New Reviews by Title: U-Z

Narrator Alejandro Antonio Ruiz dazzles listeners with their vocal range and agility. Ruiz convincingly portrays characters of different ages and genders, displaying an impressive command over their versatile voice. Eighth-grader Elio Solis has become more aware of his body, emotions, and female classmates. He feels his world has become radiantly ultraviolet when his classmate... Read More

Listeners won't be surprised that Angela Shanté herself narrates this collection of poems and stories, a National Book Award finalist. A trigger warning at the beginning of the audiobook informs listeners of the sexual assault she writes about in several poems and the personal nature of the poems themselves, many of which were part of her MFA thesis. Shanté describes the... Read More

Narrator Amy McFadden draws the listener into the romance between physical therapist Lucy Dawson and quarterback Jax Wylder. Lucy blames Jax for the accident that ruined her brother's dream of playing professional football, and McFadden adds a touch of hostility to her performance. The pair are thrust together when Jax plans to open a camp for kids with disabilities. McFadden... Read More

Maria Popova, creator of THE MARGINALIAN, has compiled a series of essays by an assortment of renowned writers. All share the theme of the mysteries of the universe and existence itself, along with a dash of poetry. Popova and Lili Taylor alternate the narration of these selections; both employ a measured pace, poetic tone, and pleasantly meandering pace as listeners ponder the... Read More

After giving herself the goal of having 1,000 unplugged hours in a year, author Hannah Brencher narrates her own words on the life-changing importance of disconnecting from our devices, particularly our smartphones. As narrator, her youthful and enthusiastic tone adds the passion listeners need to agree to the idea of using their phones less in order to gain more engaging and... Read More

Rachel Fulginiti narrates with warmth, clear enunciation, and pitch variety. But what makes her performance special is her empathy with the author's altruistic mission and the plight of the intended audience--couples who are wrangling with the fraught business of ending a marriage. Fulginiti's tone is serious, but the optimism in her voice is needed to reach listeners who are... Read More

Tavia Gilbert narrates this unique audiobook. Shortly after their affair began in 2003, Nobel Prize winning French writer Annie Ernaux and photographer Marc Marie began taking pictures of the clothes they left on the floor before sex. Later, they selected 14 of those pictures to write about, each separately creating the texts that have become this audiobook. There is no... Read More

Narrator Kaleo Griffith delivers an insightful and moving discussion of the transformative power of art, and the beauty born of sorrow. Balancing journalistic flair and storytelling, this audiobook deepens our understanding of the history and experiences that shaped various renowned artists and their work. Highlights include stories about Artemisia Gentileschi's entrepreneurial... Read More

Katherine Rundell's wonderful essays about some of our planet's most interesting animals will have listeners thinking about the natural world in new ways. Writing about swifts, she says they "fly like a stroke of luck incarnate." British actor Lenny Henry narrates with a raspy voice and at a brisk clip, and listeners may find his pace too fast to absorb all of the fascinating... Read More

Carly Robins and Teddy Hamilton mesmerize listeners with their performance of this emotional contemporary romance. When Allie Rousseau, an elite ballerina, suffers an injury, she returns to her summer home to heal and recover. Hudson Ellis, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, always had a deep connection with Allie--until the night he left for Basic. Years later, Hudson's niece... Read More

Narrator Cindy Piller is an ideal match for voicing Sherry Pinkwhistle, a Miss Marple-esque amateur sleuth who always solves the case--much to the chagrin of the local sheriff. This cozy mystery has everything listeners expect: a charming small-town setting, a cast of quirky characters, an endearing pet, and, of course, a murder or two . . . or sixteen. About three hours in,... 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

Medical buffs will be fascinated by Will Watt's delivery of this audiobook about six mysterious outbreaks of disease. In a clinical manner, he details the hantavirus outbreak of 1993, John Snow's work on cholera transmission, the research methodology of the 1918 flu pandemic by two doctors, the eradication of smallpox, Dr. Anthony Fauci's novel approach to finding a cure for... 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

Kristin Atherton delivers a powerhouse performance of the final volume in Booker Prize novelist Pat Barker's trilogy reimagining the Trojan War from a female perspective. This book is told mostly by Ritsa, a Trojan healer who is enslaved to Cassandra, who is herself the slave-concubine of King Agamemnon. The war is over, the seas perilous, egos fragile, prophesies unkind, and... Read More

Three talented narrators bring to life the sixth installment of this series featuring LAPD detectives Renée Ballard, who leads the new Cold Case Unit, and Harry Bosch, retired. Christine Lakin returns to masterfully capture Ballard's on-the-job rebelliousness and struggles relating to her missing mother. Listeners also reconnect with Bosch's daughter, Maddie, now a patrol... Read More

Listeners will marvel at the extraordinary experiences Shirley MacLaine, now 90, has packed into one lifetime. Her delivery is intimate and chatty--as if her listeners were sitting in her living room. She delivers surprises about Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, the Dalai Lama, and even Mikhail Baryshnikov--to name a few of her friends. It's a list of the most famous... Read More

Having narrated the three previous presidential histories by Bob Woodward, Robert Petkoff is familiar with the author's cadence and tone. His reading of WAR is crisp, confident, and streamlined. He reports on the Biden presidency, focusing on three conflicts that will change the world: the Ukraine conflict and how the superpowers stumbled into it; the Israeli-Hamas dispute and... Read More

Kurt Kanazawa offers a heartfelt presentation of Kim's biography of Japanese American basketball player Wataru Misaka (19232019). Wat's talent and determination earned him a spot on the University of Utah's basketball team, where, during WWII, he competed successfully despite harrowing opposition from spectators. Kanazawa nimbly delivers the story of Wat's life, describing how... 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

