Rocky Anicette wows in her narration of this quirky middle-grade superhero-origin story. Quiet Ellie Engle is content to stick to the sidelines and read comics while her popular best friend, Abby, makes waves. But when a mysterious earthquake leaves Ellie with the power to resurrect dead things, staying unnoticed is no longer an option. Anicette is utterly believable as a 12-year-old who is feisty and funny but prefers anonymity. Anicette uses tone and volume to draw an unmistakable contrast between Ellie in her own mind and Ellie in the world. The contrast is further heightened when she turns into Ellie the Superhero who doesn't know how to handle her new powers, the attention they bring, or the jealousy of the friend she has always considered her other half.
(Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2023
Duration: 6 hrs, 15 mins
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 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: Jan. 13, 2026
Duration: 6 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798217081578
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
It's 1975, and eleven-year-old Gao Sheng, a Hmong girl, is living in the highlands of Laos in a one-room house with her family. Then they are forced to flee. Narrator Robyn Morales lends a soft, feminine huskiness to the protagonist's voice as she describes the family's journey to a refugee camp, to gentle and thoughtful effect. The listener is transported alongside Gao Sheng to a new world as she reflects on memory, gender, and family relations in her culture; the events that change her life; and conditions in the refugee camp. An afterword provides context about the author's family's real-life experience. Morales' narration is comforting, even as she describes the difficult circumstances of refugees.
(Verse historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
Duration: 5 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798217080861
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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