Lawrence moves away from suspenseful sea stories to write about an unusual protagonist in this coming-of-age story. Harold is an albino who lives in a dusty town in Canada shortly after WWII. When the circus rolls in, Harold joins the gang of "freaks" in search of adventure, friendship, and acceptance. George Guidall's rough, weathered voice is excellent for every strange character Harold meets on his journey, except for Harold himself. The young man is naïve in the ways of the world, and Guidall's mature voice cannot capture that, though he does lend a bittersweet tenderness to the lonely boy. While the theme of coming to terms with being different is common, albino characters are not. It's unfortunate that Recorded Books did not add Lawrence's interesting endnotes about his research of albinism, which may have furthered the listener's understanding of this rare genetic disorder.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2001
Duration: 9 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
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: Oct. 15, 2013
Duration: 4 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781478924845
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Jeff Harding voices the many impactful moments of 1919 in this engaging nonfiction audiobook. From women activists fighting for the right to vote to the Red Scare and civil rights riots, Sandler draws parallels to today's social issues. Harding matches 1919's cadence with a forward-moving pace. He uses different accents for quotations, though the women and people of color might have been better served with a diverse cast. The asides and timelines that appear in the text also are in the audio. Full of fascinating stories put into a modern context, this audiobook offers much to learn about an eventful year and ponders the big questions of our current time.
(Nonfiction. 11-16)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2020
Duration: 5 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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