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

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

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

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

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

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

Hannah and April--the "it girl" of the title--were roommates at Oxford. Then April was killed by a creepy porter. Or was she? Narrator Imogen Church adeptly conveys the characters involved--from reckless April to serious Hannah; April's lovers, Will and Ryan; and others. But halfway into the audiobook, it becomes apparent the story is not going to broaden beyond this single... Read More

Author/narrator Mohsin Hamid's voice is pleasing and clear. His restrained narration works well for this audiobook. The plot device is straightforward: A white man named Anders wakes one morning with brown skin. Hamid's uninflected voice lets this Kafkaesque story unfold without melodrama. When Anders's transformation is repeated by more and more people--even his pale lover,... Read More

Taking a break from narrating other authors' audiobooks, Travis Baldree narrates his own debut fantasy. Viv, a fierce orc warrior, has decided to retire. She has discovered coffee, a gnomish delicacy, and she wants to open a café in Thune, a city where no one has heard of the beverage. Baldree has created a delightful set of characters. He introduces the motley crew of... 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

Carlotta Brentan gives a fine narration of this saga of Hollywood in the '30s and '40s. With her father in prison for anti-fascist activities in Italy, Maria, along with her mother, moves to an Italian neighborhood in Los Angeles. Maria becomes a secretary for the head of Mercury Pictures, Artie Feldman. Her secret romance with an Asian actor is disrupted when part of her past,... 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

Chloe Cannon and Emma Galvin share the narration of this urban fantasy about a mother, a daughter, and a dark, magical secret. Seventeen-year-old Ivy, who lives in "the suburbs, right now," is portrayed by Galvin in a tone of brash naïveté as she recounts the extraordinary events of the summer when a naked girl appeared in the woods, upending everything she thought she knew... 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

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

The consistent, fluid, and engrossing nature of this majestic novel is rendered even more remarkable by the fact that it was completed after the author suffered a massive stroke in 2016. Set in California during WWII, when Japanese-Americans were being interned by the U.S. Government, this ambitious saga of family, romance, and grief is poignantly narrated by Gabra Zackman and... 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

A slow start turns into a complex psychological thriller. Imogen Church and January LaVoy captivate the listener as they weave a tense narrative told by multiple characters speaking in multiple timeframes. Church and LaVoy bring an authentic and distinct voice to each character as the chapters unfold. Using an American accent for the character of Liv Reese, who loses her memory... 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 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

Victoria Villarreal introduces Adela Ramírez at a dramatic time in her life. First, Villarreal shows the contentment of 12-year-old Adela, who loves Alex, her mother's new husband. She's even happy about welcoming an impending sibling. But then Alex decides he wants to adopt her, and without quite understanding why, Adela is driven to discover who her biological father is.... Read More