An achingly beautiful tale of love, loss, and literature from Australian author Cath Crowley is given an engrossing narration by Chelsea Bruland and Hamish R. Johnson. Rachel Sweetie’s inconsolable grief over her younger brother’s death opens a story that unfolds in multiple layers. Returning to the town where she grew up, Rachel reconnects with old friends, particularly Henry Jones, with whom she is secretly in love. Henry’s family owns a unique secondhand bookshop featuring a letter library, where readers communicate by leaving notes in the pages of favorite old volumes. Bruland and Johnson employ varied inflections and cadences to distinguish old from young and to differentiate the notes left in the letter library from the narrative. While it may take a bit of time to settle into the rhythm of this audiobook, it’s well worth the effort.
. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 6, 2017
Duration: 6 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781524709549
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Listeners follow Merry, the longbow girl, one of the best archers in her town. When she finds a magical portal in the forest that takes her back to sixteenth-century Wales, she must use her skills to win an archery contest in order to help her ancestors keep their land. While narrator Emily Wilden brings protagonist Merry to life with a rich Welsh accent, her narration seems uneven at times. All the period characters have accents that reflect the setting of the story and transport listeners to Wales. Listeners who enjoy historical fiction and a bit of fantasy will be charmed by this tale of determination, hope, and family.
Young AdultPub Date: N/A
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781501916793
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
In 1832 thirteen-year-old Charlotte Doyle is sailing from Liverpool to Rhode Island to rejoin her family. Shocked to discover that the families who were to have been both guardians and companions will not accompany her, Charlotte embarks on a journey filled with terror and swashbuckling adventure. The first-person narrative makes this Newbery Honor book a wonderful choice for recording. O'Karma's reading, with its hint of cross-gender differentiation, allows the listener to feel as if Charlotte Doyle herself were relating the tale. This story should be particularly alluring to adolescent girls although the fast-paced action and the nautical setting will also appeal to male listeners. Ages 12-adult.
Ages 12+Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 6 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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