Narrator Chloe Cannon's Southern accent enhances this sweet story of contemporary friendship on an island off the coast of South Carolina. After a life-saving heart transplant, 12-year-old Sunny is ready to reinvent herself, starting with finding a new best friend and then kissing a boy. Sunny's engaging personality shines brightly through Cannon's narration. She gives Sunny's brave optimism and sometimes morbid humor a fun and relatable voice with just the right amount of precocious sass. A cast of supporting characters sounds equally authentic. Kate, Sunny's loving and supportive foster mother; Quinn, the sophisticated new best friend whom Sunny starts to have confusing feelings for; and Lena, the mother who abandoned Sunny when she was 4, all have distinct, compelling voices.
(Fiction. 8-13)Pub Date: March 26, 2019
Duration: 9 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781549175336
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Live Oak Media recently caught our attention with this new read-along book and cassette program. We listened first, and were so delighted we couldn't wait to get the book. The picture book made the experience even better, but the audio recordings was strong and vibrant by itself. THE GARDENER, Sarah Stewart's Depression-era story of a young girl sent to live with her Uncle Jim in the city has a sweet, wistful quality with narration alone, but coupled with David Small's soft-edged pencil illustration, it's a total delight. The reading is repeated on both sides of the tape, one with and without page-turning signals.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: N/A
Publisher: Live Oak Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
A sensitive performance.
Deepa is a precocious 12-year-old girl in remission from leukemia. Under the tutelage of her uncle, a house call doctor, she becomes involved in solving teen tennis player Taio's puzzling medical mystery. Deepa is unsure of herself, but she’s ready to get back to middle school after a year away for treatment. Narrator Soneela Nankani depicts Deepa's desire to be more than the "sick kid" while navigating her youthful insecurities and the social challenges of middle school. Nankani also ably portrays Deepa's growing confidence in herself as she uses her own experience with illness to help figure out what’s wrong with Taio.
A sensitive performance. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: July 14, 2026
Duration: 6 hrs, 32 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668182833
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Aug. 27, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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