Actor Joe Mantegna clearly delights in his reading of STREET BOYS, which tells the story of how a band of mostly children and teenagers are able to unite with an American soldier to defeat a Nazi attack on Naples during WWII. Mantegna's words flow smoothly, and his style is so effective that he could audition for every role. He also demonstrates the importance of understanding a book about a foreign culture. In STREET BOYS, he transitions between American soldiers and Italian freedom fighters with seemingly minimal effort, and maximum effect. Although the book has a few slower moments, Mantegna's reading makes even those passages fly by. His compassionate handling of the deaths of some key characters helps keep even those scenes from becoming too sad, or clichéd. D.J.S. 2003 Audie Award Finalist (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2002
Duration: 6 hrs
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Ayla, one of the "others," is adopted by a clan of Neanderthal cave people. She struggles to conform to their ways, but her advanced human traits overwhelm and threaten their primitive culture in this initial installment of an immensely popular series. Although the story might benefit from abridgment, Rowena Cooper easily carries out the formidable task of enlivening the mostly silent and stereotypical characters with consistent, diverse personalities and human dimension. Through skillful phrasing and inflection, she maintains the reader's interest and suspense, especially with Ayla and her plight, throughout this rambling and imaginative story.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 22 hrs
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America/ Chivers
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This lyrical, sensual novel of woman's lot in Manchu, China, is as well researched as it is well written. Authentic in tone, it's nonetheless written for Westerners by a Western expert on China. Moreover, Susan Clark performs the demanding text superbly, with only occasional signs of fatigue. For the most part she not only sustains the quaint diction and Asian atmosphere, but also, creates whole worlds with her voice. She acts the book, rather than reads it, and, in so doing, turns a pretty trifle into a stupendous beauty.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 4 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Audio Literature
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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