If you don't eat, you gain so much in experience--lightness, release from gravity and the weight of the body, escape from the self, and ascent. You can actually leave behind the difficulties and encumbrances of life. This is what Alice learns in the hospital, where she finds respite from her neglectful father, her alcoholic mother, and her abusive stepfather. There she also finds a friend in Rex, who understands what it is to teeter on the knife edge between life and death. Brooks's novel, with its heavy emphasis on dialogue, requires the skills of master narrator Christina Moore, who captures Alice's alternating acerbity and solemnity as she struggles against a life and relationships she can no longer face. And Moore's Rex, Prince of Remission, is a genius of sarcasm and melodrama. Between his lengthy speeches, he entertains with wit, his best defense against the terror of impending early death.
Ages 10+Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2000
Duration: 2 hrs, 15 mins
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
A fresh, dynamic interpretation of Woodson's poetry.
Woodson originally narrated her memoir in 2014, and this updated production features a lively chorus of voices, a new bonus chapter, and testimonies about the legacy of Brown Girl Dreaming. The audiobook opens with spare guitar music, and Woodson narrates her new, emotion-filled introduction. The chorus—Denée Benton, Marley Dias, Dominique Fishback, Big Freedia, Montego Glover, Nicole Ari Parker, Tika Sumpter, and Lena Waithe—then jumps in, each contributor delivering one poem and passing the mic to another voice for the next. The variety of voices adds a little spice, as their narration styles are very different from one another. Snappy musical interludes by Toshi Reagon feature before each section.
A fresh, dynamic interpretation of Woodson's poetry. (Memoir/poetry. 8-12)Pub Date: May 12, 2026
Duration: 4 hrs, 11 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217175611
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: May 22, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2026
Morris delivers a charmingly relatable performance.
Cassandra Lee Morris captures the joys—and horrors—of seventh grade with her enthusiastic narration. Sadie is starting middle school along with her lifelong best friend, Olive. But when Sadie is accidentally added to the group chat for her grade's elite clique, she starts to feel that maybe one friend isn't enough. Morris perfectly captures the judgmental flippancy of a self-conscious seventh grade girl as Sadie attempts to hold onto her friendship with Olive. With careful intonation, Morris delivers every permutation of "LOL" in the text exchanges and conveys all the awkward feelings and nerve-wracking moments that Sadie experiences.
Morris delivers a charmingly relatable performance. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 5, 2026
Duration: 6 hrs, 37 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063456037
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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