Narrator Emily Woo Zeller shines as 16-year-old Sana, a Japanese-American girl who is grappling with her sense of self. Sana and her family have just moved from Wisconsin to a more diverse community in California. As Sana finds herself connecting with a group of Asian-American girls, she is also falling hard for a Mexican-American girl on the cross-country team. Zeller excels at embodying the teen angst and immigrant family drama at the center of Sana's life. Author Misa Sugiura masterfully weaves in struggles of identity, race, class, and young love without emphasizing any one issue over another. Shifting between the accents of Sana's friends and even Japanese phrases from her mom with ease, Zeller showcases each character through Sana's eyes in this coming-of-age novel.
(Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 9, 2017
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780062682765
Publisher: Harper Audio
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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