Newbery Honor winner Cynthia Kadohata creates another unique yet realistic family that explores the ties that bind. Helen Kimura, a sexpot adored by her daughters, collects men and their gifts but is unwilling to settle down because there are always "bigger fish to fry." When she's critically injured in an accident, her four daughters are separated; each goes to her own father. Sue Jean Kim narrates from second daughter Shelby's viewpoint. Kim makes each sister real. Shelby is the serious, quiet sister who is willing to move heaven and earth to reunite her family. Marilyn is the most like her mother. Lakey is torn between a desire to live with her father and her need for her sisters. Maddy has mastered the little sister skill of wheedling with a well-placed "Pleeaasee?"
Young AdultPub Date: June 3, 2008
Duration: 6 hrs
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This young adult audiobook is full of secrets and lies.
When they were 4, identical twins Aria and Caliste’s mother, Grace, disappeared, and the sisters were separated. Years later, Grace’s body is discovered in a lake haunted by the Ghoul. The two young women travel to Minnesota and uncover family secrets—including each other’s existence. Narrators Rebecca Ho and Chantria Tram capture the twins’ emotions as they discover what has been kept hidden from them. Carolina Do exquisitely performs the point of view of the Ghoul. However, audible pick-ups make this production sound uneven and may distract from the listening experience.
This young adult audiobook is full of secrets and lies.Pub Date: Dec. 9, 2025
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217157983
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Feb. 10, 2026
Narrator Phoebe Strole's expert approach to this contemporary fantasy shines. Winnie is one of the four Farthing sisters who've been told they're descendants of Persephone, the Greek goddess of the dead. While talking to the dead had always been the norm for the sisters, it wasn't until Winnie accidentally banished a resident ghost that she came to believe that she and her sisters could be special. When the underworld attempts to converge with their world, the Farthing girls must rise to the challenge of stopping them. Strole delivers the story with poise and an occasional sprinkle of humor. The dialogue between these four sisters--simple and airy as delivered by Strole--makes the story flow.
(Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Dec. 2, 2025
Duration: 8 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217290291
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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