Karen Murray's smooth narration soars as she tells the stories of the pivotal men and women whose actions broke the race barrier for Black pilots during the first half of the twentieth century. While the work is extensively researched, both the authors and Murray emphasize individual stories that make the historical figures relatable. Murray recounts, for example, how Cornelius... Read More
Alexandra Hunter narrates this complex exploration of grief with tender sincerity. Atlas James is utterly shattered by the death of her father, the only person she feels ever understood her. After a series of poor decisions, Atlas (newly rechristened "Maps") ends up alongside a group of total strangers in a community service project devoted to rehabilitating the wilderness... Read More
This book devours you. When a hot boy at a swanky party tells Athan to stay in the bathroom until he comes back for him, Athan doesn't expect to spend hours listening to frenzied screams and the sounds of destruction. Vikas Adam provides rich character voices and emotion that pull listeners into Athan's search for answers to the horrors of that night, as well as the... Read More
Jesse Vilinsky and Zachary Webber expressively perform this friends-to-lovers romance. Bailey is less than thrilled to start her new job at a hotel waterpark upon moving to Nebraska after her parents' divorce. She also never thought she would be working with Mr. Nothing, Charlie, the boy she met on her first flight to Omaha. Charlie claims that members of the opposite sex can't... Read More
Reagan Boggs's gently accented narration deftly depicts this story's Appalachian setting. Her delivery contrasts with the high anxiety 17-year-old Linden feels a year after she went missing overnight during a community festival. Linden is still searching her memory for details of those events when she discovers that a friend has been murdered. Linden is one of four sisters who... Read More
In this classic tale of true love versus duty, narrator Sophie Amoss gives a thrilling performance that teen fantasy lovers will adore. Tana Fairchild is a young witch who was raised for one thing only: to marry Landon, the Governor's son from the mainland, whom she does not know. Tana is fine with this until she meets Wolfe, a witch from the old coven who practices the... Read More
Listeners will just have to imagine the piano music in this atmospheric novel, set in 1890s France. Léon Delafosse is a piano prodigy whose talents take him from the French countryside to Paris. But in order to advance his career and his standing in fickle Paris high society, he must secure a patron. While narrator Mark Sanderlin's pronunciation of French words is flawless, the... Read More
Victoria Villarreal smoothly shifts between the languages, locations, humor, and heartache of Dolores Mendoza. Delores suffers with interstitial cystitis, a condition that caused a bladder accident in front of fellow eighth graders, a moment of shame that Villarreal powerfully conveys. Villarreal captures Dolores's curiosity in a priest's confessional, wit in the bathroom... Read More
Jeremy Carlisle Parker shows emotional breadth in her portrayal of 17-year-old Rosy Holt, who zealously guards her own and her grandmother's shape-shifting adventures in a remote forest. Parker heightens the initial tension during a dramatic scene in which Rosy saves the life of a princess. The taut plot continues as Rosy hides her secrets while attending magic school in the... Read More
High school senior Whit is still reeling from a summer filled with medical appointments and tests in this audiobook narrated by Victoria Villarreal. Whit has PCOS, a condition that causes uncomfortable body changes. All she wants is to throw herself into organizing the Fall Fest, the event at which her grandparents fell in love decades earlier. Unfortunately, she is forced to... Read More
Desean Terry gives a compelling--if sometimes flat--performance of a twisted tale of a powerful queer, Black "Chosen One." After being unexpectedly enrolled at Regent Academy, Douglas learns he's the only one capable of breaking a centuries-long curse that stems from a nearby forest. But with the deceitful school headmaster on one side of the curse and a terrifying apparition... Read More
Fran Burgoyne depicts a swoony romantasy between a seamstress and a prince. Niamh O Conchobhair has come to Avaland to improve her future, not to fall in love with the one man she cannot have. Kit Carmine, younger son of the king, is engaged to a woman he does not love. Burgoyne demonstrates Niamh's fierce pride in her heritage by giving her a strong accent she refuses to... Read More
