New Reviews by Title: U-Z

Narrator Paul Michael Garcia paces his reading of this clearly written and comprehensive parenting manual so that every bit of advice and explanation is easy to understand on first listen. Writing from both personal experience and interviews, gay dad Eric Rosswood includes both practicalities that most new parents will encounter, such as explicit directions for changing truly... Read More

Narrators Abigail Revasch and Tara Sands reprise their roles in this silly sequel to SQUIRREL MEETS THE WORLD. Doreen Green is trying to navigate friendships, homework, mean teachers, and the complicated social norms of middle school life. Meanwhile, her alter ego, Squirrel Girl, must uncover a sinister plot involving the new mall in town. Revasch's Squirrel Girl is perky, and... Read More

Narrator Dan John Miller's deep pitch and intense pacing carry listeners through this high-stakes adventure. Carol Evers is a clever woman with an unusual condition--she has died and returned to life many times, each time spending her dying moments in a bizarre realm she calls Howltown. When her husband decides to capitalize on one of her deaths by attempting to bury her alive... Read More

Ilka Jensen, who lives in Copenhagen, inherits her father's funeral home. But there are three problems: One, it's in Wisconsin; two, she never knew her father; and three, once in the U.S., she happens upon an unsolved murder and the possibility of a killer at large. Narrator Molly Meyers capably takes listeners on this exploration of childhood and the struggle of midlife. She... Read More

For a second time, narrator Laura Knight Keating excels at portraying Virginia Shreves, an overweight 16-year-old who suffers from body image issues and an inferiority complex within her family. In addition to being in a meaningless relationship, Virginia is the butt of bullying and is confused about her brother's arrest for date rape. Then she meets Sebastian, a handsome... Read More

Author Mike Pesca assembles a cadre of "what-if?" questions from the sports world. Malcolm Gladwell starts things off with a cerebral foreword, which precedes more than 30 stories written in varying styles. Some are potentially history altering--such as Mary Pilon's "What If Title IX Never Was?"--some are thought provoking and creative--such as Jonathan Hock's "What If Jerry... Read More

Narrator Raphael Corkhill gives a competent, if sometimes cloying, performance of Wood's beautifully observed family tableau. Alan Querry, a 68-year-old British builder, receives a worrying phone call: His older daughter, Vanessa, a brilliant college professor who lives with her American boyfriend, Josh, may be suicidal. With his younger daughter, Helen, Alan travels to... Read More

You'd be forgiven for comparing narrator Marin Ireland and author Fredrik Backman to the great hockey tandem Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky. Like Messier and Gretzky, Ireland and Backman are quite the formidable pair (as was discovered when Ireland narrated Backman's bestseller, BEARTOWN.) Backman's new novel picks up where BEARTOWN left off, and Ireland doesn't miss a beat (or... Read More

Narrator Gabrielle de Cuir is a virtuoso whose sultry voice is the perfect vehicle for Volker's mystery. It's the sensuous story of a pleasure trip that quickly devolves into a nightmare as bodies, illicit affairs, and international intrigue pile up in one of the world's most romantic cities, Venice. With a special talent for dialogue, de Cuir's natural-sounding pacing and... Read More

Dr. Cristal Glangchai, engineer, entrepreneur, and CEO of a tech startup, shares her recommendations for giving young girls the tools to pursue STEM fields and entrepreneurship. Engagingly narrated by Sandy Rustin, this audiobook is full of ideas, activities, and information. Rustin keeps listeners interested by adding depth to text that could conceivably overwhelm the... Read More

Listeners will be quickly drawn into this romantic novel set in two time periods. Tom, a young American orphan, found himself working for room, board, and a small stipend at the Verdun battlefield in 1921, helping the priests with anything they needed, including collecting bones for an ossuary. When, in 1950, he unexpectedly reconnects with Paul, his thoughts return to that... Read More

Sarah Kendzior narrates her essays from the past several years, political critiques of American labor, power, and injustice, in this powerful audiobook. While the title invokes the American Midwest, and portions of the audiobook are written directly from that perspective, the overall theme of social injustice is not exclusive to that region. Actions often thought to be pillars... Read More

Newly graduated from college and seeking meaning in his life, Andrew Forsthoefel undertakes a cross-country walk from his home in Pennsylvania all the way to California, relying on his wits, the words of Whitman and Rilke, and the kindness of strangers. Forsthoefel recounts his goals: to listen to other people's stories, to understand what is of value and important to people... Read More

