This audiobook--full of heart, clever humor, and magical imagination--is a complete joy to escape into. Narrator Sarah Ovens exudes charm and vulnerability as 12-year-old Esther, a middle child attending boarding school with her sisters, who she believes are much more accomplished than she is. As portrayed by Ovens, Esther is quirky, quietly brave, and genuine as she contends with a bullying teacher who might actually be an ogre, a recurring nightmare, a mother who forgets about her, and constant attacks against her school by shadow mages, witches, fiends, and sterling silver foxes. Ovens is quite magical herself, a clear standout as she delivers shy Dot's teeny voice, librarian Carlos's singsong intonation, principal Hortense's sonorous tones, and the voices of many other students and teachers.
(Fantasy. 9-13)Pub Date: 2021
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781705029121
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Narrator Michael Boatman is once again a master of vocal sound effects in this third installment of the Skunk and Badger series: the ErrrrrRRRRR of a rock tumbler tumbling, the scutch-scutch of snowshoes moving over snow, the Beed-el-LOO-bing! of a banjo being plucked. Raising two precocious young rats in Aunt Lula's brownstone, Skunk and Badger find themselves in way, way over their heads. And how is Badger going to get his article for ROCK HOUND WEEKLY finished with all of the distractions?! Boatman captures the mayhem in a high-energy, fully committed performance, differentiating the animal characters, emphasizing the many all-caps words and phrases, and using his voice to paint a picture of a family life that's chaotic, cozy, and loving.
(Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: 2025
Duration: 4 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781649041180
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Narrators Madeleine Curry and Valerie Gutierrez provide lively voices for a story that takes place in a multiverse. Two girls live in parallel versions of a town called Rockdale. Twelve-year-old Piper lives with her parents and her robot dog, Roody. Raisa lives in the parallel Rockdale with parents who are scientists. Each girl is on a mission: Raisa transports herself to Piper's Rockdale to prove her mother's theory of parallel worlds, while Piper is working to free her parents from the force field that is trapping them in their home. As the chapters alternate, Curry and Gutierrez give the girls expressive voices that make them believable. Their pacing adds to the excitement of the story, keeping listeners engaged.
(Science fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: 2025
Duration: 5 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781668651773
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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