Seventeen-year-old Michelle has heartaches and responsibilities aplenty. Narrator Adenrele Ojo eloquently expresses Michelle's emotional reactions and reflections in a Baltimore police station at 1:00 a.m. Michelle's worried about protecting her younger siblings and keeping her family together, furious with her drug-addicted mother, and resentful of the father who deserted them a decade before. Fears, frustrations, and other feelings multiply as Michelle learns that her father is dying in California and sets off to see him in the rattletrap car he left behind, traveling with her two siblings, a white half-sister she's just met, and that sister's half-brother. Ojo skillfully negotiates Michelle's shifting moods, the personalities and dynamics of all the travelers, the trip's turmoil, themes of racial and economic divisions, and Michelle's resilience in the face of past and present pain.
(Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
Duration: 9 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781101925980
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
A powerful journey toward authenticity.
Shannon Tyo’s narration fully embodies the prideful spirit of Elena Ok, a 17-year-old Korean American influencer who lives in luxury thanks to her brand and her family’s clothing business. But when the Oks lose everything, the family moves to a remote farm town and into a rundown house with no Wi-Fi or furniture. Tyo perfectly captures Elena’s misery; she’s undone not just by the lack of reception but also the feeling that she’s being left out of her family’s efforts to unite and move forward. Listeners understand Elena’s pain and feelings of loss through dialogue that sparks with sarcasm. Tyo marks Elena’s gradual understanding that true connection is with family and community, not the empty superficiality that dominated her past.
A powerful journey toward authenticity. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: March 3, 2026
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217280834
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2026
Readers will be drawn into this thrilling and satisfying journey.
Khristine Hvam brilliantly brings both the story and the characters to life in this dramatic and compelling retelling of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale. Pia and her brother Max have been isolated on a farm in Maine since they were quite young. When their father breaks his leg, Pia must take over many of his chores, including regular visits to town. As Pia begins to discover the wider world and her father’s duplicity, Hvam’s pacing amplifies the suspense. With a wide vocal range, Hvam provides each character with a distinct voice, and she’s just as believable conveying 16-year-old Pia’s emotions as she is portraying Pia’s father.
Readers will be drawn into this thrilling and satisfying journey. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2026
Duration: 7 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668654996
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: March 10, 2026
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