A stellar trio of narrators delivers the alternating viewpoints in this superb contemporary debut by YA fantasy author Sabaa Tahir. Abuse, alcohol consumption, and drug use are major parts of this story, along with grief and loss. Narrator Kamran R. Khan portrays 18-year-old Salahudin, whose vulnerability and poet's soul shine as he tries to handle his father's drinking and... Read More

Reena Dutt performs a captivating story that centers around Sneha, a young immigrant woman from southern India who has graduated from college during a recession. Sneha finds a job in Milwaukee with a disgruntled consultant who pays enough for her to send some money to her parents in India. However, Sneha soon finds herself running out of money with nowhere to turn for help.... Read More

Narrated with clarity and poise by Gilli Messer and Allen Rickman, this audiobook takes more than 35 hours but is worth it. Messer masterfully portrays the characters, delivers Hebrew authentically, and uses accents--Yiddish, Polish, and German--elegantly. Written by Polish Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk, this sprawling historical novel set in the eighteenth century tells the... Read More

In this novel on audio, narrator Stacy Gonzalez gives an impassioned performance of a renowned tennis professional. The story covers Carrie's career from when she was first being coached by her father at the age of 2 through her decades as a professional to her retirement after shattering every record. Now, at 37, as she watches an up-and-coming player, Carrie decides to make a... Read More

A cast of talented British actors gives voice to this new audio edition of Neil Gaiman's classic middle-grade novel, just in time for its 20th anniversary. Coraline is bored and looking for an adventure when she opens a mysterious door in her new house that leads to another world--and an Other Mother. Julian Rhind-Tutt's narration underscores the beautiful writing and eerie... Read More

Pete Cross portrays two gay teenagers who are coming of age in New York during the height of the AIDS epidemic in this moving, messy, and deeply personal story. Micah is a closeted teen who is desperate for gay friends and experiences; C.J. is a charismatic dancer with a penchant for telling elaborate lies. Cross voices C.J. in a suave, self-assured tone, which he lowers and... 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

Hannah Curtis is the perfect narrator for this strange, fascinating science-fiction novel. Her British accent lends texture to the lush adjectives that pepper the audiobook, which, while short, is full of insight and pathos. "The employees" are a combination of human and nonhuman passengers on a spaceship in the 22nd century. The whys of this situation are not given; rather,... Read More

Seth Numrich's narration of 17-year-old Charlie Reade's story is moving and frightening in equal measure. Charlie befriends a reclusive curmudgeon, Howard Bowditch, and his aging dog, and inherits Howard's house and dog when he dies. Howard also leaves Charlie a cassette recording--voiced remarkably by Stephen King. On it, Howard recounts a story within the story, involving a... Read More

Jennifer Jill Araya's narration bubbles over with the author's enthusiasm for Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky. Mendel is the president's former press secretary. Araya adds a soupçon of Mendel's anger toward Zelensky's rivals to the discussion of Ukraine's political environment before the recent war. When Mendel turns to the current invasion by Russia, mostly in the last... Read More

Aidan Kelly's performance expresses the complex emotional experiences of three monks who are seeking solitude on a deserted island. Set in seventh-century Ireland, this work of historical fiction follows three monks who feel called by God to make a spiritual haven set apart from the temptations of the rest of the world. As time passes, their leader, Artt, becomes more and more... Read More

Mary Jane Wells charms and delights as she narrates MacLean's adventurous historical romance. Adelaide Frampton grew up among London's most dangerous criminals, destined for a life of thievery until she was rescued and drawn into the secret world of the Hell's Belles. Now she uses her meek, unassuming demeanor; quick fingers; and fighting skills to right society's wrongs and... Read More

In the last moments of his life, George Floyd called out for his mother. Dion Graham narrates this passage with such knowing naturalism and compassion that it will just about break listeners' hearts. With his ease with American regional accents and idioms, Graham follows Floyd's life from North Carolina to coming of age in the tough Third Ward of Houston, Texas. Sensitive and... Read More

Natalie Duke and Pete Cross narrate this joyful queer rom-com about two people who find love in unexpected places. Greta, tired of being the only lesbian around, is desperate to get out of her Maine hometown. After a bad breakup, Truman is equally desperate to get out of New Orleans. So their mutual friend, Ramona--whose playful texts to both characters Hillary Huber delivers... Read More

Meghan O'Rourke narrates her harrowing account of spending years trying to find a diagnosis for her chronic illness. She takes listeners through a multitude of medical appointments, experimental procedures, and tests. The decades-long process sounds exhausting, and O'Rourke makes it clear to listeners that it was. By delivering her own memoir, she captures the emotional pain,... Read More

This is a lengthy feminist retelling of what happened in Odysseus's kingdom of Ithaca while he was struggling to return home after the fall of Troy. Listeners are introduced to Penelope, wife of the hero, who must rule a kingdom beset with pirates and scores of suitors who long to wed her and claim kingship of this western Greek island. The poised, steady voice of narrator... Read More

Narrator Karla Serrata is delightful as she adds humor and expressiveness to the turmoil of this coming-of-age story. Serrata's youthful voice pairs perfectly with the range of emotions the characters experience. High school is hard, and Yamilet has it extra hard. So many things have gone wrong in her life. Most importantly, she hesitates to come out as queer. A light appears... 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

Listeners will savor this beautifully written memoir by Kathryn Schulz, staff writer for THE NEW YORKER. Her narration is also first rate. In an intimate and measured tone, she shares her grief over the loss of her beloved father, as well as the story of how she met and married her wife, Casey Cep, whom she clearly treasures. What is apparent from her inviting narration is how... Read More

