Jan Cheripko’s experience as an English teacher gives him a window into the inner lives of teenagers. His book, SUN MOON STARS RAIN, tells the story of Danny Murtaugh, an 18-year-old piano prodigy and college dropout. Danny is home to face his ghosts and deal with the death of his father, which he witnessed nine years earlier. The prose is poetic, and the cast does a professional job of breathing life into the story. Spencer Murphy is believable as Danny, a young man on the verge of adulthood who is wrestling with grief, guilt, and God. Carmen Viviano Craft also gives an outstanding performance as Stephanie, a waitress with a past who catches Danny’s eye. Musician Todd Hoban enhances the atmosphere with Bach, Sibelius, and some original keyboard work. N.E.M. 2009 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
Young AdultPub Date: May 1, 2008
Duration: 3 hrs, 45 mins
Publisher: Full Cast Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Muñoz’s narration allows glints of humor and family love to balance the horrors of trauma.
Narrator Javier Muñoz’s voice is light, almost giddy, as he describes the loving, joyful, book-filled family life of 17-year-old Mexican American twins Emma and CheChe. The story is told from the perspective of CheChe, who relishes his good life. After CheChe’s El Paso high school is attacked and he is shot and loses a leg, Muñoz’s narration changes dramatically. Sounding slower, subdued, and saddened, CheChe tries to comprehend the shattering of his idyllic life. Listeners will be struck by the sweetness of CheChe’s developing relationship with Placido, his first boyfriend, and the evolution of his path to healing.
Muñoz’s narration allows glints of humor and family love to balance the horrors of trauma. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: yesterday
Duration: 10 hrs, 56 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668185834
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: yesterday
Themes of inheritance, identity, sacrifice, and belonging resonate through three voices.
This multigenerational family story comes to life through an ensemble performance. After high schooler Dawn receives an assignment to interview her grandmother, she begins uncovering a family history that stretches from 19th-century China to Taiwan and then New York. Eunice Wong, Katharine Chin, and Kenneth Lee shift among generations with careful attention to rhythm, pitch, and emotional texture, making the transitions easy to follow. Their performances capture the family's guardedness over its old secretsas well as Dawn's curiosity as a young woman seeking answers. As the layers of the Chin family history emerge, the narrators maintain a strong sense of continuity across time.
Themes of inheritance, identity, sacrifice, and belonging resonate through three voices. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2026
Duration: 11 hrs, 42 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063238039
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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