Catherine Ho delivers a dynamic performance of this middle-grade fiction, which takes place in 1960s China. Ah-Mei is a mixed French-Chinese girl who is struggling through poverty and political strife in Shanghai. Her bond with her French grandmother, Nainai, is one of her only comforts as her family's business falls into a dire state. While the plot is simplistic, Ho's performance is complex. The bond between Ah-Mei and Nainai is strong yet doesn't overshadow the challenges of racism facing Ah-Mei and her family from neighbors. The portrayals of the characters are thought provoking, and the story has a fairy-tale quality. This unique performance of an equally unique story offers much to enjoy.
(Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: 2022
Duration: 11 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593632178
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Complete with creative production touches, the result is a dark, satisfying listen.
Listeners don't just experience a fascinating historical drama--they also become steeped in a bloody gothic Western. Stellar performances are the center of this compelling listening experience. Narrator Marin Ireland fully embodies the beleaguered humanities professor who, while deep diving into the campus archive, discovers the story of her ancestors. At the same time, she is struggling with her tenure committee. In a deft transition back to 1912, Owen Teale's performance of a Lutheran pastor exhibits gravitas as he slowly unwinds the secrets of his relationship with Good Stab, a Blackfeet Indian who mysteriously appears in his congregation. Shane Ghostkeeper provides Good Stab with a subtle yet ferocious performance as the two face each other's buried truths.
Complete with creative production touches, the result is a dark, satisfying listen.Pub Date: N/A
Duration: N/A
DD ISBN: 9781234567890
Publisher: Troy's Publishing Company for Vicky Test
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2026
It's 1975, and eleven-year-old Gao Sheng, a Hmong girl, is living in the highlands of Laos in a one-room house with her family. Then they are forced to flee. Narrator Robyn Morales lends a soft, feminine huskiness to the protagonist's voice as she describes the family's journey to a refugee camp, to gentle and thoughtful effect. The listener is transported alongside Gao Sheng to a new world as she reflects on memory, gender, and family relations in her culture; the events that change her life; and conditions in the refugee camp. An afterword provides context about the author's family's real-life experience. Morales' narration is comforting, even as she describes the difficult circumstances of refugees.
(Verse historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: 2026
Duration: 5 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798217080861
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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