Narrator Rebecca Soler captures the self-confidence of 17-year-old Emma Saylor Payne. She is secure in her father's love and remarriage, and she has made peace with the death of her mother from a drug overdose. But that's before she learns she'll spend three weeks at North Lake, her mother's childhood home, with a large family she doesn't remember. As these weeks open her up, Soler expresses Emma Saylor's many transformations--her questions about wealth, her feelings of being overwhelmed by and then connected with family, her experience of first love, and her truer understanding of the romanticized stories her mother once told. Soler's narration reflects the constancy of Emma Saylor's wit, the many attitudes of the relatives who surround her, and the changes experienced by all the featured characters.
(Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: 2019
Duration: 12 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780062938640
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Listeners follow Merry, the longbow girl, one of the best archers in her town. When she finds a magical portal in the forest that takes her back to sixteenth-century Wales, she must use her skills to win an archery contest in order to help her ancestors keep their land. While narrator Emily Wilden brings protagonist Merry to life with a rich Welsh accent, her narration seems uneven at times. All the period characters have accents that reflect the setting of the story and transport listeners to Wales. Listeners who enjoy historical fiction and a bit of fantasy will be charmed by this tale of determination, hope, and family.
Young AdultPub Date: N/A
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781501916793
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
In 1832 thirteen-year-old Charlotte Doyle is sailing from Liverpool to Rhode Island to rejoin her family. Shocked to discover that the families who were to have been both guardians and companions will not accompany her, Charlotte embarks on a journey filled with terror and swashbuckling adventure. The first-person narrative makes this Newbery Honor book a wonderful choice for recording. O'Karma's reading, with its hint of cross-gender differentiation, allows the listener to feel as if Charlotte Doyle herself were relating the tale. This story should be particularly alluring to adolescent girls although the fast-paced action and the nautical setting will also appeal to male listeners. Ages 12-adult.
Ages 12+Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 6 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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