Tara Sky and Jessica Matten narrate this fantasy featuring Winifred, a half-Métis teen who wanders the haunted cemetery near her home at all hours of the night. Sky is the primary narrator as Winifred and her father consider allowing tourists to visit the cemetery in order to save the family's failing business. Matten delivers short segments as Phil, one of the cemetery ghosts,... Read More
Successfully conveying teenage angst, David Lee Huynh infuses his performance with longing and youthful doubt as he delivers the story of Gary Võ. Gary and his best friend would do anything to be popular in high school. Then the notorious "Rooster Club" learns that Gary has befriended the most beautiful girl in school, Gloria. They challenge Gary to steal something from Gloria... Read More
In this young adult novel, Jacob Machin pulls listeners into the world of teenager Vish. When a mysterious man walks into the bookstore where he works, Vish is pulled into the world of the supernatural. There, he is stalked by the man and learns he is the key to stopping an apocalypse--evil souls who are trying to enter this world. Machin portrays each character with deep... Read More
Hip-hop artist Tony Keith, Jr., narrates his free-verse coming-of-age memoir. His pacing and tone allow listeners to feel the power of his words and imagine his world. His skill as a narrator is evident as he delivers lyrical imagery mixed with dialect. Sound effects illuminate the poems' themes: Drums aid listeners in picturing the richness of African imagery in one poem; in... Read More
Narrators Michael Crouch, Carlotta Brentan, and Sigrid Zeiner narrate this hopeful story of love past and present. Shosh and Evan lead aimless lives until they are brought together by a song only they can hear. Brentan crafts a weary, sardonic voice for Shosh, a former theater star who is struggling with alcoholism and grief. The song leads her to Evan, a teenager whose anxiety... Read More
This delightful fantasy novel about a teenage witch in a poor English village is wonderfully told by Indira Varma in her charming British accent. The 38th installment in Pratchett's Discworld series features 15-year-old Tiffany Aching, who is trying to live up to her duties as a young witch. When an old witch retires, she tries her best to comfort the poor when she can, and... Read More
Narrator Kit Griffiths embodies three London women in this novel about witches and curses. Zara wants to bring her sister back to life, Jude is looking to undo a self-administered curse gone wrong, and witch Emer writes powerful invocations. When some of Emer's customers are murdered, all three women come together to solve the mystery before one of them is next. Listeners will... Read More
Nikki Massoud narrates the first-person story of Iranian American Mitra, who has little expectation of friendships when she enters a Catholic school. But four years later, she and her best friend, Bea, have written 13 books of poetry together and fallen in love. Massoud's narration realizes the vulnerability of a girl full of questions: Can she allow her drug-addicted mother to... Read More
With outstanding performances, Lee Osorio and Max Meyers illuminate the rich and complicated inner lives of New Jersey high schoolers Sebastian Villeda and Sandro Miceli. Listeners immediately understand that these two young men are much more than outward appearances and stereotypes. Meyers and Osorio make them both feel messy, endearing, and real. "Bash the Flash" is a track... Read More
Harrison Knights gives a quietly charming performance of this queer YA retelling of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. He portrays Oliver Bennet, a trans boy who just wants to live openly as himself, with a soft voice that sometimes edges into despair but just as often warms with humor. When Oliver meets Darcy on one of the rare nights he's out in London as himself, they form an instant... Read More
Kevin R. Free and Michael Crouch delight listeners in this charming and heartfelt romance, a combination of MY FAIR LADY and the teen movie classic SHE'S ALL THAT. Wade Westmore has always been the star of the show. But when his ex lands the lead role in the new school musical, his ego is put in check. Elijah Brady, on the other hand, is used to being in the background and... Read More
