Karissa Vacker differentiates this audio's alternating viewpoints so distinctly that it seems like there are two narrators. Maddy has gone missing on a senior trip, and Grace, her elder sister by less than a year, has suffered a head wound and has only vague memories of her sister's disappearance. In narrating their journal entries, Vacker voices Maddy's social awkwardness in the days before she goes missing. Alternately, Vacker projects Grace's popularity and outgoing nature before Maddy's disappearance. Afterward, there's only confusion and distress in Grace's relationships with her parents and peers. Vacker shows Grace's determination to find out what happened. She tracks the tension of Grace's investigation, delivering the secrets that emerge and keeping listeners engaged.
(Thriller. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2024
Duration: 8 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593865989
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Chin’s narration balances a dramatic, fast-moving plot with lush descriptions and poignant historical details.
Katharine Chin masterfully conveys the many tensions of Lucy’s story. Found in a canoe floating to Orcas Island off the coast of Washington state and raised by a kindly benefactor, Lucy has always wondered about her parents and her heritage. She’s planning on heading off to college to make a fresh start—until she comes upon her benefactor’s severed head and is named heir of his estate. Chin’s propulsive narration plunges listeners into Lucy’s search to solve the murder and uncover the secrets of her origin; explain her connection with animals, including orcas; determine whom she truly loves; and find her place in the world.
Chin’s narration balances a dramatic, fast-moving plot with lush descriptions and poignant historical details. (Historical mystery. 12-18)Pub Date: March 17, 2026
Duration: 11 hrs, 22 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668160121
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
But the dual narration works in the story, with its class-system clashes and race to find the truth.
Young’s YA thriller pits blue-collar locals (“Chasers”) against wealthy visitors (“the Collective”) in a coastal Florida community. Teens of both groups clash, though Jamie and Noa find themselves embroiled in what turns out to be a murder mystery involving their relatives. Ali Andre Ali and Kimberly Woods perform Jamie and Noa’s narratives. Ali in particular captures the assortment of characters well, with a good mix of voices on both sides of the Chaser/Collective divide. Woods has a very young-sounding voice, and she doesn’t distinguish between older and younger characters as deftly.
But the dual narration works in the story, with its class-system clashes and race to find the truth. (Thriller. 13-18)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
Duration: 10 hrs, 25 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668160039
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: today
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