Renée Watson narrates this story like it's a chat with a best friend. Nala's goals for the summer before her senior year are to spend tons of time with her cousin-sister-friend Imani and, she hopes, to get a boyfriend. When she meets Tye at one of Imani's "Rise, Harlem" events, she feeds the sparks between them with a few little lies designed to make herself sound like more of an activist. Watson's voice and writing create a vivacious yet vulnerable Nala, who wants Tye to see the person she really is while still trying to find out who she wants to be. Watson's rhythm for the interlude lyrics by Nala's favorite singer, Blue, is spellbinding. The story tenderly explores what it takes to create change in one's community and oneself.
(Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2021
Duration: 6 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 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
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
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