Author Edwidge Danticat narrates the introduction and afterword of her novel, providing context by relating her own immigrant experience and feelings about her heroine. Taking over to narrate the story, Ella Turenne uses a youthful voice and light French accent to portray Celiane, a Haitian girl. The violence taking place in her country takes center stage when she and her mother are almost killed in a bombing while visiting an aunt in Port-au-Prince. Turenne contrasts the comfort Celiane feels in her rural home and school with her longing to be reunited with her father in Brooklyn. Turenne also expresses the worsening anxiety of Celiane's mother and the love of the aunt who helps the family reunite. In New York, Celiane is surprised by the cold weather, school issues, and the tensions in her family.
Ages 8+Pub Date: April 5, 2022
Duration: 3 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781338801514
Publisher: Scholastic Audiobooks
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
Vikas Adam and Soneela Nankani animate alternate chapters of the dynamic love story between Pinky and Samir in this companion to WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI. Coincidence unites the two teens when Samir's promised internship falls through and Pinky invites him to become her pretend summer boyfriend because he meets her mother's expectations. This fast-paced rom-com pairs two unlikely heroes, and the narrators capture the reversals and tensions of their growing relationship. Nankani shows Pinky's prickly side while also revealing her hidden vulnerabilities. Adam communicates Samir's loosening up in response to Pinky's passionate approach to living, his willingness to let go of anger, and, finally, his flourishing love for Pinky. Head and heart, tension and humor are reflected in this engaging listen.
(Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: July 21, 2020
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781797108759
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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