How does an unlikable protagonist become a sympathetic heroine? This seems impossible in the case of Devon Davenport, a 17-year-old who has dumped her newborn into the trash. But narrator Rebecca Soler makes us care right from the beginning. She even sustains the listener’s compassion during Devon's time in a juvenile center. Soler conveys Devon's thoughts and observations in a flat deadpan tone, contrasting them with her mother’s too-cheery, too-bright dialogue. Devon's outward responses sound as dull and evasive to us as they do to her frustrated attorney. But Soler also expresses the inner Devon, who is filled with fear, confusion, and despair as she tries to find her way to self-awareness and hope.
Young AdultPub Date: Aug. 11, 2009
Duration: 10 hrs
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Narrator Dominique Salvacion's emotionally vulnerable performance suits this young adult horror audiobook. Kyra, the adopted child of a drug addict, is haunted by disturbing nightmares connected to her childhood. Now a viral video challenge revolving around a new recreational drug is circulating at her high school, changing the students around her. Salvacion depicts Kyra's growing anxiety as friends and family change overnight. The new boy at school is the only other person who notices the strangeness settling into the town. Conversations between a distressed Kyra and the emotionally stunted drug users are especially poignant. Salvacion adjusts her pacing masterfully to immerse listeners in the developing horrors.
(Horror. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2025
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217158171
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Rebecca Soler makes action scenes impossible to pause as she narrates this romantic Bluebeard retelling. Mallory descends from witches, but her only magic is the ability to see ghosts. To earn a living she and her sister sell fake spells and artifacts and give tours of the mansion that once belonged to Count Bastien Saphir, who many believe murdered three wives. When Bastien's great-great-grandson, handsome Armand, offers a reward to rid his home of the murderous ghost of his ancestor, Mallory doesn't hesitate. When a new murder takes place, she investigates whether the murderer is truly the ghost of Bastien or someone who is part of the household. Soler's precise diction and intensifying pace ramp up the suspense in this story inspired by French folklore.
(Supernatural mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
Duration: 12 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781250411433
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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