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

Narrator Lauren Fortgang performs this emotional thriller about a death at an elite liberal arts college and the mother who is determined to discover what happened. Kate Cleary simply intends to prove to herself that her son did not commit suicide. But when a student who was close to her son is found crumpled at the bottom of a staircase, it's clear something sinister is going... 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

Deepti Gupta's narration lends authenticity to this young adult tale of Indian mythology and resurrection. Kajal, who is able to resurrect people, is trying to raise her sister, Lasya, before she becomes a permanent murderous spirit. But Kajal is captured by rebels and forced to resurrect the Crown Prince in order to restore rightful order to the blighted kingdom. When her plan... 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

Mary Jane Wells delivers another excellent performance of a contemporary romance. The third of the Graves Glen series once again features reclusive Welsh witch Bowen Penhallow, who does business with an American magical artifact collector named Tamsyn. Neither she nor Bowen expect to see the other at a Yuletide wedding--or to be whisked into the past. Romance blossoms, and they... Read More

Narrator Kristin Atherton brings us to the tiny South Atlantic island of Tuga de Oro, known for being the most remote British colony in the world. London vet Charlotte Walker accepts a fellowship to study the endangered gold coin tortoises there, and perhaps find out more about herself. The caliber of acting Atherton displays is truly laudable. She goes beyond assigning... Read More

Naruto Komatsu and Natsumi Kuroda perform this award-winning Japanese bestseller with conviction, warmth, and audible appreciation. In five whimsical stories, individual Kyoto residents find their way to a quirky clinic where they are unexpectedly prescribed a cat. Kuroda displays emotional range and witty timing in his performance of two stories. A disheartened accountant... Read More

Helen Laser narrates this third book in the Glimmer Falls series, in which supernatural inhabitants live mundane lives in a suburban town. Introverted werewolf Ben Rosewood is in for a surprise when he drunkenly orders a crystal on eBay only to find it contains a trapped vampire succubus--and she's NOT happy. Laser's somewhat androgynous voice allows her to smoothly voice all... Read More

Karissa Vacker's gentle voice ripples with mirth as she recites Bee Johnson's descriptions of the many things a mess can make: meals and snacks, props for imaginative play, art, a squabble, a reconciliation, and more. Lists of messes conveyed in bouncy rhyme unfurl alongside a jaunty soundtrack augmented by occasional sound effects. These last are often necessary to fully... Read More

Sally Phillips narrates an emotional story about a famous author who is dealing with a life-changing diagnosis, how she recovered, and how she learned to live her life to the fullest. Eve is a prominent novelist who wakes up in a hospital bed to hear she's had a malignant brain tumor removed. Now Eve must learn to walk, talk, and write again. She overcomes hardships and... Read More

Sy Montgomery is so joyful and enthusiastic while describing her adventures with her flock of chickens that listeners will want to stroke a hen and pick up a rooster just to participate in her positive view of the world. Montgomery is keenly observant and curious. She calls her chickens "the ladies," and she recognizes each hen's individual call and personality. She also cites... Read More

When Leyna spots someone who looks like her missing sister, Grace, years after she disappeared, the past comes to light--and so do brutal secrets. Megan Tusing narrates with emotion throughout this story, which weaves the backstories of two families who are intertwined by the disappearances of Grace and her boyfriend, Adam. Tusing portrays more than basic personality traits.... Read More

Narrating this cutting-edge guide to personal growth and initiative, Sean Pratt captures every bit of the author’s enthusiasm for the lessons he learned while leading an innovation team at Google. Pratt’s pitch patterns and phrasing are beautiful to hear. He uses strategic pauses that highlight important words, along with tone and intensity changes that sync perfectly with the... Read More

Tlingit narrator Erin Tripp brings sorrowful resonance to this novel by Marcie R. Rendon, a member of White Earth Nation of Minnesota. The novel explores the individual tragedies that have given rise to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement. Quill, a long-distance runner, lives on a fictional Ojibwe reservation in northern Minnesota called Red Pine. She's training... 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

Eric Anaya's narration captures the uniqueness of the whistle-stop political campaigns that once crisscrossed the country by train. Listeners travel on an array of journeys beginning 185 years ago in this exhaustively researched and enjoyable narrated audiobook. Author Segal provides a delightful look at a simpler way of life, when citizens brought local products to encourage... Read More

Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio, who has achieved fame for his restaurants, television shows, and five James Beard Awards, turns his considerable energy to his memoir. Happily, he turned the narration over to Will Damron, who knows how to tell a story and is especially good at capturing the rhythms of the kitchen and the ways of the chef. Damron brings this food-centered story... 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

Impressive performances from a stellar cast transform this "Novel in Five Acts" into an absorbing listening experience. Focusing less on Oscar Wilde's affairs and gross indecency trial, Bayard's look behind the scenes probes their damaging psychological effects on Wilde's wife and young sons. Elisabeth Rodgers is simply amazing as Oscar's wife, Constance, suddenly realizes... 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

Meg Travers narrates a wintry holiday romance about how an unexpected inheritance leads to two total opposites finding love. When Lexie learns of her father's death, she's conflicted because they hadn't spoken in the last 10 years. She becomes even more confused when she finds out he left her half of his holiday travel company; the other half is going to a handsome, arrogant... 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

In the 10th installment of the Undoubtable Rose Beaufont series, Dara Rosenberg continues to provide her lilting narration to its clever protagonist. Rose Beaufont must hunt Mater Inferni, the Mother of Witches, and then figure out how to destroy her without destroying herself or all of magic. As the title suggests, this is not a dark, foreboding magical story but one full of... 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

This captivating audiobook proves to be an unlikely but winning blend of humor and terror. