Despite the novel’s weaker qualities, Araya captures the emotion and turmoil in Plath's youthful voice.
This audiobook, told in verse, explores Sylvia Plath's formative years. Some of the narrative effect may be lost in the audio format, but Jennifer Jill Araya navigates the text well. Delivered with a consistently forceful pace, Araya's Plath has a childlike quality that seems appropriate for this period in her life. Araya ably shifts among supporting characters' voices with effectively subtle changes. The audiobook format highlights how repetitive the narrative can be—Plath rails against 1950s societal expectations of women and writhes within the confines of her own self-doubt again and again—without really exploring Plath's writing or creative process.
Despite the novel’s weaker qualities, Araya captures the emotion and turmoil in Plath's youthful voice. (Verse fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 17, 2026
Duration: 5 hrs, 17 mins
DD ISBN: 9798895641415
Publisher: Oasis Audio
Review Posted Online: April 28, 2026
Rich language, relatable feelings, and powerful storytelling unite in this successful audiobook.
Acevedo moves listeners with her dramatic plot, poignant emotions, and fresh images as she soothes with her rhythmic, lyrical narration. Seventeen-year-old Liliana’s impulsiveness has landed her in the juvenile justice system. After Lil returns home and faces a court appearance, Acevedo conveys her shame for bringing turmoil to her loving Indigenous Salvadoran and Afro-Dominican family. Lil chafes against legal constraints that demand she live life cautiously, often against her own intuition, as she returns to school without her best friends or the support of her beloved older brother, Aldwin, who is away at college. Lil is worried about Aldwin’s instability, and this care puts her in a precarious position.
Rich language, relatable feelings, and powerful storytelling unite in this successful audiobook. (Verse fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
Duration: 5 hrs, 51 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063574236
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2026
Pabon breathes life into this story of a father and son desperate to connect.
After the death of his beloved mother, Miles is spending a year with his estranged father, Jake. Jake owns a failing art house movie theater, and he’s pinned his hopes on convincing a famous Spanish director to show her latest film there. Jake and Miles set off on a trip through Spain, searching for the director and rebuilding their relationship along the way. Timothy Andrés Pabon's pronunciation of Spanish words and phrases brings authenticity to descriptions of the food, traditions, and landmarks. His emotional portrayals of a broken teen and a yearning father who reach for yet miss each other will simultaneously break listeners' hearts and give them hope.
Pabon breathes life into this story of a father and son desperate to connect. (Fiction. 13-17)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2026
Duration: 5 hrs, 19 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217348589
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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