Narrator Ron Butler takes us into the mind of 16-year-old Nate Bird. Nate’s still hung up on Florence, his best friend and former girlfriend. When his childhood friend Oliver James moves back to the neighborhood, Nate’s feelings become even more confused. Ollie, who is deaf, communicates with Nate through a combination of speech/lip reading, sign language, and typing on their phones, and Butler uses an effective halting delivery to convey when they’re reading that text. Butler gives slight accents to Ollie and his mother, Mrs. Hernández, and uses subtle variations in tone to differentiate among Nate’s diverse group of friends. His sympathetic narration carries listeners along as Nate tries to figure out what, and who, he’s willing to take a chance on.
(Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 30, 2018
Duration: 8 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780062855060
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Listeners follow Merry, the longbow girl, one of the best archers in her town. When she finds a magical portal in the forest that takes her back to sixteenth-century Wales, she must use her skills to win an archery contest in order to help her ancestors keep their land. While narrator Emily Wilden brings protagonist Merry to life with a rich Welsh accent, her narration seems uneven at times. All the period characters have accents that reflect the setting of the story and transport listeners to Wales. Listeners who enjoy historical fiction and a bit of fantasy will be charmed by this tale of determination, hope, and family.
Young AdultPub Date: N/A
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781501916793
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
In 1832 thirteen-year-old Charlotte Doyle is sailing from Liverpool to Rhode Island to rejoin her family. Shocked to discover that the families who were to have been both guardians and companions will not accompany her, Charlotte embarks on a journey filled with terror and swashbuckling adventure. The first-person narrative makes this Newbery Honor book a wonderful choice for recording. O'Karma's reading, with its hint of cross-gender differentiation, allows the listener to feel as if Charlotte Doyle herself were relating the tale. This story should be particularly alluring to adolescent girls although the fast-paced action and the nautical setting will also appeal to male listeners. Ages 12-adult.
Ages 12+Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 6 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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