A quartet of narrators and the author beautifully perform this view of Cuba during the early years of Fidel Castro's government. The interwoven stories of four children show how the Cuban Revolution impacted each of their lives. Listeners are taken to Havana, rural Cuba, New York City, and Miami as narrators Vivia Font, Gary Tiedemann, Rebecca Soler, and Giordan Diaz bring... Read More

British Ghanaian performer Kobna Holdbrook-Smith lends his vocal talents to this trilogy opener, which finds 11-year-old Kofi thrust through the titular door into the Middle Passage. Before this happens, however, listeners are immersed in Kofi's rich, full life in the Asante village of Upper Kwanta, where he navigates friendship, rivalry, school, and a crush. Modulating easily... Read More

Narrator Kathleen Early steps up to the challenge of voicing teenage boys and girls and then switching to an imperious female judge and a feisty female U.S. marshal. In this second book in the Andrea Oliver series, the plot moves back and forth from the troubled life of teenager Emily Vaughn in the 1980s to Oliver's first assignment as a U.S. marshal in the present day. Early's... Read More

Newly announced poet laureate Ada Limón delivers her own marvelous poetry very well indeed. Nearly all of the poems involve, in one way or another, the relationship between humans and the natural world through images, ideas, or acute observation. Like many fine poets, Limón takes her own life and experiences and works them toward a resolution that can be healing for herself and... Read More

Narrator Joe Jameson appealingly inhabits protagonist Luc's snarky, sardonic (and also quite smitten) point of view. In BOYFRIEND MATERIAL, Luc and Oliver went from being fake boyfriends to real ones; in this sequel, they've been happily together for two years, and attending a series of weddings gives them, or at least Luc, an idea. Characters are plentiful and dialogue is... Read More

A delightful narration by Eleanor Tomlinson captures the romance and the spunky heroine in this well-written peek into Regency morality and hypocrisy. Kitty and her four younger sisters are threatened with losing their home because of debts incurred by their irresponsible father. Kitty and sister Cecily head to London for the season so Kitty can snag a man with a fortune to... Read More

Narrator Robert Petkoff clearly enjoys himself in recounting the insightful and humorous misadventures of the hapless, gay, minor novelist Arthur Less. The novel's narrator is Arthur's partner, Freddy, who has been left behind. Petkoff imbues him with a tone of wry amusement. Arthur's story unfolds through encounters, often accidental, with people he meets as he travels across... Read More

Narrator Edoardo Ballerini immerses listeners in a lost world with this memoir. In a melancholy tone, he captures the author's longing for his boyhood home in cosmopolitan Alexandria, Egypt. He masterfully portrays the characters, especially his quirky grandmothers--one dubbed the saint and the other the princess--and ensures that the other members of his lively Sephardic... Read More

Em Grosland narrates with the perfect tone for this delightful and introspective sequel to A PSALM FOR THE WILD-BUILT. Tea monk Sibling Dex and their robot companion, Mosscap, are leaving the woods and heading out to the villages of their moon, Panga. Mosscap's bright, higher-pitched voice suits the inquisitive and charming robot, who is anxious to meet more humans and ask them... Read More

Written and narrated by Brittney Cooper, this audio and picture book make an especially fine combination. She introduces 10 incredible Black women who changed history by standing up for what they believed in. The historical, contemporary, well-known, and less-well-known women include Ruby Bridges, Rosa Parks, and Mari Copeny, a youth activist who fought for clean water in... Read More

Narrator Davina Porter makes her fourteenth appearance as everyone's favorite moral philosopher, Isabel Dalhousie. Ignoring husband Jamie's cautions about getting involved in more than she can handle, Isabel agrees to serve on the advisory committee of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. She is also called upon to help a friend whose husband and son are at odds. Ignoring... Read More

Author and Golden Voice Julia Whelan uses aspects of her own career to tell the story of Sewanee, an actress turned romance audiobook narrator who is recovering emotionally from a tragic accident. Having moved on to other genres, Sewanee resurrects her old pseudonym to narrate a beloved romance writer's last novel and, in doing so, works with the industry's most popular and... Read More

Jennifer Kim's narration shows an understanding of how relaxed pacing can lead to poignancy. Kim portrays three young gaming geniuses, Sadie, Sam and Marx. Gradually, she reveals their relationships as she powerfully expresses how talent and collaboration yield success--but not without trials. Sadie feels unrecognized, and Sam is traumatized by the accident that caused his... Read More

Listeners may feel the watchful gaze of security guards as Raphael G. Warnock tells the story of the time he walked, hands in his pockets, through a store with his sister and was stopped as a suspected shoplifter. After years in the pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church, once home to Martin Luther King, Jr., Warnock won a seat in the U.S. Senate in 2020. He sounds warm and gentle... Read More