Narrator Tara Sands's youthful verve expresses the enthusiasm and naïveté of heroine Gertie Reece Troy, who is determined to become "the greatest fifth-grader in the universe." Sands contrasts this grit with a portrait of Gertie's rival, bratty Mary Sue Spivey. Gertie has a darker, more complicated rationale than mere enthusiasm for her goal. She was abandoned by her mother as a baby, and now her mother plans to move away. Sands articulates both Gertie's mother's coldness and Gertie's need for maternal recognition. Gertie's longing creates a strong subplot and undercurrent to the narration. But Sands's breezy reading predominates. Her tone emphasizes Gertie's resilience and, ultimately, her realization that the best course is to find joy in what she has, not to focus on what she's missing.
(Fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
Duration: 4 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781101915790
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Liam Aiken narrates this prequel to the Series of Unfortunate Events in a somber, deadpan tone that heightens its dark humor. As a teenaged Lemony Snicket investigates a series of arsons in a town called Stain’d-by-the-Sea, Aiken creates voices that delineate character and help keep clear the large cast of Snicket’s associates, enemies, and enemies that turn out to be associates. Aiken’s tone of quiet urgency will keep listeners hooked through wordplay, mysteries, good meals, romance, and the appearance of a new villain named Hangfire, who hoodwinks adults, frames a librarian, and kidnaps all the children in town. This smart and funny listen will please Snicket fans and create new ones.
(Mystery. 8-14)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2014
Duration: 6 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781478955733
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
While narrator Liam Aiken evokes the wistful, dolorous tone of Snicket’s second mystery in his All the Wrong Questions series, he fails to deliver Snicket’s signature snark with appropriate vigor. In this episode, the main character, 12-year-old Lemony Snicket, continues the investigations that began in STAIN’D BY THE SEA with the case of the missing chemist, Cleo Knight. As Aiken delivers Snicket’s declarative sentences in a deadpan voice, his remote reading keeps listeners distant from the story. Furthermore, Aiken does not always play up the quirks of the town’s eccentric characters. When he does use individualized voicings, the story shakes off its languidness to some degree. Aiken’s melancholy narration echoes Snicket’s loneliness but doesn’t enliven the recording for young listeners. An attached PDF file includes the character Seth’s illustrations.
(Mystery. 8-14)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2013
Duration: 4 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781478924845
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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