"What do people look like when they die?" Kiwabe wonders. His friends, Kiyama and Yamashita, are repulsed but intrigued at the question, and all three decide to spy on a lonely old man to wait for him to die. Oddly, however, the old man turns the tables. He isn't quite ready to die. Instead he draws all four of them into an adventure that helps all come a little closer to life. Reader Jeff Woodman's gentle, good-natured voice is perfect for the earnest, young narrator, Kiyama, as well as for the wise old man, whose wit and tricks make the narrative seem to sparkle. Woodman's reading is alert with the emerging vitality of the old man and the sheer joy of youth that swims here just below the surface. If death is the pool they all start to swim in, it's life that breaks the surface and sparkles like jewels in the sun.
Pub Date: 1997
Duration: 5 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Complete with creative production touches, the result is a dark, satisfying listen.
Listeners don't just experience a fascinating historical drama--they also become steeped in a bloody gothic Western. Stellar performances are the center of this compelling listening experience. Narrator Marin Ireland fully embodies the beleaguered humanities professor who, while deep diving into the campus archive, discovers the story of her ancestors. At the same time, she is struggling with her tenure committee. In a deft transition back to 1912, Owen Teale's performance of a Lutheran pastor exhibits gravitas as he slowly unwinds the secrets of his relationship with Good Stab, a Blackfeet Indian who mysteriously appears in his congregation. Shane Ghostkeeper provides Good Stab with a subtle yet ferocious performance as the two face each other's buried truths.
Complete with creative production touches, the result is a dark, satisfying listen.Pub Date: N/A
Duration: N/A
DD ISBN: 9781234567890
Publisher: Troy's Publishing Company for Vicky Test
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 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: 2026
Duration: 6 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798217081578
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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