Fourteen-year-old Brent Runyon, mad at the world and soon to be busted for an act of arson at school, attempts to deal with his troubles by using gasoline to set himself on fire. Months of hospitals, pain, and therapists result as his body and mind deal with the aftermath of his impulsive suicide attempt. Told in the first person, this true story may be difficult to handle for some listeners. Narrator Christopher Evan Welch superbly captures the depressed, sometimes petulant, regretful, and hormonal tones of this adolescent, an approach that will resonate with younger listeners but may wear thin for adults. After hearing this performance, teens may reconsider impulsive decisions; no listener will soon forget Runyon's harrowing experience. M.H.N. 2009 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
Young AdultPub Date: Feb. 4, 2009
Duration: 8 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Muñoz’s narration allows glints of humor and family love to balance the horrors of trauma.
Narrator Javier Muñoz’s voice is light, almost giddy, as he describes the loving, joyful, book-filled family life of 17-year-old Mexican American twins Emma and CheChe. The story is told from the perspective of CheChe, who relishes his good life. After CheChe’s El Paso high school is attacked and he is shot and loses a leg, Muñoz’s narration changes dramatically. Sounding slower, subdued, and saddened, CheChe tries to comprehend the shattering of his idyllic life. Listeners will be struck by the sweetness of CheChe’s developing relationship with Placido, his first boyfriend, and the evolution of his path to healing.
Muñoz’s narration allows glints of humor and family love to balance the horrors of trauma. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
Duration: 10 hrs, 56 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668185834
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2026
Eloquent and hauntingly spare.
Freeman performs her novel in verse with a sensitivity to lines and rhythms, carefully conveying the immense spectrum of feelings in this poignant audiobook. The unnamed narrator, in her junior year of high school, is counting the days until she can escape a fragmented family where she feels invisible. The concise writing accentuates the rapid-fire drama as her parents take her allocated tuition funds to support her brother in rehab. Freeman expresses the desperation and despair that drive the heroine to apply for and receive a scholarship to study in Norway, even though she knows none of the country’s culture or language. Freeman describes a caring Norwegian family, a first love, and the places and people that help the protagonist discover true belonging.
Eloquent and hauntingly spare. (Verse fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
Duration: 2 hrs, 33 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668184332
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2026
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