New Reviews by Title: U-Z

Saskia Maarleveld gives an impressive performance of this audiobook, set in the 1950s theater worlds of New York City and New Mexico. Maarleveld splendidly portrays the unsettled persona of Margaret Wolf, who flees a difficult life to follow her dream of becoming a Shakespearean actress. Maarleveld skillfully balances Margaret's histrionic tendencies with the sadness she... Read More

Many listeners with a lifelong curiosity about the massive to miniscule dinosaur species who roamed Earth millions of years ago will find this audiobook immensely fascinating. British narrator Graham Mack's thoughtfully engaged performance helps listeners absorb Hone's concise yet thorough research review on dinosaur behavior. With clear diction, Mack presents the challenges... Read More

Anna Fikhman's melodic Ukrainian accent briefly sets the scene of a close-knit family. Twelve-year-old twins, outgoing Dariia and quiet Rada, live in Mariupol with their parents. Rapidly Fikhman plunges listeners into a sleep disturbed by the 2022 Russian attack, which separates the family and hurls Dariia and her mother into a world she couldn't have imagined. Fikhman excels... Read More

A trio of narrators portray teens from different eras and settings. January LaVoy transitions smoothly from the accented dialogue of Hanna and Sophie, two Polish teens, to an unstressed voicing of their risk-taking amid Hitler's threats in 1939. Jeremy Carlisle Parker transitions listeners to 1980 West Berlin, where Jenny adjusts to her family's move from Dallas. Parker also... Read More

An unsolved disappearance, three mothers, and family trauma are at the heart of this story, which is complemented by Sara Sheckells's somber narration. The novel is told in two time periods more than 30 years apart from the perspectives of three women: new mother Bee; her own mother, Mary; and Diana, the mother of her childhood crush, Leo, who is best friends with her estranged... Read More

Sarah Lewis's careful scholarship probes racial hierarchy and its insidious hold on the American psyche; she carries out this examination through paintings, sculpture, and photography. Lewis narrates her work in a gentle tone and, sadly, a rather uneven cadence. She focuses initially on a painting called THE CIRCASSIAN BEAUTY, which contributed to the false belief that the... Read More

Jennifer Jill Araya thoughtfully introduces this 1980s semi-autobiographical story. Listeners meet 12-year-old Cayenne, who's delighted when her nomadic hippie parents rent a house that permits her to finally go to an actual school and make friends. After her mother has twins, she must help out at home while her pot-smoking dad, a Vietnam vet, and her mom scrape money together.... Read More

The story of workers who are fighting for a settlement to pay their medical bills after exposure to coal ash begins with a phone call. Lee Osorio captures the urgency that sent a worker out to clean up a "black wave" of toxic slurry after a partial dike collapse. Osorio increases the tension as revelations spring from a lawyer's study of coal ash's effects. He slows down to... Read More

Amir Abdullah captures the vivid and tumultuous world of late-'90s Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) as Mobutu's regime falters and lives intertwine across continents. Abdullah's performance brings depth to Sanza, a resilient street kid, and Molakisi, a diamond hunter who is entangled in the chaos. Abdullah's nuanced delivery highlights the contrasting lives of these... Read More

Kira Fixx narrates a chilling story of obsession as five young women call upon the occult and learn everything has a price. Jo and her friends at a prestigious art school become tangled in their own friendship when they perform a ritual, hoping to spark inspiration and curse a professor. Fixx evokes the youthful energy of the five women with a breathy eagerness. Each has a... Read More

Five narrators take on this story of young Indio women who are swept up in the violence of an El Salvadoran dictator. When Graciela is taken from her friends and family to become an oracle for a horrifying dictator, she meets her older sister, Consuelo, who was stolen when she was a young child. After a violent uprising, the sisters escape from El Salvador to the rich world of... Read More

Megan Tooley and Ussani Taylor deliver moving performances of Amanda Peters's short stories, which explore the Indigenous experience throughout American history. Peters, author of THE BERRY PICKERS, writes about such disparate people as a girl who is witnessing the arrival of the first white settlers and a boy who is struggling in a Christian boarding school. Tooley performs... Read More

