Twelve-year-old Martha Boyle stands on the brink of discovery: about her family, about first love, and mostly about herself. As her family prepares for the annual visit to her paternal grandmother, Martha is given a journal entry from her classmate, Olive, who was killed in an automobile accident. Martha didn't really know Olive, but the journal entry makes Martha reflect on what might have been if Olive hadn't died. In her two weeks on Cape Cod, Martha learns to deal with the changing emotional landscape that comes with adolescence. This quiet, introspective story seems a bit overwhelmed by Blair Brown's strong, deep voice. While she reads with calm assurance, delineating the characters well with inflection and pacing, the overall effect is disappointing. A lighter voice might have provided more sparkle for the carefully crafted language and the depiction of the main character's changing self-awareness so skillfully created by Henkes.
Ages 10+Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2004
Duration: 2 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Live Oak Media recently caught our attention with this new read-along book and cassette program. We listened first, and were so delighted we couldn't wait to get the book. The picture book made the experience even better, but the audio recordings was strong and vibrant by itself. THE GARDENER, Sarah Stewart's Depression-era story of a young girl sent to live with her Uncle Jim in the city has a sweet, wistful quality with narration alone, but coupled with David Small's soft-edged pencil illustration, it's a total delight. The reading is repeated on both sides of the tape, one with and without page-turning signals.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: N/A
Publisher: Live Oak Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Powerful and affirming.
Narrator Erin Tripp’s melodious voice cradles listeners of this celebration of the unbreakable ties between Indigenous families and the land they walk on. In turn, the audiobook’s young protagonist reflects on wisdom learned from grandparents, parents, little sister, and community. Nature-based metaphors and similes reinforce the reciprocal relationship between the child and the land. “You are the land,” the child learns. “You are the sea...mountains…sky.” Tripp, whose heritage is Lingít, invests each iteration of “You are” with a gentle firmness that underscores the web of connections among child, family, community, and land. Littlebird’s tribes are Atfalati Kalapuya and Clatsop Chinook, and listeners who seek out the print edition will enjoy illustrations that present the lush glory of her people’s Oregon homelands.
Powerful and affirming. (Picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
Duration: 4 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217280407
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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