Showing results by narrator "Theo Solomon" in All Categories

Written nearly two thousand years ago, Emperor Marcus Aurelius‘s Meditations remains a relevant and profound philosophical exploration of what it means to live a meaningful life.

Fifteen-year-old Mack is a hopeless romantic—he blames the films he's grown up watching. He has liked Karim for as long as he can remember, and is ecstatic when Karim becomes his boyfriend—it feels like love. But when Mack's dad gets a job on a film in Scotland, Mack has to move, and soon he discovers how painful love can be. It's horrible being so far away from Karim, but the worst part is that Karim doesn't make the effort to visit. Love shouldn't be only on the weekends.

Trying to escape a lifetime of regrets—and outrun his own demons—veteran soldier Lochled Thatcher embarks on the Fourth Crusade to Leftland, a country rich in magic. Desperate to save her brothers, Rony joins Lochled’s squad only to discover that war is very different from all the songs and fancy speeches. As politics and power clash, Kayna, a Seeker, and Ord, a priest of the Church of Alchemy, find their foundations of loyalty and faith shaken and crumbling. In this theater of chaos, magic, and treachery, soldier and priest alike will find their humanity in as much danger as their lives.

What will the future hold for those who are left? Koli has come a long way since being exiled from his small village of Mythen Rood. In his search for the fabled tech of the Old Times, he knew he'd be battling shunned men, strange beasts and trees that move as fast as whips. But he has already encountered so much more than he bargained for. Now that Koli and his companions have found the source of the signal they've been following - the mysterious "Sword of Albion" - there is hope that their perilous journey will finally be worth something.

In 1927, eight-year-old Clara Harrington’s magical childhood shatters when her mother, renowned author, Bronwyn Newcastle Fordham, disappears off the coast of South Carolina. Bronwyn stunned the world with a book written in an invented language that became a national sensation when she was just twelve years old. Her departure leaves behind not only a devoted husband and heartbroken daughter, but also the hope of ever translating the sequel to her landmark work. As the headlines focus on the missing author, Clara yearns for something far deeper and more insatiable: her beautiful mother.

Isaiah and his dad have recently moved to a new flat, but now his dad is struggling to pay rent due to illness. Soon, the landlord threatens eviction. In history class, Isaiah is intrigued to discover that in the Victorian period, his school used to be a hospital and his flat block was once a workhouse. In the basement of the flats, Isaiah discovers an old fireplace. When he lights it, a boy called Jacob appears. He tells Isaiah he's been sent to the workhouse after his dad disappeared. But he wants to escape.

An immersive anthology of stories examining home and belonging, with an introduction from former Waterstones Children’s Book Prize category winner Sharna Jackson, Happy Here features stories and poems by 10 Black British authors exploring themes of family, friendship, laughter, magic and peril - in different genres and styles, but all about joy.

Orphan Oliver Twist is born into the grimmest of 19th century English workhouses and had little but a life of grinding poverty ahead of him. But he’s a fighter and after being evicted from the workhouse for asking for 'more' and surviving a stint as an undertaker’s assistant, he hopes to change his circumstances so walks to London where he meets Artful Dodger, a member of a pickpocketing gang, and their leader, Fagin.

In a quiet Surrey village sits Leventree, an architectural practice set up by idealistic couple Florence and Arthur Mayhood, offering apprenticeships to young offenders after their release. Motivated by his own memories of Borstal, Arthur aims to mentor young adults with a troubled upbringing and give them opportunities to succeed. Their first protégées are siblings, Joyce and Charlie Savigear, who quickly settle in; but when a dangerous figure from Joyce's past comes knocking, the Mayhoods' earnest hopes of doing good turn tragic.