Joe Hempel is the primary narrator of this apocalyptic horror story. Noah has distanced himself from his conspiracy-minded Fax-News- obsessed family, but his mother's recent voicemail about the "Great Reawakening" worries him. When his calls go unanswered, he travels to his childhood home to find it ruined and his parents catatonic. Hempel's narration captures Noah's increasing... Read More

Narrator Peter Noble's clear voice, rich timbre, and impeccable pacing bring to life the complex and often bizarre world of art authentication. It begins with art collector Joe Simon's call to longtime art critic Richard Dorment in 2003, requesting assistance in getting a detailed answer about why the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board declared two works in his collection to... Read More

As he narrates this production's opening, a brief glossary, Navajo educator, artist, and actor Roger Willie's tone and accent establish its setting. He then begins the story with a gripping portrayal of Cody, a Navajo boy who wakes up feeling thirsty. Whether Willie is delivering English or Dineh, listeners hear Cody's increasing anxiety as he finds all the community water... Read More

Cindy Kay sweeps listeners away with this memorable otherworldly story. On the day Hana is due to inherit her family's pawnshop, where people from our world can trade away their greatest choices and regrets, she wakes to find it ransacked. Also, her father is missing, and one of their precious choices is gone. Kay's narration balances a story that alternates between being... Read More

Two great characteristics of Billy Collins's poems are their surface simplicity and their intriguing depth. Collins reads them here as though the surface were all, letting us appreciate the language and wit but allowing us to stop and think and go as deep as we want into these meditations on poetry, age, mortality, and many other subjects. Now in his 80s, Collins spends more... Read More

In 1976, the football (soccer) club of Watford, England, was once again at the bottom of its league standings. Then something extraordinary happened: Rock-and-roll superstar Elton John bought his hometown team. Narrating with relaxed British aplomb, London stage veteran Alex Jennings delivers the feel-good story of how John's partnership and eventual friendship with... Read More

Greta Jung performs Nobel Prize winner Han Kang's latest novel, a haunting story focused on the friendship of two women. Kyungha receives an urgent request from her friend, Inseon, to come see her at a hospital in Seoul. Inseon asks Kyungha to care for her bird, Ama, at her home on Jeju Island, and Kyungha arrives just as a snowstorm consumes the island. Jung's wistful... Read More

In a clear and expressive voice, Marisol Ramirez narrates this fascinating audiobook about 60-year-old Tere Sánchez, who begins to levitate like her relative St. Teresa of vila. Grieving the death of her husband, Tere feels lost. One day, while tending his garden, she levitates. Terrified, Tere travels to vila, Spain, seeking answers about levitation. While in vila, she... Read More

Narrator Christine Anne-Roche uses impressive vocal agility, infusing her voice with strong emotion that matches the powerful message of this audiobook. Nemonte Nenquimo, a member of the Waorani people of Amazonian Ecuador, recounts her path from her childhood in the forest to her present work as a tenacious environmental activist. Listeners follow Nenquimo on her journey from... Read More

Stephanie Németh-Parker and William DeMeritt work together beautifully to narrate this exquisitely crafted and stirring family story. Forty-ish auto mechanic Kyle returns home to small-town New York to care for his father, Danny, who has had a stroke. He quickly runs into his ex-wife, Casey, who lives across the street. Casey has been helping Danny since Kyle left town after he... Read More

British entrepreneur Simon Squibb uses the concept of a dream to mean a cherished vision that is more deeply felt than a goal, ambition, or wish. We all have a dream--as he learned interviewing thousands of strangers. And too many people dismiss it, discourage it, or put up obstacles like wasting their time and resources on meaningless gratifications. Squibb has a professional... Read More

Min is messy and chatty and spontaneous but, out of nowhere, she develops a stammer that changes her life. Not only does the audio format sound entirely appropriate to illustrate her struggle to produce language, Aiofe McMahon doubles down on that advantage, with her lovely Irish accent and expressiveness ensuring that all the characters teem with life. Min's sister, Bea, is... Read More

Narrator Imani Jade Powers's nuanced portrayals of a friend group's reflections on aging, in contrast to their adolescent expectations, result in a hilarious, heartbreaking, and relatable audiobook. Clare, "the grown-up one," feels her life is beginning to unravel. The group of six nearly 30-year-olds love to recall shared memories, and this vacation is no exception. Clare... Read More

