In alternating journal entries and letters, 16-year-old adopted siblings Emilia and Teo describe Ethiopia’s path to war with Italy in the 1930s and how it involved them in pilot training. Narrators Lauren Saunders and Maanuv Thiara detail the close friendship of Emilia and Teo in a story that also depicts Ethiopian race relations at that time. Listeners will need to give this high-flying adventure a long runway. Saunders’s voices for Em, Teo, and their mothers are too similar, and Thiara’s earnest reading draws the listener out of Wein’s rich descriptions of Ethiopian life. To their credit, both manage the Amharic vocabulary adroitly. In the chaos of war, both narrators use more subdued voicings, which better match the author’s dynamic shifts.
. (Historical fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: March 31, 2015
Duration: 11 hrs
Publisher: Bolinda Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Listeners follow Merry, the longbow girl, one of the best archers in her town. When she finds a magical portal in the forest that takes her back to sixteenth-century Wales, she must use her skills to win an archery contest in order to help her ancestors keep their land. While narrator Emily Wilden brings protagonist Merry to life with a rich Welsh accent, her narration seems uneven at times. All the period characters have accents that reflect the setting of the story and transport listeners to Wales. Listeners who enjoy historical fiction and a bit of fantasy will be charmed by this tale of determination, hope, and family.
Young AdultPub Date: N/A
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781501916793
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
In 1832 thirteen-year-old Charlotte Doyle is sailing from Liverpool to Rhode Island to rejoin her family. Shocked to discover that the families who were to have been both guardians and companions will not accompany her, Charlotte embarks on a journey filled with terror and swashbuckling adventure. The first-person narrative makes this Newbery Honor book a wonderful choice for recording. O'Karma's reading, with its hint of cross-gender differentiation, allows the listener to feel as if Charlotte Doyle herself were relating the tale. This story should be particularly alluring to adolescent girls although the fast-paced action and the nautical setting will also appeal to male listeners. Ages 12-adult.
Ages 12+Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 6 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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