Narrator Kirby Heyborne channels a bookish superhero in a way that is incredibly effective, given the narrative arc of this novel. Initially, listeners may view Heyborne's choice to give weight to every--single--word a bit curious until they realize that the protagonist is a tongue-tied teen who simultaneously grapples with the trauma of losing his mother and the agony of being bullied for living in a junk-filled trailer. Throughout, Heyborne expertly differentiates a cast of minor characters, including an angsty lesbian teen, an empathetic priest, a high-strug divorcée, and an alcoholic widower. While Heyborne's skills as a voice actor shine throughout, his most gorgeous work comes at the very end in a dialogue between the main character and his father. Give this a listen.
(Verse novel. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
Duration: 3 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063033702
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
A road trip, a love story, and a coming-of-age, all wonderfully told and narrated.
With carefully attuned narrations, Jorjeana Marie and Michael Crouch are in perfect sync as they perform alternating chapters of this novel in verse. Both express the emotions of the protagonists, 17-year-old Sylvie and 18-year-old Knox, who are each at a crossroads in their lives. Sylvie is recovering from a traumatic event before heading to college, and Knox is opting out of the nomadic lifestyle his mother chose for them when he was young. Fate sets Knox and Sylvie on a journey to find Knox’s grandmother in North Carolina. Together, Marie and Crouch convey the two characters’ immediate affinity for each other and their supportive friendship, which blossoms into love. Both narrators excel at snappy dialogue, and their pace embraces the gradual sharing of hidden hurts and evolving vulnerability.
A road trip, a love story, and a coming-of-age, all wonderfully told and narrated. (Verse romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2026
Duration: 8 hrs, 3 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063324619
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2026
Words and phrases are often repeated in this verse format, but Adams is able to deepen the feeling with each repetition.
Adams narrates her debut novel in verse chronicling the life of 17-year-old Native Hawaiian Aouli Smith. At odds with her sister, failing to fulfill her parents' dreams for her, unable to relate to shallow teen boys, and feeling unconnected to the religion she's been raised in, Aouli floats through life. Then she learns an unsettling truth about her father and meets Nalu, a teen with whom she makes a connection. Adams immerses listeners in Hawaiian culture, traditions, and foods, but it’s the raw emotion that makes the audiobook captivating.
Words and phrases are often repeated in this verse format, but Adams is able to deepen the feeling with each repetition. (Verse fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: May 19, 2026
Duration: 5 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063417984
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2026
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