Alex Cuadros spent six years investigating the controversy at the heart of this audiobook, and his passion for the story comes through in both his text and his narration. In a voice that is youthful and warm, Cuadros takes the listener into the Amazon rainforest, where the Indigenous Cinta Larga people have endured a decades-long struggle against illegal diamond mining that led... Read More

Ana Osorio and Ahmed Hamad are consistently excellent as they deliver this audiobook, which takes place in 1885. Osorio portrays 19-year-old Inez Olivera with a light accent that reflects her Argentinian Bolivian background. Inez has escaped murder and duplicity, and now seeks to break away from her uncle's control and to stay in Egypt. Osorio speaks in a thoughtful tone as... Read More

Narrator Helen Laser breathes life into Minnie Soffer, who narrates her family's story of coming to America and making a new life for themselves in 1920s New York City. The Soffers, Jewish Americans from Ukraine, are acculturating while retaining their religious rituals and attitudes. The father, Ike, runs a speakeasy and is involved in racketeering, bootlegging, and enforcing... Read More

Narrator Michelle Lee transports listeners with this historical debut based on the life of the author's grandmother. In 1928, 11-year-old Miyoung lives in a tiny village in Japanese-occupied Korea. Wanting to further her education and live with her sister in Japan, Miyoung leaves behind her sick mother and her own name. In Kyoto, she adopts the name Miyoko and passes as... Read More

Narrator Jaime Lamchick's bright, engaging performance is a great fit for this young adult audiobook about humanity's complicated space age relationship with planet Earth's moon. Listeners are launched into the competitive race to the moon between the U.S. and the Soviet Union in the 1950s-60s, setting the stage for technological and scientific advances, and the complexities of... Read More

This audiobook captures multiple sides of Nikola Jokic, one of the NBA's greatest stars. His story ranges from his upbringing as an unfocused, aloof teen to his focus on the court. Narrator Roger Wayne offers the right amount of emotion for the many folks quoted in this well-researched biography written by a former news reporter who covered Jokic's team, the Denver Nuggets.... Read More

Listeners follow Nicky Hennigan, a young waitress in the small town of Ballina, Ireland, who discovers that her boyfriend, Doll English, has disappeared. Over a single weekend, Nicky comes to find out that Doll has been kidnapped by the Ferdia Brothers. Damian Gildea captures the wit of this story in every line and voice. Gildea reflects the pale existence of the Irish... Read More

Moira Quirk confidently pronounces Welsh words as she narrates this fantasy. In a land filled with magical monsters, hunters compete during the Wild Hunt to earn a prize from the immortal king. Royal Gwydion hopes to keep his cruel brother from the throne and teams up with quick-witted commoner Branwen and kind Prince Pryderi. As Quirk narrates, monsters speak with hissing... Read More

In a lilting voice, narrator Christopher Hampton captures the hope and curiosity of Will, a young Black boy who is hoping to claim land during the Oklahoma Land Rush. Will's companions include his stern father and their mule, Belle, and later the gentle but wizened ex-Union soldier, Caesar. Southern accents, including Will's, and twangy cowboy voices enhance the historic... Read More

The endearing husband-and-wife team of Kate Reading and Michael Kramer continue their stunning narration of the Stormlight Archive series. Reading and Kramer switch off narrating--with both bringing special touches to their performances. Their narration is equal parts emotive and emphatic, gliding through accents and inflections with aplomb. The story is nuanced with... Read More

Helen Laser narrates this opposites-attract romance, which follows a perfectionist math professor, Catherine, and her doorman, Luca, on a search for Catherine's lost identity. Before starting her new teaching job, Catherine finds out that her personal information has mysteriously disappeared from all government and academic records. Desperate for help, she reluctantly teams up... Read More

Leslie Howard, Hillary Huber, and Sara Morsey's gripping narrations bring this story to life. In 1970s Florida, 15-year-old Fern is sent to Wellwood Home, a facility for unwed mothers. Controlled by strict adults, the girls form bonds amid their struggles. When a librarian introduces Fern to a book on witchcraft, the girls discover an opportunity to reclaim their power--at a... Read More

