Sarah Dessen has earned a well-deserved reputation tackling tough topics that resonate with young adult girls. Her latest is not up to her usual standard. Narrator Rebecca Soler seems to be on automatic pilot as she recites the story of 17-year old Ruby. Abandoned by her alcoholic mother, she is reunited with her older sister, Cora, who assumes custody after a ten-year absence. Ruby's story moves back and forth from the early days when Cora was her protector, to the middle years when Ruby and her mother were "two against the world," to her present attempts to figure out Cora's angle in showing up again. The story is uninspired melodrama, and Soler's performance is unable to give it life.
Young AdultPub Date: April 22, 2008
Duration: 11 hrs
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This young adult audiobook is full of secrets and lies.
When they were 4, identical twins Aria and Caliste’s mother, Grace, disappeared, and the sisters were separated. Years later, Grace’s body is discovered in a lake haunted by the Ghoul. The two young women travel to Minnesota and uncover family secrets—including each other’s existence. Narrators Rebecca Ho and Chantria Tram capture the twins’ emotions as they discover what has been kept hidden from them. Carolina Do exquisitely performs the point of view of the Ghoul. However, audible pick-ups make this production sound uneven and may distract from the listening experience.
This young adult audiobook is full of secrets and lies.Pub Date: Dec. 9, 2025
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217157983
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Feb. 10, 2026
Narrator Phoebe Strole's expert approach to this contemporary fantasy shines. Winnie is one of the four Farthing sisters who've been told they're descendants of Persephone, the Greek goddess of the dead. While talking to the dead had always been the norm for the sisters, it wasn't until Winnie accidentally banished a resident ghost that she came to believe that she and her sisters could be special. When the underworld attempts to converge with their world, the Farthing girls must rise to the challenge of stopping them. Strole delivers the story with poise and an occasional sprinkle of humor. The dialogue between these four sisters--simple and airy as delivered by Strole--makes the story flow.
(Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Dec. 2, 2025
Duration: 8 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217290291
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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