Narrator Todd Haberkorn transitions between characters, times, and places in an audiobook that weaves two narratives. Evan, a high school student, is stunned by his father’s sudden death and confused about a newly arrived book that seems connected to it. Haberkorn contrasts this somber numbness with a sarcasm that barely contains Evan’s fury when his caustic grandfather arrives. Haberkorn’s portrayal of the cantankerous 90-year-old ex-Marine is laced with unexpressed grief, a subtlety missed by his grandson. Evan finds comfort in the mysterious book, which recounts the story of a Japanese soldier and an American soldier who are stranded on a small Pacific island during WWII. Haberkorn gracefully enacts this story’s complexities, shifting between lightly accented Japanese and the soldiers’ fearful reactions to supernatural beings. Author and narrator bring the novel’s two strands together in a poignant climax.
(Fiction. 13-17)Pub Date: 2015
Duration: 9 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781491588420
Publisher: Brilliance Audio/ Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Golden Voice Ramón de Ocampo, who narrated each of the author's memoirs, delivers this hard-hitting YA novel in verse. De Ocampo guides listeners on its emotional journey, using the genre's rhythms to illuminate the relationship between high school seniors Diego and his best friend, Lawson. De Ocampo's poignant delivery highlights the contrast between anxious, rule-following, academically driven Diego and Lawson, who is close to failing in school and turns to selling hard drugs to support his mother. De Ocampo captures the story's highs and lows--from the teenage bliss of riding in a car with a friend to the reality of confronting a violent drug dealer. De Ocampo's narration balances lyrical writing and a gritty story.
(Verse fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: 2025
Duration: 3 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798896790570
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Brittany Pressley portrays a character who, at first, seems like an over-the-top heroine. Eleanor, a senior in high school, was abandoned by her father, Hugo, when she was born. Emotionally abused by her mother, she dreams of living with her father and his family. In response to a job ad, she does just that, hiding her identity and becoming a nanny for her toddler half-brother and a friend to her warm stepmother. She even experiences her first love. But Hugo, a rich tech bro whose most recent invention is a questionable AI product, is far different from what Eleanor imagined. Pressley's portrayals invite listeners into Eleanor's conflicted life. In particular, Pressley captures all of Hugo's ruthlessness in business and pleasure in his privileged lifestyle.
(Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: 2025
Duration: 12 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217015061
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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