy Rustin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Golden Ticket

Eleven-year-old Ash McNulty is one of the “gifted and talented” kids at her school, spending most of her day in a special class with a few other advanced students. As the end of fifth grade rolls around, she should be on top of the world. According to everyone, she’s going to rock junior high! But Ash has a secret: She can’t keep up with her advanced classmates anymore. The minute she asks for help though, everyone will know she’s not who they think she is. She’s not so smart. She might not even be that special. And her parents will be crushed to discover the truth. If Ash can win the Quiz Bowl, though, that will show everyone that she is still on top. If she gets a lucky break ahead of time, all the better. Except that “lucky break” backfires … And Ash is left to question everything she thought she knew about school, friends, and success.

Kate Egan (Author), Sandy Rustin (Narrator)

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The Woman Who Split the Atom: The Life of Lise Meitner

The gripping story of Lise Meitner, the physicist who discovered nuclear fission As a female Jewish physicist in Berlin during the early twentieth century, Lise Meitner had to fight for an education, a job, and equal treatment in her field. Meitner made groundbreaking strides in the study of radiation, but when Hitler came to power in Germany, she had to face not only sexism but life-threatening anti-Semitism as well. Nevertheless, she persevered and one day made a discovery that rocked the world: the splitting of the atom. While her male lab partner was awarded a Nobel Prize for the achievement, the committee refused to credit her. Suddenly, the race to build the atomic bomb was on—although Meitner, a pacifist, was horrified to be associated with such a weapon. “A physicist who never lost her humanity,” Meitner wanted only to figure out how the world works. The Woman Who Split the Atom is a fascinating look at Meitner’s fierce passion, integrity, and her lifelong struggle to have her contributions to physics recognized.

Marissa Moss (Author), Sandy Rustin (Narrator)

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Faces

Final novel in E. C. Blake's dystopian fantasy trilogy, The Masks of Aygrima The Masks of Aygrima is set in a land where people are forced to wear spellimbued Masks that reveal any traitorous thoughts they have about their ruler, the Autarch. Mara Holdfast is a young woman gifted with the ability to see and use all the colors of magic. Two other people share this talent: the Autarch, who draws upon the very life-force of his subjects to fuel his existence and retain his control over the kingdom; and the legendary Lady of Pain and Fire, the only person who has ever truly challenged the Autarch’s despotic reign. After a devastating battle that takes a dreadful toll on both the rebel unMasked Army and the forces of Prince Chell, their ally from across the sea, Mara and her fellow survivors have no one to turn to for help but the Lady of Pain and Fire. As the Lady leads them to her haven beyond the mountain borders of the kingdom, Mara feels that she has found the one person who truly understands her, a mentor who can teach her to control and use her power for the greater good. Together, they may be able to at last free Agryma from the Autarch’s rule. Living within the Lady’s castle, cut off from her friends in the village far below, Mara immerses herself in her training. Still, she can’t entirely escape from hearing dark hints about the Lady, rumors that the Lady may, in her own way, be as ruthless as the Autarch himself. Yet it is not until they begin their campaign against the Autarch that Mara discovers where the real danger lies. Driven by the Lady’s thirst for revenge, will Mara and all her friends fall victim in a duel to the death between two masters of magic?

E.C. Blake (Author), Sandy Rustin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Fatal Flowers

At the Flower House, you’re as likely to find a killer as a chrysanthemum. As Aerieville, Tennessee’s Flower House finally gains in popularity, Sierra Ravenswood finds herself feeling ready for new challenges. Luckily, the shop has grabbed the attention of the mayor’s daughter, and bride-to-be, Marissa Lakely. Sierra is thrilled, and nervous, to land her most important job yet: providing flowers for the biggest wedding Aerieville has ever seen. Fortunately, Marissa bucks all stereotypes and is far from a bridezilla—but her wedding planner, Taz Banyan, has apparently taken on the role for himself. But Taz aside, everything seems to be under control … until Sierra makes a startling discovery in the great room: the wedding planner, lying in a heap at the bottom of the stairs. He survives only long enough to mutter: “It was the snake.” As Granny Mae would say, seeing a snake is rarely a good sign, and this was clearly no exception. With the town on edge and the wedding up in the air, Sierra refuses to stop asking questions in her determination to put an end to this latest danger—so both Aerieville and the Flower House can flourish once more.

Jess Dylan (Author), Sandy Rustin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Shadows in the Mind's Eye: A Novel

Charlotte Anne Mattas longs to turn back the clock. Before her husband, Sam, went to serve his country in the war, he was the man everyone could rely on-responsible, intelligent, and loving. But the person who's come back to their family farm is very different from the protector Annie remembers. Sam's experience in the Pacific theater has left him broken in ways no one can understand-but that everyone is learning to fear. Tongues start wagging after Sam nearly kills his own brother. Now when he claims to have seen men on the mountain when no one else has seen them, Annie isn't the only one questioning his sanity and her safety. If there were criminals haunting the hills, there should be evidence beyond his claims. Is he really seeing what he says, or is his war-tortured mind conjuring ghosts? Annie desperately wants to believe her husband. But between his irrational choices and his nightmares leaking into the daytime, she's terrified he's going mad. Can she trust God to heal Sam's mental wounds-or will sticking by him mean keeping her marriage at the cost of her own life? Debut novelist Janyre Tromp delivers a deliciously eerie, Hitchcockian story filled with love and suspense. Readers of psychological thrillers and historical fiction by Jaime Jo Wright and Sarah Sundin will add Tromp to their favorite authors list.