Narrators Richard Armitage and Grace Grant transport listeners to the streets of Paris in this dreamy contemporary romance. On a work assignment in Paris, American transplant Joy quickly realizes that her French isn't quite up to par, so she'll be working with a translator until she can navigate the intricacies of a Parisian perfume lab on her own. But an immediate spark with... Read More

Laurie Forest's prequel in the The Black Witch Chronicles offers another absorbing glimpse of the world that fans got to know in that audiobook and a deeper understanding of the events that shaped it. Jesse Vilinsky narrates, often through the eyes of Tessla Harrow, who is driven from her village by the Realm War (an event that will reverberate through this unfolding series).... Read More

The last audiobook in the Red Queen series opens as Mare, still reeling from the shock of Cal's betrayal, marshals her forces in preparation for the epic war to come. Departing from the single-narrator model of the previous books, Vikas Adam and Charlie Thurston portray Cal and Maven's grimly focused determination. Amanda Dolan channels Mare, the fiery lightning girl who is... Read More

London-born narrator Steve West effortlessly mixes tones of mystery, uncertain memory, sophistication, and innocence in Ondaatje's latest novel. The story features a 14-year-old boy whose parents suddenly disappear from his life when they take jobs in faraway Singapore after WWII, leaving him and his older sister in the care of some suspect but otherwise caring characters. Soon... Read More

The Watergate, a multi-building site that includes a hotel, an office building, and an apartment complex, played a role in two presidential impeachment dramas. It was the site of the infamous Democratic headquarters break-in in 1972, and it was home to Monica Lewinsky in 1998. Narrator Bronson Pinchot delivers a low-key reading that lets this heady mixture of Washington gossip,... Read More

Sir Walter Scott's first historical novel takes place during the Jacobite Uprising of 1745. Young Englishman Edward Waverly goes to Scotland in the army but becomes intrigued by the Highlanders' cause and eventually changes his support from the Hanoverians to the Jacobites. David Rintoul's narration gives a natural cadence to Scott's prose. His clear, deep voice emphasizes the... Read More

For the second time, narrator Christopher Gebauer animates the character Waylon, a fourth grader who is sensitive and "science-y." The sequel begins soon after the first audiobook ends. Waylon is struggling to save "Dumpster Eddy," the stray dog he's come to love. To prevent Eddy from being sent to a distant shelter in just 10 days, Waylon enlists the help of his classmate,... Read More

Ariel Gore's novel ranges back and forth through time in a storyteller's web that is easy to follow and studded with reanimated scenes from her childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. However, all of what makes an engaging and insightful quilt of memories becomes nearly lost through Gore's narration. She whines, rushes, and sometimes reads with that abrasive near-chanting... Read More

This audiobook will inspire you to go out into your garden and look at it closely, with new understanding. Wohlleben's tour of the natural world just outside your door is given a genial and avuncular narration by Brit Nicholas Guy Smith. As Wohlleben (THE HIDDEN LIFE OF TREES) explores the secrets and seasons of the garden--from which plants can predict rain to which wildlife,... Read More

The rough-and-tumble life of a Nigerian army officer is rife with drama, and Robin Miles narrates the dilemmas confronting Chike Ameobi. Her measured, steady performance underscores Ameobi's decency and inner battle to remain an ethical man at a time of upheaval. Miles's delivery excels during the lengthy descriptions of scenery and during Ameobi's interior monologues. She... Read More

Pediatrician Hanna-Attisha presents a personal story of Flint, Michigan, as it deals with its health crisis, which began in 2014. Her narration is just as pivotal and profound as her book's content. There is a nurturing passionate and faintly humorous side to Dr. Mona's spoken words. The shock of what is occurring in the city--high levels of lead in the water--is evident from... Read More

In 1963, U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy met with influential African-Americans, including James Baldwin, Lorraine Hansberry, Harry Belafonte, and others from various walks of life, to discuss civil rights issues. Here Michael Eric Dyson weaves together the original icons, along with contemporary figures such as Ta-Nehisi Coates, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Jay-Z, to... Read More

Narrator Jennifer Lim has fun with the character of Sunny, an opinionated housemaid who works for a series of contemporary Chinese families. Listeners follow Sunny to her first employer when her family ousts her to make room for her brother's child. Her story continues when she moves from employer to employer. Lim's narration is arch, sardonic, and swiftly paced. These... Read More