Angel Pean and Greg Campbell narrate this YA anthology of Black poetry with passion, humor, reverence, and a whole lot of vibrant rhythm. The anthology collects poems by twentieth-century giants such as Langston Hughes and Audre Lorde, alongside offerings from contemporary poets, including Danez Smith and Ibi Zoboi. Each poem is followed by commentary explaining its historical... Read More
Barrett Leddy narrates the final audiobook in the Stolen Heir duology, told from the perspective of Prince Oak, who has been captured. Trapped in prison, he is hopelessly in love with his captor, Queen Wren. Leddy captures Oak's desperate conviction and smooth talking, both of which are intended to prove that Wren has his loyalty. With Queen Jude and King Cardan on their way... Read More
Narrators Eric B. Anthony's and Landon Woodson's tense, emotional performances will draw listeners into a Savannah neighborhood where a dangerous plot threatens to tear apart two young men who are discovering love for the first time. Woodson takes on a youthful, unassuming voice for Jay, a romantic who is used to being overlooked until he literally collides with Leroy, an... Read More
An ensemble of narrators delivers this collection of 16 classic stories, poems, fairy tales, and myths reimagined with a Latinx spin and frequent genre bending, mostly into sci-fi and fantasy. Each short story utilizes one or more narrators who mostly fit the gender identity of the main character. Each narrator fully commits to their story, emotionally connecting with teens who... Read More
Natalie Naudus narrates this YA fantasy set in an alternate Tang dynasty in China. Impoverished teenager Fan Zilan, who is able to resurrect the dead, studies to be a royal alchemist for the Empress. When Fan travels to take her exams at the capital, listeners feel the emergence of her strength and endurance as she competes against wealthy men with far more advantages. Crown... Read More
Frankie Corzo narrates this contemporary YA audiobook with sensitivity and verve. Ever since her father left the family, Belén feels like she's been sleepwalking through life. She cuts classes, fails tests, and can't seem to make herself care about anything other than finding a boyfriend and helping her best friend, Leti, deal with an unexpected pregnancy. Corzo skillfully... Read More
Narrator Michael Crouch emotionally connects to Wes, whose reputation as a bad boy with rowdy friends, terrible grades, and a quick temper is essential to hiding his gay identity. But when Wes is dragged to a ballet performance by his mom and her potential fiancé, he is immediately enamored with Tristan, a dancer. Crouch conveys Wes's frustration with authority figures, along... Read More
Two incendiary performances make this debut fantasy soar. Five years ago, Faron became the Child Empyrean, a conduit for the power of the gods to overthrow the Langley Empire's hold on her island home. At 17, she's chafing at the title. An angsty edge to narrator Kamali Minter's voice distinguishes Faron from her scrupulous older sister, Elara, voiced by Keylor Leigh with... Read More
What if a woman had been on Ernest Shackleton's ENDURANCE expedition in 1914? Li Shun Lai creates just this scenario, and narrator Jade Wheeler steps up with just the right blend of moxie, defiance, and wit to bring Clara Ketterling-Dunbar to life. Clara is an 18-year-old American suffragist who travels to England to fight for the vote with Emmeline Pankhurst. But when the... Read More
Pascal Casimier narrates the life of award-winning author Eddie Chuculate with even pacing and a determined tone. Chuculate, who is Creek and Cherokee, grew up in Oklahoma in the 1970s and '80s and discovered his passion for writing in high school. Music plays at the opening and closing of the production, enhancing the listener's experience. Casimier's voice sounds slightly... Read More
Sophia Thakur narrates her collection of poems exploring aspects of womanhood, joined by Nalini Thakur for some individual pieces. Author Thakur's voice is whispery, slow, insistent--demanding listeners' attention. They should give it, for each poem stands on its own, offering occasional internal rhymes and often startling figurative language. They provide glimpses of hearts... Read More
Ana Osorio's narration has hints of Spanish accents, which reflect the Argentinian-Bolivian background of 19-year-old Inez Olivera. Osorio stresses Inez's emotions--her longing for adventure and for her parents, who spend six months a year in Cairo. Their deaths propel headstrong Inez's journey to Egypt, where Osorio gently describes the lavishness of its nineteenth-century... Read More
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