Author Martino, also publisher of Listen & Live Audio, was a wrestler and coach, and his experience is apparent in this story. Two students from very different backgrounds, Ivan Korske and Bobby Zane, are training for the New Jersey State Wrestling Championship. Narrator Mark Shanahan captures student/ coach relationships, the journey to the finals, and the pain that Bobby and Ivan endure as they face death and divorce amid the everyday activities of high school. Most fascinating is the grueling training required of wrestlers. While Shanahan successfully conveys both loss and triumph, he excels in portraying the story’s two very different coaches--their methods, personalities, strengths, and weaknesses.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2005
Duration: 8 hrs
Publisher: Listen & Live Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Nassif gives an emotional voice to survivors of bullying.
Victoria Nassif narrates this story of magic, grief, and racism. Syrian American Jihad Dabbagh enters a private school in her senior year of high school, and she hopes to attend an art school for college. Her name and the hijab she wears make her the target of dangerous bullies. To cope, she draws in a magical sketchbook, telling the story of her deceased mother’s journey from Syria to the U.S. Nassif relates Jihad’s story beautifully, taking her from a shy, introverted teen to a strong Muslim woman willing to call out bullies for their behavior. Her Arabic pronunciations lend authenticity to this story, helping to bring Jihad’s world to life, and she’s equally adept with the pretentious accents of the privileged white students at the academy.
Nassif gives an emotional voice to survivors of bullying. (Fabulism. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2026
Duration: 11 hrs, 46 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668657515
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2026
A unique portrait of a teen who finds himself by embracing the love, grief, and activism that surround him.
Fifteen-year-old Bryce was born on the Ojibwe Wolf Creek reservation and lived there happily until his father’s death. Now he lives far away, surviving in a shadowy existence with his drug-addicted mother and her abusive boyfriend. Narrator Meegwun Fairbrother effectively expresses Bryce’s fear and anger. When Bryce’s mother is imprisoned, he returns to Wolf Creek to live with his grandmother and dying grandfather. Fairbrother uses accents judiciously and evocatively to ground listeners in the strength and caring of Bryce’s grandparents and other elders. Similarly, Fairbrother conveys the support of Bryce’s old friends, who introduce him to skateboarding, a passion his father also shared.
A unique portrait of a teen who finds himself by embracing the love, grief, and activism that surround him. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2026
Duration: 8 hrs, 20 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063160453
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: April 28, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
