Mark Sanderlin gives an outstanding performance of Selznick's new audiobook about two teens who are finding first love. Telling the story in the first person, Danny is wandering alone in Rome while his mother translates old manuscripts. He soon meets Rome native Angelo. Sanderlin captures their initial shyness, then deftly conveys the wonder felt by naïve Danny and the joy felt by worldly Angelo as he details each site in the city. Sanderlin ramps up tension as their affections grow and they discover an Italian couple from the past who experienced forbidden love. Danny's angst is palpable as his impending departure approaches--though Angelo proposes they run away. The detailed descriptions and the strong emotions in Sanderlin's delivery more than compensate for the audiobook's missing illustrations.
(Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
Duration: 5 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781546151593
Publisher: Scholastic Audiobooks
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Soler's spellbinding voice turns a melancholic fable into an intimate experience listeners will feel long after it ends.
Rebecca Soler narrates this haunting audiobook with a lyrical quality that draws listeners deep into its magical realism and its many-layered story. Her emotional control serves the narrative well, allowing the story's quietest moments to land with weight. Soler voices Lexie and Chester, two teens with heavy pasts and dark secrets who are drawn to each other by an undeniable cosmic pull. On a freezing winter morning, five people, including Chester, go for a swim and wake the next day transformed into birds, their lives forever altered. Measured pacing and tender characterizations give each teen a distinct inner life.
Soler's spellbinding voice turns a melancholic fable into an intimate experience listeners will feel long after it ends. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2026
Duration: 4 hrs, 56 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217351152
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2026
Creative and thoughtful with a touch of magic, this audiobook will keep listeners engaged.
Sixteen-year-old Caspen Coolsby is going through it. His father has been missing for six months, his family's candle store is preparing for the annual Red Fest celebration, his mother has started renting out the apartment upstairs, and he’s struggling to adapt to all the changes. As Caspen gets to know the new tenants, he discovers he can enter their memories through certain candle scents, and he hopes his new power will provide clues to his dad's disappearance. Narrator Matt Pittenger perfectly captures Caspen's confusion, resilience, and determination as he tries to connect the memories he has witnessed with real life and figure out his feelings for Lars, the cute guy who keeps showing up in the memories.
Creative and thoughtful with a touch of magic, this audiobook will keep listeners engaged. (Speculative romance. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
Duration: 5 hrs, 46 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668160060
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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