Nine well-known YA authors contribute linked stories about 19-year-old Kevin Nichols, who has just committed suicide. Dion Graham reads the parts of the male characters, beginning with Morris, who has just started work at his uncle's mortuary when Kevin's body arrives. Graham's portrayal of Morris is dispassionate, and he affects a different distanced tone as one of Kevin's friends recounts an initiation ritual. Christina Traister reads the female characters' stories with more emotion. There's fury in the story of a young woman Kevin has talked into sex, and feelings run just as strong as a bitter mortuary cosmetologist shows more interest in sorting out her past than in preparing Kevin's body. The stories, largely bleak and dark, form a disturbing, complex portrait of Kevin and the characters in the linked stories.
(Short stories. 14-20)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
Duration: 3 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781491502822
Publisher: Brilliance Audio/ Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Listeners follow Merry, the longbow girl, one of the best archers in her town. When she finds a magical portal in the forest that takes her back to sixteenth-century Wales, she must use her skills to win an archery contest in order to help her ancestors keep their land. While narrator Emily Wilden brings protagonist Merry to life with a rich Welsh accent, her narration seems uneven at times. All the period characters have accents that reflect the setting of the story and transport listeners to Wales. Listeners who enjoy historical fiction and a bit of fantasy will be charmed by this tale of determination, hope, and family.
Young AdultPub Date: N/A
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781501916793
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
In 1832 thirteen-year-old Charlotte Doyle is sailing from Liverpool to Rhode Island to rejoin her family. Shocked to discover that the families who were to have been both guardians and companions will not accompany her, Charlotte embarks on a journey filled with terror and swashbuckling adventure. The first-person narrative makes this Newbery Honor book a wonderful choice for recording. O'Karma's reading, with its hint of cross-gender differentiation, allows the listener to feel as if Charlotte Doyle herself were relating the tale. This story should be particularly alluring to adolescent girls although the fast-paced action and the nautical setting will also appeal to male listeners. Ages 12-adult.
Ages 12+Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 6 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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