Showing results by narrator "Susan C. Hunter" in All Categories

This collection of short, contemporary plays by award-winning playwright Susan C. Hunter provides a wide range of thought-provoking listening. Each play is a stand-alone gem, yet experienced together, they are eloquently connected, often mirroring the humorous and dramatic sides of the same themes. Alternately hilarious and moving, it is read by a full cast of talented narrators.

Newbery Medal winner Carol Ryrie Brink uses vignettes of people she knew during her childhood in Idaho to give a glimpse of everyday life in the early 20th century and to provide insight into her own tragic early years.

On the outskirts of a town too tired for its own happenings, the boys were found dead inside a tent. Three years later, their fathers have disappeared too. Ruth Fenn's son was the boy they blamed. For three years, Ruth has accepted her lot as pariah, focusing on her ailing mother and the children left in her care by the struggling single parents of North Falls, Vermont. But now the additional loss of her husband is too much to bear. As she edges closer to the truth, she begins to uncover some secrets that are better left buried.

As a parent, you want the best for your child, and one of your greatest hopes is that your child will grow up to be a good person. So, what makes a good person? Generally, we think about good people as being kind: compassionate, empathetic, generous. However, it seems that, in our fast-paced, individual-driven society, kindness is fading and the pressure on parents to raise socially conscious, empathetic, and caring children can seem overwhelming at times.

At the heart of Dark Romanticism is its brooding, pessimistic tone, its emphasis on the supernatural and the sins of humanity, and its use of iconic symbols and horrifying imagery. The classic Dark Romantic authors (Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville) are represented in the stories and poems in this volume, as well as some authors who are not commonly included in this genre.

Mae Barlowe’s annual beach trip is anything but a vacation. It’s the anniversary of the worst day of her life. When her husband and best friend surprise her with a last-minute itinerary change in the form of a couples’ cruise, she struggles to hide her reservations about the new plan. A week spent cruising around in a tropical paradise sounds like a dream come true to everyone else, but for Mae, it’s an eerie reminder of chilling memories from her past. Once on board the ship, a mysterious stranger causes confusion among the group, leading them to ask unsettling questions of one another.