Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss a new historical audiobook from Fiona Davis. Charlotte Cross is an assistant curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in 1978. Charlotte is quietly conducting Egyptology research that harkens back to her devastating experience in Egypt in 1936. Linda Jones’s excellent narration reflects Charlotte’s ambivalence: She’s determined to prove her controversial theory about an Egyptian ruler but fearful of returning to Cairo. When an artifact is stolen, Charlotte and her young student Annie must travel to Egypt to pursue the thief and prove Charlotte’s hypothesis. 

Read our review of the audiobook at our website. Published by Penguin Audio. 

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Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss this compelling coming-of-age novel set on a Maine island. Evan Sibley performs Lewis Robinson’s audiobook with narrative drive, a convincing tone, and a sure sense of the unfolding drama. The setting is a posh but remote club on fictional Whaleback Island—just the place to retrain young misfits to work hard on land and sea to please the billionaires who have founded this Outward-Bound-style experience to fight against the “soft” youths of today. Skillfully written and performed.

Read our review of the audiobook at our website. Published by Vibrance Press.

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When executed as beautifully as this one, multigenerational novels are all consuming in the best way. Sandra Oh's performance of Min Jin Lee’s audiobook makes the experience even more immersive. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss this story of young Sunja, who is saved from ruin and moves from Korea to Japan. Thus a family tale begins and proceeds through four generations in the early 20th century. Oh is an outstanding narrator. Her pace is brisk yet easy to follow, and her crisp enunciation and gentle tone are a pleasure to hear. PACHINKO is a visit to another place and time, and Oh is an exceptional guide.  

Read our review of the audiobook at our website. Published by Hachette Audio. 

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Danez Smith, a poet, performance artist, and devotee of Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes presents a selection of Hughes’s early poems, songs, and other writings, created from 1921 to 1927. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss this collection and Smith’s extraordinary performance. With their clear baritone voice and extraordinary vocal talent, Smith’s performance is beautiful to hear and unfailingly connected to the core messages within these poems, journal entries, and other works. Performed with stunning authenticity and verve, this audiobook is a showcase for the artistry of Danez Smith, as well as a revelatory lesson on one of America’s greatest writers. 

Read our review of the audiobook at our website. Published by Hachette Audio.

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Each American poet laureate is expected to carry out at least one project, and the 24th, Ada Limón, created this anthology of poems about humans in nature. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss Kim Ramirez’s narration of this collection that includes a range of exemplary contemporary poets. Ramirez gives each of the 50 poems its due, acting but never overdramatizing, allowing rather than forcing the emotions to emerge. This is an exploration of our changing relationship to the natural world, and an invitation to share in it.

Read our review of the audiobook at our website. Published by Tantor Media.

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Shannon Tyo’s gentle, soothing tone proves effective and engaging as she narrates Miye Lee’s Korean bestseller, now in translation by Joosun Lee. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss the whimsical story. Penny lands her dream job at the Dallergut Dream Department Store. Each floor of the store sells different types of dreams. As Penny learns about the importance of sleep and dreams from the store owner, Mr. Dallergut, she and her kooky co-workers realize what an important function the store fulfills. In a light, relaxed tone, Tyo delivers dreamy characters and an imaginative premise.

Read our review of the audiobook at our website. Published by Harlequin Audio.

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Ciaran Saward gives an appealing narration of Maiga Doocy’s fantasy. AudioFile’s Emily Connelly tells host Jo Reed about the fun of this magical adventure. Leo, a rakish scriver from a privileged gentry family, and Sebastian Grimm, a studious caster whose parents are farmers, are rivals in their fifth year at the Fount, a school of magic. After Grimm unwittingly casts a spell on Leo that compels him to do whatever Grimm says, they eventually decide to enter the Unquiet Wood, full of monstrous plants and animals, in search of a counterspell. Saward’s characterization of the mysterious sorcerer they encounter there is a delight.

Read our review of the audiobook at our website. Published by Hachette Audio.

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Cindy Kay sweeps listeners away into Samantha Sotto Yambao’s memorable and otherworldly story. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss an audiobook full of magic and adventure. On the day Hana is due to inherit her family’s pawn shop, where people from our world can trade away their greatest choices and regrets, she wakes to find it ransacked, her father missing—and one of their precious choices gone. Kay’s narration balances this story that alternates between dreamy and thrilling, carrying listeners on a great adventure. Hana seeks out her father alongside Kei, a scientist, who discovers that Hana’s world is full of beautiful magic and mystery but there’s grave danger, too.

Read our review of the audiobook at our website. Published by Random House Audio.

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Caitlin Davies performs Sarah Beth Durst’s enchanting fantasy story about a reclusive librarian finding her way home. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss the fun of listening to this magical audiobook. Academic librarian Kiela has lived in the Great Library of Alyssium for years, caring for the Empire’s spellbooks with only a sentient spider plant named Caz for company. When the fires of the Revolution reach the library, they escape by sea to her secluded childhood home with a few crates of precious books. Could she use their magical knowledge to aid the struggling islanders without risking her safety? And why are they all so friendly?? Davies uses a prim yet empathetic narration that suits the introverted librarian and brings the colorful cast of characters to life for listeners.

Read our review of the audiobook at our website. Published by Macmillan Audio.

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Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss this anthology that presents widely varied mystery and suspense tales. They are quite well read and will hold the attention of mystery lovers and curious listeners. Jane Oppenheimer’s intimate and expressive narration of Abby Geni’s “The Body Farm” tells a story of justifiable homicide. Nicole Lewis captures the multiple voices, quick pulse, and meta quality of Alyssa Cole’s “Just a Girl”, while John Pirhalla performs Nate Kolakowski’s “Scorpions,” an ironic story, with verve and subtlety. 

Read our review of the audiobook at our website. Published by Harper Audio. 

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Dr. Sacks was a prodigious researcher, tireless clinician, voracious reader, competitive weight lifter, indefatigable traveler, influential neurologist, and long-winded correspondent. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss James Langton’s narration of Sacks’s letters, through which he seems to inhabit the great man’s extraordinary mind. These revealing and erudite letters testify to Sacks's appetite for study, need to communicate, and insatiable yearning to solve problems. 

Read our review of the audiobook at our website. Published by Penguin Audio. 

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