Thirty-year-old spinster Sarah Ivorie Walker is content with the life she has created for herself until she encounters a feral boy who changes her life forever. Narrating her own work, Donna VanLiere conveys all the levels of emotion that Ivorie experiences. Alternating chapters tell the story from three different perspectives: those of Ivorie, her older brother, Henry, and the boy. The chapters from Henry's point of view are delivered in a calm, slightly deep voice, while those from Ivorie's perspective are more emotional and carry an undercurrent of her enthusiasm for life. As the boy becomes more comfortable with his new life and learns to use his voice, his words turn from stilted to smooth and coherent. An interview with the author provides insight into the inspiration for the setting and characters. E.N. 2013 Audies Winner © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
Pub Date: 2012
Duration: 7 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781427221889
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Ayla, one of the "others," is adopted by a clan of Neanderthal cave people. She struggles to conform to their ways, but her advanced human traits overwhelm and threaten their primitive culture in this initial installment of an immensely popular series. Although the story might benefit from abridgment, Rowena Cooper easily carries out the formidable task of enlivening the mostly silent and stereotypical characters with consistent, diverse personalities and human dimension. Through skillful phrasing and inflection, she maintains the reader's interest and suspense, especially with Ayla and her plight, throughout this rambling and imaginative story.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 22 hrs
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America/ Chivers
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This lyrical, sensual novel of woman's lot in Manchu, China, is as well researched as it is well written. Authentic in tone, it's nonetheless written for Westerners by a Western expert on China. Moreover, Susan Clark performs the demanding text superbly, with only occasional signs of fatigue. For the most part she not only sustains the quaint diction and Asian atmosphere, but also, creates whole worlds with her voice. She acts the book, rather than reads it, and, in so doing, turns a pretty trifle into a stupendous beauty.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 4 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Audio Literature
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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