From the believable, reflective point of view of Lucas Cantrell, high school senior and captain of the Harmony football team, Scott Shina delivers the first person-account of a year of failure, change, and awakening, the real story behind the gleam of popularity and having-it-all in small-town Indiana. Shoup pulls no punches about teenage sex, adolescent drinking, and parent-child animosity, but Shina's matter-of-fact delivery keeps it all in perspective. Most intriguing are Lucas's relationships with his bigger-than-life father, a used car salesman; his vindictive coach; his lovesick best friend; his bedridden cousin; his cheerleader girlfriend; and his busybody sister. Most notably, Allie Bowen, the sixties radical terrorist with secrets to share, serves as both a counterpoint and a mentor to Lucas. While the final tape, a recorded interview with the author, will be interesting to other young adult authors and scholars, it most likely will not intrigue young listeners.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2000
Duration: 6 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Narrator Susannah Jones's high-speed pacing conveys Maeve's jangly thoughts and obsession with every potential scary outcome of her life--complete with research that feeds her anxiety. Jones does an equally fine job portraying minor characters. Whether calm, compassionate, or frustrated, these secondary characters allow listeners a bit of relief from Maeve's intensity. Maeve does have reason for concern as she moves in with her father and his family for six months. Her situation is complicated: Her father struggles with alcoholism, her stepmother is determined to have a home birth, her mother is working far away in Haiti with a new lover, and Maeve has broken up with her girlfriend. Jones builds the tension and then relieves it as Maeve develops honesty, courage, and love for her new girlfriend.
(Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2017
Duration: 7 hrs
Publisher: Audible, Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Vikas Adam and Soneela Nankani animate alternate chapters of the dynamic love story between Pinky and Samir in this companion to WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI. Coincidence unites the two teens when Samir's promised internship falls through and Pinky invites him to become her pretend summer boyfriend because he meets her mother's expectations. This fast-paced rom-com pairs two unlikely heroes, and the narrators capture the reversals and tensions of their growing relationship. Nankani shows Pinky's prickly side while also revealing her hidden vulnerabilities. Adam communicates Samir's loosening up in response to Pinky's passionate approach to living, his willingness to let go of anger, and, finally, his flourishing love for Pinky. Head and heart, tension and humor are reflected in this engaging listen.
(Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: July 21, 2020
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781797108759
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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