Kimberly Farr, much lauded for her narration of Strout's Amgash series, brings her characteristic blend of introspection and compassion to this next chapter in Lucy Barton's life. As the pandemic begins, Lucy, at the urging of her ex-husband, William, flees New York City for the relative calm of coastal Maine. Farr describes Lucy's initial confusion over William's worries,... Read More

Narrator Yu-Li Alice Shen brings multiple facets to her portrayal of 11-year-old Maizy Chen. Her tone captures the adjustments of a middle schooler from Los Angeles who is spending the summer in Minnesota at her grandparents' home and restaurant. Shen expresses Maizy's curiosity about an illustrious 1886 ancestor, along with her determination to discover who has stolen the bear... Read More

This debut collection of short stories combines magical realism, folklore, nature, and family in a wholly unique mix. Kyla García's expressive narration conjures the mystical atmosphere evoked in the wide range of stories. In one, women invoke magic in a course on witchcraft at a community college. Another involves the legacies of a California family's multiple Marias, and... Read More

Three talented women--narrator, author, and protagonist--combine forces for this gripping historical novel set in Renaissance Italy. Maggie O'Farrell, author of the award-winning novel HAMNET, here introduces us to Lucrezia de' Medici of Florence, who married Duke Alfonso d'Este of Ferrara in 1559. Genevieve Gaunt's captivating performance illuminates the suspenseful tale like... Read More

Frankie Corzo, who has narrated all the Merci Suárez audiobooks, delivers the series finale in which the courageous heroine takes on eighth grade, her troublesome younger cousins, and her beloved grandfather Lolo's Alzheimer's. Corzo shifts easily between the English and Spanish words that are gracefully integrated into the text. She captures the many moods of Merci in her... Read More

Beach has provided audiophiles with a tribute to narrators wrapped in a psychological suspense. It's all delivered with intensity by Scott Brick. Listeners will experience an intimate view of the mindset, challenges, and joys experienced by audiobook narrators. Brick's dramatic delivery draws listeners into the life of Shawn Frost, a successful playwright, who, having fallen on... Read More

Suzanne Toren's voice has an irresistible storytelling quality in this engaging performance. As the wise, mysterious narrator, she recounts how the once lovely village of Stone-in-the-Glen survives a series of disasters, including a terrible fire that destroys the library. In addition, the village's enigmatic mayor is promoting fear and distrust in the community. Ultimately,... Read More

This haunting novel is beautifully written and artfully narrated by Annabel Baldwin and Robyn Holdaway. Leah, a marine biologist, returns from a submarine research mission that trapped her at the bottom of the ocean for six months. When she returns, her wife, Miri, is frustrated by inexplicable changes in Leah. In alternating chapters, Holdaway captures Leah's pre-mission... Read More

Janine Birkett's captivating narration does full justice to Ann Cleeves's masterful storytelling in the latest installment of this mystery series. Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope and her team arrive at Northumberland's Holy Island in response to an apparent suicide. The victim is one of a group of aging schoolmates who have reunited every five years on the island for the past... Read More

Stacey Abrams delivers the foreword to her first romance novel (2001), introducing listeners to the protagonists, agents from a fictional government agency, and the audiobook's combination of espionage and romance tropes. Her knowledge of policy and foreign relations provides background for a plot centered around the recovery of a stolen technology and the betrayal of several... Read More

Avi Roque is the primary narrator of this GREAT GATSBY remix. Nicolás, a transgender Latino boy, moves to New York to start his career. His cousin, Daisy, arranges his rental, which is next to the home of the infamous Jay Gatsby, also transgender, who is known for his dazzling parties. Roque's vocal versatility integrates several accents and genders, along with occasional... Read More

In this intricate, insightful, and deeply moving work of nonfiction, author/narrator Imani Perry meanders through the South, from New Orleans and DC to the Georgia coast and the West Virginia hills. With a blend of history and personal stories, she explores the South--its culture, language, geography, food, politics--and the crucial role it has played in American history and... Read More

Helen Laser's unpretentious girl-next-door voice captures the edgy personality of P.I. Clarice "Pinky" Granum in Turow's 12th book in his Kindle County series. In a twist on the #MeToo theme, Chief of Police Lucia Gomez is accused of soliciting sex from male officers in exchange for promotions. Gomez hires attorney Rik Dudek, who relies on his tenacious investigator, Pinky. She... Read More

Narrator Grace Rolek draws listeners into a Japanese-inspired fantasy packed with spirits, adventure, and danger. Otori Miuko has never lived up to her father's expectations, or fit into the restrictive patriarchal society of Awara. Rolek captures Miuko's spirited voice and longing for more. But when adventure arrives in the form of a transformative curse by a demon, she's... Read More

With its mix of science, philosophy and memoir, Natalie Hodges's audiobook debut is difficult to characterize. But whatever the genre, narrator Cindy Kay embraces this "Journey Through Music, Performance, and the Science of Time" in all its quirkiness. Hodges dreamed of being a solo violinist but struggled with performance anxiety. Here she explores her experiences from several... Read More

Philbrick's latest historical fiction, set in 1920s Maine, is brought to life by the amazing Kirby Heyborne. Davy and his sister, Jo, orphaned by their mother's death, are rescued for the summer by cousin Ruthie Reynard, a famous aviatrix who gives them jobs and a home in her flying circus. As delivered by Heyborne, 12-year-old Davy's voice is nervous as he worries about his... Read More

Versatile narrators effectively differentiate interwoven characters' perspectives in this retelling of Stephen King's CARRIE, made more horrific by its theme of racism. Maddy (Carrie redux), a timid biracial teen who is bullied at school, has secret psychic powers that explode on prom night. As a broadcast reporter, portrayed by Christopher Salazar, tracks the facts of what... Read More