by Steven Rowley ; read by Steven Rowley ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 21, 2024
Awards & Accolades
Our Verdict
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Steven Rowley gives an exuberant performance of this heartwarming story about treasuring family. When his brother announces his upcoming remarriage, Patrick O'Hara, a gay sitcom star, must resume his most challenging role--as gay Uncle (guncle) Patrick, aka "GUP," to his teenage nephew, Grant, and niece, Maisie. Rowley's portrayals of the teens' complex emotions regarding their mother's death and their father's impending remarriage are infused with love and humor. Patrick's interactions with relatives at the Italian wedding further showcase Rowley's versatile voices, flamboyance, and cabaret-level vibrancy. Rowley's diverting, and tender, tromp through Italy and life's transitions truly shows that la vita è dolce (life is sweet).
Pub Date: May 21, 2024
Duration: 9 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593826867
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
by Walter Mosley ; read by Dion Graham ‧ RELEASE DATE: today
Listeners will lose themselves in this beautiful, heartfelt story.
Awards & Accolades
Our Verdict
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With equal parts emotional expressiveness and vocal precision, Dion Graham masterfully narrates Mosley’s latest—an unlikely love story. Robert Horton, a vegan chef, falls in love with the brilliant scientist Jamilah Fenestra; few can understand the depth of their connection. Graham sensitively portrays Robert’s neurodivergence and highlights his wisdom and kindness. The story follows their son, Ghalen, as he makes sense of the world around him. It soon becomes apparent that Ghalen is exceptionally intelligent, and his childhood is marked by a deep loss. Graham gives each character a unique voice while conveying the complexity of each individual.
Listeners will lose themselves in this beautiful, heartfelt story.Pub Date: today
Duration: 10 hrs, 5 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063451582
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: April 21, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2026
by Kendra Langford Shaw ; read by Marni Penning ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 12, 2026
Penning’s narration kicks this imaginative world up an additional notch.
Awards & Accolades
Our Verdict
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Shaw’s alternative Arctic society, touched with today’s climate-changed environment, is inventive, lovely, and heartbreaking. In a story told from several viewpoints, from various generations, Marni Penning creates multiple characters who plausibly inhabit this off-kilter world. Her performance is enthusiastic, even joyful, but with a perfect quirky edginess. Siblings Milda, Finley, and Temperance Spahr live in a house on stilts, with parents who farm octopus and fly tourists in their floatplane. The Spahrs descend from homesteaders who carted pianos across the permafrost as a symbol of civilization. Most pianos were lost; later generations seek their fortune by recovering them from the bottom of the fjords. It’s a frontier world, but with a twist—there are trained moose, sea lion pets, and salmon with piano keys in their bellies.
Penning’s narration kicks this imaginative world up an additional notch.Pub Date: May 12, 2026
Duration: 11 hrs, 27 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217174096
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: today
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2026
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