Sense of place is everything in Almond’s coming-of-age novel, set in the 1950s shipyards of Tynsdale, England, and Richard Halverson’s heavily accented narration is spot-on. While he makes use of minor dialect changes to distinguish between a variety of characters of different ages and socioeconomic backgrounds, Halverson spends most of the novel giving voice to aspiring writer and son of a ship-builder Dominic Hall. Halverson switches effortlessly between a voice of maturity looking back on childhood and the voice of a child experiencing awe, pain, love, and trauma. In narrating conversations, Halverson illuminates subtle changes in relationships by making use of pauses that are heavy with the weight of what is left unsaid. A rich and rewarding listen.
(Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: March 24, 2015
Duration: 8 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Myths come to life through Bahni Turpin and Robin Miles's stellar narration of this young adult fantasy. Marisol and her mother left their home in the Caribbean to live in Brooklyn. Marisol hopes to leave their island traditions and her family's magic behind. Genevieve grew up listening to her white father's mythical stories from her unknown mother's homeland. When the teens' lives collide, both discover secrets that change their views of their worlds. It's no surprise that both Turpin and Miles are Golden Voice narrators. Their skills bring Genevieve's and Marisol's stories to life as they capture the teens' personalities. Miles exquisitely delivers Marisol's Caribbean accent, while Turpin channels Genevieve's frustrations with her family and her own health. Simply magical.
(Verse fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2025
Duration: 6 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063395589
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Narrator Susannah Jones's high-speed pacing conveys Maeve's jangly thoughts and obsession with every potential scary outcome of her life--complete with research that feeds her anxiety. Jones does an equally fine job portraying minor characters. Whether calm, compassionate, or frustrated, these secondary characters allow listeners a bit of relief from Maeve's intensity. Maeve does have reason for concern as she moves in with her father and his family for six months. Her situation is complicated: Her father struggles with alcoholism, her stepmother is determined to have a home birth, her mother is working far away in Haiti with a new lover, and Maeve has broken up with her girlfriend. Jones builds the tension and then relieves it as Maeve develops honesty, courage, and love for her new girlfriend.
(Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2017
Duration: 7 hrs
Publisher: Audible, Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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