Eloquent and hauntingly spare.
Freeman performs her novel in verse with a sensitivity to lines and rhythms, carefully conveying the immense spectrum of feelings in this poignant audiobook. The unnamed narrator, in her junior year of high school, is counting the days until she can escape a fragmented family where she feels invisible. The concise writing accentuates the rapid-fire drama as her parents take her allocated tuition funds to support her brother in rehab. Freeman expresses the desperation and despair that drive the heroine to apply for and receive a scholarship to study in Norway, even though she knows none of the country’s culture or language. Freeman describes a caring Norwegian family, a first love, and the places and people that help the protagonist discover true belonging.
Eloquent and hauntingly spare. (Verse fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
Duration: 2 hrs, 33 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668184332
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2026
Muñoz’s narration allows glints of humor and family love to balance the horrors of trauma.
Narrator Javier Muñoz’s voice is light, almost giddy, as he describes the loving, joyful, book-filled family life of 17-year-old Mexican American twins Emma and CheChe. The story is told from the perspective of CheChe, who relishes his good life. After CheChe’s El Paso high school is attacked and he is shot and loses a leg, Muñoz’s narration changes dramatically. Sounding slower, subdued, and saddened, CheChe tries to comprehend the shattering of his idyllic life. Listeners will be struck by the sweetness of CheChe’s developing relationship with Placido, his first boyfriend, and the evolution of his path to healing.
Muñoz’s narration allows glints of humor and family love to balance the horrors of trauma. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
Duration: 10 hrs, 56 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668185834
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2026
Themes of inheritance, identity, sacrifice, and belonging resonate through three voices.
This multigenerational family story comes to life through an ensemble performance. After high schooler Dawn receives an assignment to interview her grandmother, she begins uncovering a family history that stretches from 19th-century China to Taiwan and then New York. Eunice Wong, Katharine Chin, and Kenneth Lee shift among generations with careful attention to rhythm, pitch, and emotional texture, making the transitions easy to follow. Their performances capture the family's guardedness over its old secretsas well as Dawn's curiosity as a young woman seeking answers. As the layers of the Chin family history emerge, the narrators maintain a strong sense of continuity across time.
Themes of inheritance, identity, sacrifice, and belonging resonate through three voices. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2026
Duration: 11 hrs, 42 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063238039
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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