Showing results by narrator "Soneela Nankani" in All Categories

You might be the kind of person who stands up to online trolls. Or who marches to protest injustice. Perhaps you are #DisabledAndCute and dancing around your living room, alive and proud. Or perhaps you are the trans mentor that you wish you had when you were younger. Maybe you call out false allies or stand up to loved ones. Maybe you speak your truth and drop the mic, or maybe you take it with you when you leave. This anthology features fictional stories—in poems, prose, and art—that reflect a slice of the varied and limitless ways that listeners like you resist every day.

Ria and Rani have barely settled into their new lives at the palace—as princesses, as sisters—when a sinister prophecy uproots them once more. The Blood Moon will rise in one month’s time, and with it their enemy Amara’s opportunity to destroy everything Ria and Rani hold dear. The twin princesses must find Amara—a deadly search that separates Ria and Rani once more and takes them to wintry kingdoms and scorching deserts, pitting them against ancient mysteries and trap-ridden labyrinths, lethal sea monsters and an elusive enemy that steals into their very dreams.

The summer before that fateful birthday, Maris is in the wealthy beach town of Cross Cove with her estranged father and his new family - and the infamous Duvals. Since the youngest member of the Duval family, Edison, is back from college and back in the arms of Maris' new stepsister, her summer looks to be a long string of lazy days on the Duval's lush beach. But Edison is hiding something. And the more Maris learns about him, the more she's given signs that she should stay as far away from him as possible.

It’s been six months since the zombie plague was unleased on humanity. Now Europe is overrun with bloodthirsty corpses, and victims continue to be claimed by the horde en masse. For the dwindling number of uninfected, life is a constant struggle as everyone confronts what they’re willing to do to stay alive.

In the village of Yiwei, a fallen wasp nest unfurls into a beautifully accurate map. In a field in Louisiana, birdwatchers forge an indelible connection over a shared glimpse of a Vermilion Flycatcher, and fall. In Nineveh, a judge who prides himself on impartiality finds himself questioned by a mysterious god. On a nameless shore, a small monster searches for refuge and finds unexpected courage.

Two thousand years ago, a ship sailed east, alone on an endless sea. The people onboard were fleeing the same war that the Maccabees fought in the ancient land of Israel. They took with them their faith and their traditions, knowing they would sail for more than a year. When a great storm crushed their boat on the shores of India, only a few survived. Some say the prophet Elijah plucked them from the sea. But they were welcomed by the people of the new land. They survived and adapted, with new spices for their food and new clothing and culture to borrow, but never strayed from their faith.

When the pandemic hits and India goes into lockdown, high-spirited Swara keeps up her daily chats with her just-as-imaginative grandmother, Pitter Paati, through video calls. But soon Pitter Paati becomes too ill to even call, and then Swara's parents say she has died of the virus. Swara can't believe it. Pitter Paati would not just leave! It's impossible! As Swara investigates the mystery of her grandmother’s disappearance, she stumbles upon a neighborhood mystery as well.

Maya dreams of working in magazines. But as the daughter of garlic farmers, her path is set: it’s off to Cow Camp instead. But when she ends up in the New York City area and realizes her cousin's girlfriend works at Maya's favorite magazine—Fierce—an opportunity falls in her lap to intern. It's her dream job, and she can't pass it up, even if means disappointing her family and lying to her parents. The only problem? Maya hasn't accepted an internship. She's accepted a full-time job, as a staff writer, and everyone at Fierce thinks she's 26.

At eight, Nira had only one over-powering wish—to pee standing up like a boy. In fact, to be a boy. Join Nira as she steps into her brother’s clothes and becomes the self-appointed Al Caponesque gang leader of the neighborhood boys. Her oddball yet madly loving family shapes her personality, and a poignant relationship with her brother’s best friend shapes her life. She uses uninhibited candor to detail her coming-of-age journey from Calcutta to London, from tomboy to reluctant woman-in-progress … always trying to fit in, but always failing.