Marina lives in Merlington, a fish-obsessed seaside town. Unfortunately, she doesn’t care for fish; she loves to tell stories. Marina finds her best story yet when she explores the ruined, haunted pier - a boy called William, with a head of tentacles and crab claws for hands. He has lived on the pier all his life, cared for by a fisherman who has since disappeared and who warned him always to remain hidden. Together, the pair resolve to unravel the mystery of his past - but danger lurks among the fishmongers.

This incredible volume educates and inspires as it relates true stories of Black men in history. This illuminating text brings to life both iconic and lesser-known figures. Among these biographies, listeners will find aviators and artists, politicians and pop culture icons. The men featured include writer James Baldwin, artist Aaron Douglas, photographer Gordon Parks, diplomat Kofi Annan, comic book author Dwayne McDuffie and musician Prince.

This anthology is the latest collection of time-travel romance sci-fi short stories from prominent, award-winning sci-fi authors including Nina Allan, Carrie Vaughn and Seanan McGuire. Follow time travellers of all genders as they go backward and forward in time, sometimes to save the one they love, other times as a sacrifice and others simply because it's their job.

In 1919, Mohammed el Adl, the young Egyptian lover of British author E. M. Forster, spent six months in a jail cell. A century later, Kip Starling has locked himself in his Brooklyn basement study with a pistol and twenty-one gallons of Poland Spring to write Mohammed’s story. Kip has only three weeks until his publisher’s deadline to immerse himself in the mind of Mohammed who, like Kip, is Black, queer, an Other. The similarities don't end there.

Dante loves nothing more than scoring goals on the football pitch then racing to Shimmer & Shine to ace his pas de chats. But when his football friends start to tease him for his passion, Dante struggles to find the confidence to keep doing the two things he loves most. Will encouraging Miss Diamond to enter their class into a dance competition be just what Dante needs to prove how fantastic dance can be? Will their adaptation of Beauty and the Beast win over his friends? Or will Dante have to put his own modern spin on things to truly shine?

When Ben's mum gets distracted halfway through his bedtime story, he decides to finish the tale himself. There's only one problem – he can't quite read yet. To Ben's surprise, the three little pigs come knocking on the door, and the big bad wolf isn't far behind... But this time, will the story have a different ending?

Twenty years after living there as a child, Alexis Keir returns to the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent. He is keen to uncover lost memories and rediscover old connections. But he also carries with him the childhood scars of being separated from his parents and put into uncaring hands.

An action-packed, laugh-out-loud, high-energy story for boys and girls featuring adults taken over by aliens and a brave group of kids who must work together as a team to stop them! Brothers Trey and Jax spend after-school hours rehearsing with their street dance collective the Fly High Crew, until the evening they see a green beam of light flash out of the sky and are thrown into an out-of-this-world adventure! Aliens have landed and are mind-controlling all the teachers and adults: can the Fly High Crew work together as a team and save the day?

Harry and Ava are space cadets living aboard Vantia1, a massive space station that was created after a black hole swallowed their home planet. The black hole was the work of an evil scientist, Vellis, who is holding Harry's parents hostage – and now he's invented a new and terrifying Beast, a three-headed droid dog that can dig up the precious element Vellis needs to power his deadly superweapons. Only Harry and Ava can defeat Vellis and rescue everyone from certain doom.

Wolf loves reading. There's just one problem. The more he reads, the more he starts to realize something... Every book has a hero; the heroes are handsome, tough and strong; and most importantly, the heroes are never, ever wolves. But when a giant comes stomping into the library one day, can Wolf find the courage to speak up? Because maybe heroes don't have to be handsome, tough and strong. Maybe true heroes are kind and brave – just like Wolf!

It's been 10 years since Pretty Boy left the big city - today he's back. No one knows why, but it's clear that revenge is on his mind: he is determined to make the person responsible for his exile from the London scene finally pay. But his plans seem derailed when he takes possession of a bracelet, unaware that its original owner has set a high price for its safe return. Suddenly, the hunter becomes the hunted and Pretty Boy will have to find out if it is indeed a 'good day to die'.