Janyre Tromp (Author), Matt Godfrey, Sandy Rustin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Pay Dirt Road

Annie McIntyre has a love/hate relationship with Garnett, Texas. Recently graduated from college and home waitressing, lacking not in ambition but certainly in direction, Annie is lured into the family business-a private investigation firm-by her supposed-to-be-retired grandfather, Leroy, despite the rest of the clan's misgivings. When a waitress at the café goes missing, Annie and Leroy begin an investigation that leads them down rural routes and haunted byways, to noxious-smelling oil fields and to the glowing neon of local honky-tonks. As Annie works to uncover the truth she finds herself identifying with the victim in increasing, unsettling ways, and realizes she must confront her own past-failed romances, a disturbing experience she'd rather forget, and the trick mirror of nostalgia itself-if she wants to survive this homecoming.

Samantha Jayne Allen (Author), Sandy Rustin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Air

Twelve-year-old Emmie is working to raise money for a tricked-out wheelchair to get serious about WCMX, when a mishap on a poorly designed ramp at school throws her plans into a tailspin. Instead of replacing the ramp, her school provides her with a kind but unwelcome aide and, seeing a golden media opportunity, launches a public fundraiser for her new wheels. Emmie loves her close-knit rural town, but she can't shake the feeling that her goals-and her choices-suddenly aren't hers anymore. With the help of her best friends, Emmie makes a plan to lift her dreams off the ground-and show her community what she wants, what she has to give, and how ready she is to do it on her own terms.

Monica Roe (Author), Sandy Rustin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Message Not Found

An emotionally complex portrayal of secrets, loss, and grief from Dante Medema, Indies Introduce author of the Indie Next Pick title The Truth Project. Bailey and Vanessa shared everything: laughter, secrets, and packets of Pop Rocks to ward off bad days. But that all changed the night Vanessa left Bailey’s, headed for home, and ended up swerving off a cliff nowhere near her house. Now Bailey, who thought she knew Vanessa better than anyone in the world, is left with a million unanswered questions, and the only person with answers is gone. To help grieve her loss, Bailey creates a chat bot of Vanessa using years’ worth of their shared text messages and emails. The more data she uploads to the bot, the more it feels like she’s really talking to her best friend. That is, until the bot starts dropping hints that there was more going on with Vanessa than Bailey realized—a secret so big, it may have contributed to Vanessa’s death. This compelling puzzle of a story, filled with engrossing twists and turns, is written in alternating prose and text message formats. Teens will gobble up this fast-paced novel.

Dante Medema (Author), Jane Oppenheimer, Sandy Rustin, Tara Sands, Taylor Meskimen, Vikas Adam (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Baker's Guide to Robber Pie

Evie Baker has always dreamed of going on adventures like those in her favoritestories, and tonight she's putting her plan into action. With her best friend, Cecily, by her side, Evie sets off into the Old Forest in search of a Fel. She is certain a carefully crafted deal and her family's irresistible raspberry tart will lead to a magical adventure-without getting her eaten ... or worse. But when Evie finds her Fel, she also discovers a nest of robbers! As the only person who has ever seen the Robber Lord's face, Evie is quickly whisked away into hiding. But trouble has a way of finding her, even in the queen's own city ... YA novelist Caitlin Sangster makes her middle grade debut in this fun fantasy filled with adventure, friendship, baking, and the power of a tale well told.

Caitlin Sangster (Author), Sandy Rustin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Spectacular Sisters: Amazing Stories of Sisters from Around the World

Starring the special bond between sisters throughout history, this fun and inspiring biography collection from author Aura Lewis is perfect for fans of Rad American Women A-Z and the Women in Art/Science/Sports series. Sisters are spectacular! They can be your biggest cheerleaders, your most trusted confidants, and your much-needed fashion advisors (as long as they’re not stealing your clothes!). But sisterhood can also be complex: full of rivalry, jealousy, and not-so-friendly competition. From pop culture sensations like the Kardashians/Jenners to civil rights activists Coretta Scott King and Edythe Scott Bagley to tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams, these sisters—and so many others throughout history—have not only impacted art, culture, and society, but also illustrate the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood. At the end of the day, whether you’re mortal enemies or best friends, spectacular sisters will always have your back. Share this book at home or in the classroom. It's a great source for capsule biographies of a wide variety of powerful women. Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

Aura Lewis (Author), Kyla Garcia, Reena Dutt, Sandy Rustin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Sandy Rustin