Narrator Maxwell Glick plays up the gross humor in the latest middle-grade novel from the author of AL CAPONE DOES MY SHIRTS. Liam strives to find the perfect balance of attitude and actions to achieve total coolness in fifth grade, but his younger sisters seem to destroy his chances at every step. Glick packs the voices of the children with character: Liam's awkwardness, Dakota's know-it-all sass, and Izzy's gentle sweetness. The mother's Australian accent comes out slow and a bit strained, though that fits her constant exasperation at the antics of her children as they try to save their incontinent dog from eviction. Glick's upbeat tone finds the hope in a meandering plot that tackles myriad issues, including divorce, poverty, and having a sibling with Down syndrome.
(Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: 2019
Duration: 3 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781984833686
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Liam Aiken narrates this prequel to the Series of Unfortunate Events in a somber, deadpan tone that heightens its dark humor. As a teenaged Lemony Snicket investigates a series of arsons in a town called Stain’d-by-the-Sea, Aiken creates voices that delineate character and help keep clear the large cast of Snicket’s associates, enemies, and enemies that turn out to be associates. Aiken’s tone of quiet urgency will keep listeners hooked through wordplay, mysteries, good meals, romance, and the appearance of a new villain named Hangfire, who hoodwinks adults, frames a librarian, and kidnaps all the children in town. This smart and funny listen will please Snicket fans and create new ones.
(Mystery. 8-14)Pub Date: 2014
Duration: 6 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781478955733
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
While narrator Liam Aiken evokes the wistful, dolorous tone of Snicket’s second mystery in his All the Wrong Questions series, he fails to deliver Snicket’s signature snark with appropriate vigor. In this episode, the main character, 12- year-old Lemony Snicket, continues the investigations that began in STAIN’D BY THE SEA with the case of the missing chemist, Cleo Knight. As Aiken delivers Snicket’s declarative sentences in a deadpan voice, his remote reading keeps listeners distant from the story. Furthermore, Aiken does not always play up the quirks of the town’s eccentric characters. When he does use individualized voicings, the story shakes off its languidness to some degree. Aiken’s melancholy narration echoes Snicket’s loneliness but doesn’t enliven the recording for young listeners. An attached PDF file includes the character Seth’s illustrations.
(Mystery. 8-14)Pub Date: 2013
Duration: 4 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781478924845
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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