In this lyrical historical novel about America before and during the Civil War, we follow 15-year-old Tilly Pruit of Illinois as she pursues her errant young brother, who has run off to enlist in the Union Army. Tilly is accompanied by Delphine, a lovely young visitor up from New Orleans. As we and Tilly discover, Delphine is not what she appears. Daniel Passer begins the book, speaking to us in the voice of Tilly's grandson, taken in 1916 to meet his grandmother for the first time. He has a pleasant, easy voice and a fine sense of a boy's pacing as he tells his part of the story. Lina Patel also excels with the many characters and the emotional complexities of the plot. Her Northern country people are plain without being caricatures, and her Southerners convince without too many drippy drawls. This personal story of the great national schism involves us in all ways. A.C.S. 2005 YALSA Selection © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine
Ages 8+Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2004
Duration: 3 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Live Oak Media recently caught our attention with this new read-along book and cassette program. We listened first, and were so delighted we couldn't wait to get the book. The picture book made the experience even better, but the audio recordings was strong and vibrant by itself. THE GARDENER, Sarah Stewart's Depression-era story of a young girl sent to live with her Uncle Jim in the city has a sweet, wistful quality with narration alone, but coupled with David Small's soft-edged pencil illustration, it's a total delight. The reading is repeated on both sides of the tape, one with and without page-turning signals.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: N/A
Publisher: Live Oak Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Naeymi’s narration is both raw and triumphant.
Samara Naeymi beautifully narrates this middle-grade novel about an Iranian American girl. Bullied by her classmates for her frizzy hair and thick eyebrows and criticized by her mother for her weight, Yasmin struggles to be her authentic self in a world that tells her she's not good enough. There are many different perspectives in this story, and Naeymi is true to each: Yasmin’s judgmental mother, with her Persian accent and steely belief in her own harsh parenting; the ruthless teenagers whose hurtful comments cause emotional harm; the younger brother concerned for his sister's unhappiness; and the tried-and-true best friend.
Naeymi’s narration is both raw and triumphant. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: March 24, 2026
Duration: 4 hrs, 51 mins
DD ISBN: 9798349114861
Publisher: Dreamscape
Review Posted Online: April 28, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
