With heartrending earnestness, narrator Taylor Meskimen draws listeners into the emotional life of Zenobia July, a tech-savvy trans girl who's facing a new year at a new middle school. Fresh from the loss of her father, Zen moved in with her married aunts, and now she's living openly as a girl for the first time. Navigating middle school friendships is tough, even among the quirky, inclusive crowd led by genderqueer Arli. But Zen finds solace in coding and gaming, and when the school's website is hacked by a hateful troll, Zen turns her own impressive hacker skills to finding the culprit. Meskimen's sincere narration immerses listeners in Zen's experiences, giving weight to her anxiety and vulnerability without sacrificing her youthful humor and joy.
(Fiction. 8-13)Pub Date: May 21, 2019
Duration: 7 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781984884855
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
A not-too-scary horror audiobook.
Dan Bittner gives a polished performance of Stine’s middle-grade horror novel, narrating with melodramatic flair and dramatic pauses at the end of each cliffhanger chapter. When the Ferber family moves into a creepy old house on Nightmare Street, Joe’s parents are oblivious to the scary things happening in the house. In a parallel story, the Hannigan family moves into the same house, where Shawn has different creepy experiences. Both Joe and Shawn have nightmares in which they encounter horror tropes—headstones, a creepy rag doll, a looping camera, a ventriloquist’s dummy, and masked teachers—in their house and at school. Bittner’s pacing works well, and fans of the Goosebumps series will enjoy the familiar shivers and tongue-in-cheek humor.
A not-too-scary horror audiobook.Pub Date: April 18, 2026
Duration: 2 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9798228588288
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2026
Past and present come together seamlessly.
Casey Holloway and Emily Eiden perform alternating chapters of this audiobook about two girls connected through time. In the present day, 13-year-old Penny Marks is angry and resentful about her parents’ decision to move their family to Paris for her mother’s museum job. In 1943, 13-year-old Marie Bonnet and her sister live alone in Nazi-occupied Paris. Holloway depicts the curious, determined, artistic Penny, who pursues the mystery of a painting hidden in a wall and a letter written 80 years earlier. With an accented narration, Eiden reveals Marie’s entry into the French Resistance and her commitment to hiding French art from the Germans.
Past and present come together seamlessly. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 17, 2026
Duration: 6 hrs, 42 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063321816
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: March 10, 2026
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