Kivlighan de Montebello's young voice captures the innocent perspective of Zach, the 6-year-old first-person narrator of this novel. When an alert sounds in Zach's school, he's shepherded into a closet by his teacher. Amid the chorus of "POP, POP, POP," Zach's limited viewpoint gives a picture of the shooting in his elementary school, one of the victims being his 10-year-old brother. Zach little understands his father's affair, the severe changes his mother undergoes, or the saintly picture they paint of his sometimes-cruel brother. Inferences, de Montebello's youthful voice, and the author's references to the Hulk and the Magic Tree House give poignancy to the filter of Zach's naïveté. De Montebello reveals Zach's truths, the gripping situations he finds himself in, and the unmitigated tension he feels. This excellent audio may be difficult to hear in view of recent events.
Pub Date: 2018
Duration: 9 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780525589136
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
An astonishingly unique historical novel, which begins in Trinidad in the 1940s, this is an example of the best that an audiobook can offer. The two narrators, Ron Butler and Bahni Turpin, are superb choices who move the listener smoothly between the two main characters. Farook and Marcia Garcia are star-crossed lovers who don’t have fate on their side. Turpin evokes the rhythms of English as spoken in Trinidad, lyrical, and rhythmic. Through her confident narrative style, Marica Garcia comes across as a strong, beleaguered young woman. Her trials evoke empathy in the listener. Butler establishes the contorted choices that face Farook as an Indian man who is prevented by racism from marrying his true love. This sprawling tale spans Trinidad and the United States, from the 1940s-1960s.
Pub Date: 2015
Duration: 13 hrs
Publisher: Tantor Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Sometimes a book pulls you in and holds on tight--this is definitely one of those. Narrator Erin Bennett is warm, engaging, and enthusiastic as Mallory Blessing and a host of wide-ranging, multidimensional characters. As the story begins, Mallory is dying and her son, Link, is given instructions to call a strange number belonging to Jake McCloud. Listeners are soon taken on a journey back in time as their 28-year love story unfolds. Bennett's narration perfectly matches each stage of Mallory's life--and her unconventional "same time next year" relationship with Jake--as she finds her place on Nantucket. Best of all, each chapter opens with a list of "things we were talking about" during each of the 28 years, making the novel's journey back in time even more memorable for listeners.
Pub Date: 2020
Duration: 15 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781549117367
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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