Quincy Surasmith narrates this middle reader work of nonfiction, which depicts, in graphic detail, the harrowing rescue of a youth soccer team and their coach, who were stuck in a flooded cave in Thailand. The narrative swings from emotional tension when the author focuses on the boys or their parents to tactical precision when she explains the inner workings of the cave system. Surasmith navigates these changes expertly in his narration. The technical aspects of the audiobook sound like they are delivered by a serious geography teacher. When the action of the rescue ratchets up, Surasmith narrates with an exasperation that makes listeners feel like they too are trapped in the cave. This informative, engaging yet pithy audiobook is suitable for all audiences.
(Nonfiction. 10-15)Pub Date: 2021
Duration: 4 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781713547792
Publisher: Brilliance Audio/ Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Addressing young listeners directly, animal behaviorist Temple Grandin reads the introduction to her work on cognitive differences, with Andrea Gallo taking over the narration of the main text. It is nominally a celebration of cognitive multiplicity, with visual thinkers, like the author, complementing verbal thinkers. There's lots of empowerment for visual thinkers here, but Grandin's text often turns her appreciation of what different brains can do into harangues against engineers, the educational system, and helicopter and snowplow parenting. Gallo's warm, even delivery assumes tones of muted outrage for these lectures in order to meet the author's energy, such that the experience of listening is something of a gentle pummeling. Even the young listeners Grandin most hopes to encourage--visual thinkers like her--may emerge exhausted.
(Nonfiction. 9-13)Pub Date: 2024
Duration: 7 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593745281
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Austin Channing Brown narrates stories of loving herself as she grows up a Black girl in a mostly white world. Her tone is upbeat and her attitude positive as she describes her confusion amid early experiences of white coding. Through natural, immersive storytelling she shows how she thought she faced gender bias because of her name but came to understand the larger issue of racism. Brown's delivery is conversational. Her stories are personal, yet they speak to universal situations, such as becoming the designated spokesperson for Blacks in white classrooms, receiving impactful lessons from her parents on getting through life, suffering when her cousin is sent to prison, and seeing the limited views of whites as she experiences inequities and indignities from elementary school to adulthood.
(Memoir. 11-15)Pub Date: 2023
Duration: 3 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780593677025
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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