Raquel Beattie's rich narration takes listeners on this multigenerational journey of self-discovery. Martha, a lawyer who is trying to juggle marriage, career, and two kids, suddenly has to care for her elderly Grandaunt Nena. Spending time with Nena, Martha finally acknowledges the magic pulsing inside her. Nena reveals that in her youth, witches took her to an... Read More

Emilia Ward, bestselling author of the Miranda Moody series, is a mum and wife, living outside of London. Ayesha Antoine as Emilia reveals that after so many "Miranda" books, it's time to leave her heroine behind--to the disappointment of her loyal fans and publisher. Antoine reflects Emilia's escalating fear as disturbing incidents mimicking plotlines from her novels begin... Read More

Foulmouthed, straight-talking, and relatable, author and narrator Florence Given wants listeners to stop being chained by socially created restraints and to start living their lives to the fullest. This audiobook explores the barriers and societal oppression festering beneath the everyday advertising and patriarchal mythmaking that keep women from embracing their lives. Given... Read More

Jenn Lee does a serviceable narration of this treasure-trove of stories featuring women who created musicals on and off Broadway. Many women were helped by the men in their families--Mary Rodgers, daughter of composer Richard Rodgers, for example--while others were prominent figures of their time, such as Dorothy Parker, who was known for her biting wit. Lee's precise delivery... Read More

Susanna Clarke's spellbinding performance of this enhanced audiobook brings out the alluring beauty of this mystical tale. Nineteen-year-old Merowdis Scot is most at home when she's walking in the woods with her dogs and Apple, her pig. Evocative sound effects and music add to Clarke's haunting narration, highlighting Merowdis's deep connection to nature as she engages with the... Read More

Amanda Leigh Cobb delights listeners with the first in the Queens of Villainy series, which is perfect for those who like their romantasy on the lighter side. A case of mistaken identity has Archduke Felix serving as librarian and wizard for the wicked witch, Queen Saskia. The empire thinks Felix is a tyrant bent on conquering all. In reality, he is kept under the thumb of his... Read More

Come aboard an unexpected journey through the Scottish countryside with narrator Angela Dawe as she delivers a lively, comedic performance. Alice is finally taking her long awaited trip to Scotland in an effort to repair her broken heart. She embarks on a bus tour with a cast of kooky fellow tourists--quirky older women in search of adventure who are led by a charming, devilish... Read More

Elizabeth Knowelden narrates a light and frothy Regency romance. After a year of mourning, Young cousins Issie and Bella travel to London, where they are mistaken for each other. Rather than correct the error, they let it continue. Knowelden creates distinctive personalities for the two girls: She depicts Bella as charming and vivacious, while Issie is portrayed as more subdued... Read More

This fresh production of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's classic short stories featuring strong and enterprising women pairs perfectly with the vocal talents of Laurel Lefkow. Lefkow lends emotional nuance to their pragmatism, courage, and desire as they transcend stifling societal expectations in stories like "The Widow's Might," "Bee Wise," and "An Elopement." "The Yellow... Read More

Winson Ting's narration invites listeners into the urban oasis of Yeonnam-Dong's Smiley Laundromat. Ting speaks in a clear, soothing tone that is well suited to a story about a place where ordinary people find unexpected solace through anonymous entries in a random notebook. His measured pace reflects the gradual unfolding of the customers' shared experiences. As the notebook... Read More

Teen Ukrainian American actress Sofia Sanchez's halting, uneven narration is quickly explained by her self-description: "I have Down syndrome . . . and I want to inspire people and make a difference." Her narrative is yet another representation of the amazing things she's accomplished because of her bravery. The audiobook gives apt life lessons on not having to be perfect,... Read More

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. Narrated by Kim Ramirez, the audiobook includes a range of exemplary contemporary poets, including Joy Harjo, Jericho Brown, Dianne Seuss, Matthew Zapruder, and many fine (if sometimes lesser-known) others. Ramirez gives... Read More

It's already happening--fewer people own homes, we lease our cars, and we pay subscription fees for the software on our devices. These trends sound innocuous, but the author says they are part of an orchestrated plan by government, financial elites, and Big Tech to make ordinary citizens less able to challenge power centers. Chris Henry Coffey narrates this cautionary tale with... Read More