Narrator Jennifer Ikeda perfectly captures the confusion of a girl displaced by war and hardship. For years, the only home Japanese-American Hanako has known is an internment camp. When she and her family are released at the end of WWII, they decide to renounce their American citizenship and return to her father's birthplace near Hiroshima, where they face uncertainty about what the future holds. Ikeda takes great care to pronounce the Japanese vocabulary distinctly and correctly without disturbing the flow of the story. She creates memorable voices for Hana; her little brother, Akira; and the people they interact with in their new, war-torn home. Listeners will be especially charmed by Hana's grandparents, the delightfully idiosyncratic Jiichan and Baachan.
(Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: May 14, 2019
Duration: 9 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781508295402
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Narrator Sunny Lu creates a passionate voice for seventh grader Luna in this coming-of-age realistic fiction. Luna leaves her introverted life behind when she becomes a bibliotherapist for her fellow classmates, recommending books to help them in times of need and eventually writing her own zines with the assistance of her best friend, Scott. Lu perfectly captures Luna's complex emotions as she abandons Scott and joins the popular group. Now rather than writing to help others, she starts to hurt others by writing about their faults and flaws in "fix-its." Listeners will relate to Luna's struggles as she loses her way and will cheer her on in hopes that she finds her way back.
(Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
Duration: 6 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798217081578
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 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: Jan. 13, 2026
Duration: 5 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798217080861
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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