Dolly Parton, a queen of the country music scene, grew up dirt poor in Appalachia. In this audiobook, which is part biography and part self-improvement, the listener learns how to live the Dolly Parton way. Therese Plummer's slight Appalachian intonations go well with the text, though her drawn-out syllables may have the listener a bit distracted at times. However, when... Read More

Narrator Karissa Vacker knocks it out of the park with this adventurous romance. A celebrity couple has broken up. Famous actor Charlie Outlaw departs for a remote island after publicly embarrassing himself during an interview, gets abducted during a hike, and must improvise to survive. Meanwhile, his ex-girlfriend, Josie Lamar, is dealing with her own break-up issues in L.A.... Read More

Katie Daniels and Cassidy Price, New York City-based corporate attorneys, meet on a fateful morning following the implosion of Kentucky-transplant Katie's marriage plans. Narrator Allyson Ryan's empathetic performance navigates the women's relationships and sexual experiences as the plot's point of view alternates. Lesbian-identified Cassidy's lower register and somewhat... Read More

Eric Summerer narrates Cherokee author Brandon Hobson's new novel. His deliberate pacing and almost dispassionate tone underscore 15-year-old Sequoyah's alienation and observations of his new foster family. While a coming-of-age story, this realistic account of some months in the 1980s from the later vantage point of full adulthood is not a young adult listen, although older... Read More

Listeners will enjoy Mary Beth Light's playful narration depicting two unusual sisters, Rebecca and Flora Haws. The story starts in Chicago in the late 1800s and ends up in the Sinai Desert. It's based on two real-life women who traveled to Mt. Sinai in search of an important biblical manuscript. Austin's novel is made even more captivating through Light's astute, nuanced... Read More

Hill dives deeply into his growing understanding of how his whiteness limits his ability to do God's work. Narrator Joe Hempel manages Hill's tone effectively, conveying the uncertainty, confusion, and humility that Hill feels as he learns how his approaches prove alienating to the very people with whom he wishes to build alliances. The blend of author and narrator effectively... Read More

This multicultural novel is populated with a diverse cast, including Caribbean and Muslim characters. That's why the range of narrators used to dramatize the three families, the Joneses, Iqbals, and Chalfens, is essential to the listening experience. Lenny Henry, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Ray Panthaki, and Sagar Arya work together to create a juxtaposition of immigrant lives. The... Read More

Listeners will be disappointed if they are expecting a tense, fast-paced spy novel. Yes, this is an audiobook about a young, female CIA operative charged with spying on the politicians and revolutionaries who are plotting the military coup in Argentina in the mid-1960s. But it's also a beautifully written novel about a young woman who is looking for the strength to accept and... Read More

Narrator Saskia Maarleveld reintroduces Ewan Donahue and Nina Bronson from DANGEROUS PROMISE as they navigate their broken trust. Nina is back as Ewan's bodyguard, emotionally hesitant even if her heart and body won't forget what it's like to love him. But as increasing malfunctions in her enhanced abilities make it clear that she won't survive without desperately needed... Read More

Narrator Susie Berneis takes listeners to the vast and mysterious Adirondack forest, where Doug and Natalie Larson are setting out on their honeymoon. The book begins with a heart-stopping chase through the woods and then turns into a dark and creepy thriller that will make listeners think twice before setting out on a camping adventure. Berneis uses her talent for evoking... Read More

Soneela Nankani's narration brings 1920s Bombay and Calcutta to life in the first of the Perveen Mistry mysteries. The first female solicitor in Bombay, Perveen works at her father's law firm. Asking questions about donations by the three widows of Mr. Omar Farid, a wealthy Muslim mill owner, she uncovers a plot to siphon funds. Nankani adopts a soft, uninflected tone for the... Read More

Adjoa Andoh expertly narrates the author's memoir of her grandmother's life, spanning twentieth-century Ethiopia. The narrative jumps between childbirth, politics, and religion, but any confusion is allayed by Andoh's many vocal inflections. In a setting where women's roles are limited (the "wife" here is Yetemegnu, who is 8 years old at her marriage), the rituals of home are... Read More

