Jerry Spinelli and Conor Donovan combine to create an appealing and authentic character in Will Tuppence. Will is a regular but offbeat kid. He's good at science and chess, has an annoying younger sister, and key to his social life are regular weekend Monopoly nights with best friends Mi-Su and BT. Will's sense of comfort and permanency are shaken when he learns that scientists have discovered the first evidence of proton decay. Donovan is absolutely convincing as a teenager with a voice containing both wonder and a self-questioning edge. Perfect pacing reflects various plot points--fear over a family tragedy, confusion about whether Mi-Su could be more than a friend, and the calm that comes with learning to accept that not everything in life can be controlled.
Young AdultPub Date: April 29, 2008
Duration: 4 hrs
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Narrator Sunny Lu creates a passionate voice for seventh grader Luna in this coming-of-age realistic fiction. Luna leaves her introverted life behind when she becomes a bibliotherapist for her fellow classmates, recommending books to help them in times of need and eventually writing her own zines with the assistance of her best friend, Scott. Lu perfectly captures Luna's complex emotions as she abandons Scott and joins the popular group. Now rather than writing to help others, she starts to hurt others by writing about their faults and flaws in "fix-its." Listeners will relate to Luna's struggles as she loses her way and will cheer her on in hopes that she finds her way back.
(Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
Duration: 6 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798217081578
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
It's 1975, and eleven-year-old Gao Sheng, a Hmong girl, is living in the highlands of Laos in a one-room house with her family. Then they are forced to flee. Narrator Robyn Morales lends a soft, feminine huskiness to the protagonist's voice as she describes the family's journey to a refugee camp, to gentle and thoughtful effect. The listener is transported alongside Gao Sheng to a new world as she reflects on memory, gender, and family relations in her culture; the events that change her life; and conditions in the refugee camp. An afterword provides context about the author's family's real-life experience. Morales' narration is comforting, even as she describes the difficult circumstances of refugees.
(Verse historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
Duration: 5 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798217080861
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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