This remarkable story is ideal for audio. Konar’s work juxtaposes the horrors of Nazi Germany with the ability of children to love and remain optimistic amid conditions that would destroy many adults. Vanessa Johansson’s narration demonstrates why the spoken word can be superior to reading in print. Her delivery gives life and vivid personality to Pearl and Stasha Zagorski, twin sisters who arrive with their family at Auschwitz in 1944 and are assigned to Joseph Mengele’s Zoo, where they’re selected to live among his human guinea pigs. Despite the daunting odds the girls face, and the horrors they encounter, Johansson uses a light, almost angelic, tone to enhance the dialogue and instill the book with a sense of optimism unusual in historical fiction of this type.
Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2016
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781478935193
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Ayla, one of the "others," is adopted by a clan of Neanderthal cave people. She struggles to conform to their ways, but her advanced human traits overwhelm and threaten their primitive culture in this initial installment of an immensely popular series. Although the story might benefit from abridgment, Rowena Cooper easily carries out the formidable task of enlivening the mostly silent and stereotypical characters with consistent, diverse personalities and human dimension. Through skillful phrasing and inflection, she maintains the reader's interest and suspense, especially with Ayla and her plight, throughout this rambling and imaginative story.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 22 hrs
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America/ Chivers
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This lyrical, sensual novel of woman's lot in Manchu, China, is as well researched as it is well written. Authentic in tone, it's nonetheless written for Westerners by a Western expert on China. Moreover, Susan Clark performs the demanding text superbly, with only occasional signs of fatigue. For the most part she not only sustains the quaint diction and Asian atmosphere, but also, creates whole worlds with her voice. She acts the book, rather than reads it, and, in so doing, turns a pretty trifle into a stupendous beauty.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 4 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Audio Literature
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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