Fourteen-year-old Chicagoan Levi Battle, who was abandoned by his mother as a baby and raised by his aunt, is sent to live with his father in North Carolina. His dad was a rarity during WWII, a black paratrooper. Narrator J.B. Adkins skillfully recounts how Levi's urban background and naïveté poorly prepare him for the Jim Crow South. Since his dad is no longer in North Carolina, Levi is befriended by a military couple, Calvin and Peaches. They make a home for him until he's reunited with his father. Adkins particularly shines as Calvin and Peaches, black Georgians who help the boy navigate the cruel and confusing South. Levi grows up, and along with him listeners learn about war, 1940s America, and how to jump from an airplane.
(Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 14, 2012
Duration: 7 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780449014035
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Narrator Sunny Lu creates a passionate voice for seventh grader Luna in this coming-of-age realistic fiction. Luna leaves her introverted life behind when she becomes a bibliotherapist for her fellow classmates, recommending books to help them in times of need and eventually writing her own zines with the assistance of her best friend, Scott. Lu perfectly captures Luna's complex emotions as she abandons Scott and joins the popular group. Now rather than writing to help others, she starts to hurt others by writing about their faults and flaws in "fix-its." Listeners will relate to Luna's struggles as she loses her way and will cheer her on in hopes that she finds her way back.
(Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
Duration: 6 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798217081578
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
It's 1975, and eleven-year-old Gao Sheng, a Hmong girl, is living in the highlands of Laos in a one-room house with her family. Then they are forced to flee. Narrator Robyn Morales lends a soft, feminine huskiness to the protagonist's voice as she describes the family's journey to a refugee camp, to gentle and thoughtful effect. The listener is transported alongside Gao Sheng to a new world as she reflects on memory, gender, and family relations in her culture; the events that change her life; and conditions in the refugee camp. An afterword provides context about the author's family's real-life experience. Morales' narration is comforting, even as she describes the difficult circumstances of refugees.
(Verse historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
Duration: 5 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798217080861
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 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.