A sweet and sexy romance of second chances kicks off Halle's new North Ridge series. Shane and Rachel were childhood best friends and then teenage lovers--until events conspired to tear them apart. When Rachel comes back to town, she wants nothing to do with Shane, but he'll try his best to change her mind. Narrator Alexander Cendese breathes life into the emotionally wounded... Read More

Little listeners are welcomed back to the wonderfully chaotic world of Winnie and Wilbur by returning narrator Amy Enticknap. Children are sure to enjoy this collection of stories about a well-intentioned yet clumsy witch and her extremely opinionated cat. Enticknap voices each of her characters with clarity and wit, marking Winnie with innocently high-pitched excitement and... Read More

Tavia Gilbert narrates this disturbing audiobook rapidly, her voice fraught with tension and foreboding. The story focuses on the abduction of two young sisters after a freak blizzard in Albany and what happens when they suddenly reappear during a devastating rain- storm six weeks later. Gilbert animates and enhances characters who, with a less skilled narrator, might seem... Read More

A grief-obsessed mother struggles to understand what has happened to her missing son and what is happening to her. Emma Gregory narrates this chilling story in a voice that sounds vulnerable, confused, and emotionally charged. As Susannah, the mother, tells her story in the first person, the ominous tone of her account reveals a disturbing mother love, personal alienation,... Read More

A German-Jewish family escapes from Hitler's Europe to safe haven in Turkey. Listeners are drawn into this story of generational survival through the melancholic tones of narrator Kathleen Gati. We are brought from the 1940s into the present through her gentle and sensitive portrayal of Gerhard and Elsa Schliemann, as well as their children. She gives voice to four generations... Read More

Narrator Matt Addis's textured British baritone delivers listeners onto the atmospheric Northern battlefields on which much of this story unfolds as two opposing nations seek to annihilate each other. The first in Leo Carew's historical fantasy series covers three seasons in parallel narratives featuring Roper, heir apparent to the Northern Black Kingdom of the Anakim, and... Read More

Julia Whicker's debut novel portrays a new Dark Ages set 500 years in the future, when a harsh religion is combined with magic and science is anathema. Narrator Caitlin Davis adopts a conversational tone that contrasts with the story's murders, beheading, and general violence. She tells the story primarily from the point of view of Aurora, a girl who is victimized by her family... Read More

Rory Kinnear flawlessly performs this entertaining metafiction in which the real mystery writer Anthony Horowitz is persuaded by a fictional investigator called Hawthorne to shadow him as he solves a murder so Horowitz can write about it and make them rich. This is mad fun, especially if you are a fan of "Foyle's War," "Midsomer Murders," or other of Horowitz's work, since real... Read More

Narrator Robin Miles educates listeners about the life and work of African-American radio broadcaster Richard Durham. She delivers the author's take on Durham's rise as an intellectual during a period of increased attention to African-American writing and music following WWII. Miles works capably across a wide range of material, including interview excerpts and historical... Read More

Intensive care patients, their loved ones, and even their doctors rarely consider life after the ICU. In this medical nonfiction narrated by Susannah Jones, with an introduction and epilogue read by the author, a critical care physician examines life after a stay in intensive care. One man lives with a battery-powered pump that keeps his blood moving because his heart is not... Read More

Amielynn Abellera narrates the story of a tumultuous week in the lives of two middle schoolers. Deftly moving between their voices in alternating chapters, Abellera excels at capturing the nuanced emotions of Ben, age 11, and Charlotte, age 12, two smart kids who connect as long-distance online Scrabble competitors. Already facing middle school problems such as best friend... Read More

Renowned educator Ken Robinson guides listeners through the many decisions and repercussions parents are likely to face as they set off on different pathways for their child's education. With his British accent and mature voice, Robinson has all the vocal markings of a teacher but with the wisdom, candor, and kindness one rarely expects. His pacing is deliberate and steady, but... Read More

Zak Dychtwald immersed himself in life in China; he rode the railways, learned the language, and now tells us about it. Dychtwald gives his storytelling an energetic delivery that makes his experiences all the more fascinating. He will have listeners laughing as his friends tell him his attempts to speak Chinese are "cute." He also recounts his experiences answering a range of... Read More

After Carol Monda reads the introduction by the book's editor, narrator Fred Sanders's expert phrasing captures the ideas in this moving audiobook. But too often his tone is that of a warning rather than expressing the author's warmth and optimism. However, his overseriousness fades as the audio progresses and doesn't diminish the author's wisdom about how Zen practice can... Read More