Narrators Anna Fikhman, Christopher Gebauer, and Jesse Vilinsky combine talents in this compelling mix of contemporary and historical fiction, which takes place in part during the Ukrainian famine of the 1930s. Gebauer is convincing as Matthew, a teen stuck at home because of the COVID-19 pandemic who misses his father, a reporter on assignment. Worse yet, his mother insists he help his 100-year-old great-grandmother, Nadiya, sort through old boxes. An old photo prompts Nadiya to share her painful history with Matthew. In connected stories, Vilinsky is smug and self-assured as Mila, a Soviet girl in Kyiv in 1932. Fikhman is the no-nonsense voice of Helena, a girl living in New York at the same time. Russian and Ukrainian accents help set the scene as Nadiya's story unfolds. Katherine Marsh reads the author's note.
(Historical fiction. 9-14)Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2023
Duration: 9 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781250865717
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Rey’s timeless performance makes this medieval adventure fascinating, frightening, and fun.
Elena Rey holds listeners’ attention firmly in her grasp with her narration of this middle-grade historical fiction. Twelve-year-old Blanca is chosen by her grandmother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, to marry the prince of France. As Blanca travels from Spain, she learns lessons about how to be a queen from Eleanor and lessons about life from the difficult journey. Rey voices young Blanca, Queen Eleanor, and various male characters with equal aplomb. Eleanor sounds imperious and aged; Blanca is assuredly royal yet a still preteen; and the knights are chivalrous, pompous, and a bit overzealous. Rey’s royal harrumphs and sniffs and childish scoffs and whines add to the enjoyable soundscape.
Rey’s timeless performance makes this medieval adventure fascinating, frightening, and fun. (Historical fiction. 9-14)Pub Date: March 24, 2026
Duration: 6 hrs, 51 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217287901
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: today
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
Lawrence enthusiastically portrays Cora and her friends in this fast-paced historical-fiction adventure.
Narrator Emily Lawrence creates a determined voice for Cora, who is desperately trying to survive the tragic 1906 earthquake in San Francisco with her two friends Chi and Oliver. Lawrence captures Cora’s tumultuous emotions as she and Chi are buried in rubble following the disaster and saved by her forbidden friend Oliver. Despite the bitter feud between their parents, Cora and Oliver work together to try to find her family as fire keeps spreading throughout their beloved city, all while running from bullies who are after Cora. Lawrence makes each character unique and adds a slight Irish accent for Oliver.
Lawrence enthusiastically portrays Cora and her friends in this fast-paced historical-fiction adventure. (Historical fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: March 3, 2026
Duration: 7 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9798225033521
Publisher: Scholastic Audio
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2026
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