One night 15-year-old Lucas Swain decides to take a cab home. In the cab station, Lucas notices a cremation urn, which he learns was abandoned several years earlier. Although he tries to forget about the urn, it continues to haunt him—until he finally decides to find out about the person, Violet Park, whose remains no one wants. Lucas feels a mysterious connection to Violet, one he can't explain. John Keating's narration is delightful as the hapless youngster slowly uncovers facts about Violet's life. At the same time, Lucas discovers the solution to a mystery that has plagued his own life. Although author Jenny Valentine relies heavily on improbable coincidence, the story works, thanks to Keating's credible adult characterizations and ingenuous treatment of Lucas.
Young AdultPub Date: Feb. 4, 2009
Duration: 4 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
A powerful journey toward authenticity.
Shannon Tyo’s narration fully embodies the prideful spirit of Elena Ok, a 17-year-old Korean American influencer who lives in luxury thanks to her brand and her family’s clothing business. But when the Oks lose everything, the family moves to a remote farm town and into a rundown house with no Wi-Fi or furniture. Tyo perfectly captures Elena’s misery; she’s undone not just by the lack of reception but also the feeling that she’s being left out of her family’s efforts to unite and move forward. Listeners understand Elena’s pain and feelings of loss through dialogue that sparks with sarcasm. Tyo marks Elena’s gradual understanding that true connection is with family and community, not the empty superficiality that dominated her past.
A powerful journey toward authenticity. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: March 3, 2026
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217280834
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2026
A roller coaster of a young adult thriller.
Daniel Henning’s narration grabs hold of listeners and leads them through this tale of escaping from cruelty into the hands of a murderer. Desperate not to return to his religious parents and the horrors of a conversion camp, an unnamed gay teenager takes on the identity of Nate Beaumont, a boy who has been missing for 10 years. As he settles in with a family who seem to genuinely believe he is their son, he soon learns that the original Nate might have died at the hands of one of the family members. With a vocal flexibility that, like a real teenager, shifts quickly between emotions of relief, fear, and confusion, Henning captures Nate with youthful vigor.
A roller coaster of a young adult thriller. (Thriller. 15-18)Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2026
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780063338357
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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