A flight from New Delhi to New York. Two strangers, seat 7A and seat 7B, who have nothing in common. Absolutely nothing. Except they are both hoping the seat next to theirs remains empty. It doesn’t. Mid-flight turbulence and infant incontinence forces them to interact, the cool Wall Street guy and the mom with the drool-stained sweater and ordinary aspirations. Blistering wit, opposing views, and some unexpectedly poignant admissions keep them addictive, engaged, and hopelessly sleep deprived through the fifteen-hour journey.

When their Republic was ravaged by plague and fell into chaos, a monastic order of girls called the Daughters of Zahra took up arms and became known as Warmaidens. Fifty years later, the plague has passed, and the Republic survived, but the Warmaidens live on, training for battle since childhood and providing protection to their communities.

Through a series of essays, poems, and comics, 30 creators give voice to moments that defined them and shed light on the immense diversity and complexity of the Asian American identity. Edited by CAPE and with an introduction by renowned journalist SuChin Pak, My Life: Growing Up Asian in America is a celebration of community, a call to action, and a road map for a brighter future.

Sixteen-year-old Portia White is used to being overlooked - after all, her twin sister Alex is a literal genius. But when Portia holds an Egyptian scarab beetle during history class, she takes center stage in a way she never expected: She faints. Upon waking, she is stronger, faster, and braver than before. And when she accidentally touches the scarab again? She wakes up in ancient Egypt - her sister and an unwitting freshman in tow. History comes alive as the three teens realize that getting back to the present will be the most difficult thing they’ve ever done.

A romance to sweeten your morning coffee; an erotica to spice up your evening wine. Are you in the mood for "nice"? Or, are you in the mood for "naughty"? How about a little dollop of both? These sweet, fun, and sexy stories follow five sisters and their chosen brother as they navigate romance, passion, and baking in and out of the hallowed walls of their Nana's old house in the borough of Queens, New York. Both in Queens and back home in the North Fork, these diverse siblings walk in a sex-positive world, surrounded by love in all its many forms.

Necropolis follows Sajan Dayal, a detective in pursuit of a serial (though nonlethal) collector of fingers. He encounters would-be vampires and werewolves, and a woman named Razia who may or may not be centuries old.

It starts with a body - a young woman found dead in an Iowa cornfield, on one of the few family farms still managing to compete with the giants of Big Agriculture. For Sergeant Riley Fisher, newly promoted to head of investigations at the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office, an already horrific crime takes on a personal edge when she discovers the victim is an old friend, from a dark past she thought she'd left behind.

Tania Coehlo, an A-list celebrity manager in Mumbai’s Tinseltown - also known as the Piranha of Publicity - certainly has her work cut out for her as she walks into the set of the next Bollywood blockbuster, starring her client Ariana Kapoor. Ariana is the Indian film industry’s upcoming reigning queen, and her costar and fiancé is Veer Rana, a smooth-talking bad boy...and the man Tania happened to have an affair with last Christmas. A man Tania just can’t seem to banish from her mind.

When their Republic was ravaged by plague and fell into chaos, a monastic order of girls called the Daughters of Zahra took up arms and became known as Warmaidens. Fifty years later, the plague has passed, and the Republic survived, but the Warmaidens live on, training for battle since childhood and providing protection to their communities. With the day of Princess Naomi’s wedding fast approaching, Roxshana prepares to say good-bye to her best friend. They have one last mission together: the monthlong journey south to Naomi’s homeland, where she will be wed.

These sweet, fun, and sexy stories follow five sisters and their chosen brother as they navigate romance, passion, and baking in and out of the hallowed walls of their Nana's house in the borough of Queens, New York. They grew up on the North Fork in a very diverse family, and feel more at home in Queens than they have anywhere else. Though Nana is no longer with them, her bold and brassy spirit lives on in the sisters and in her recipes.

When their Republic was ravaged by plague and fell into chaos, a monastic order of girls called the Daughters of Zahra took up arms and became known as Warmaidens. Fifty years later, the plague has passed, and the Republic survived, but the Warmaidens live on, training for battle since childhood and providing protection to their communities.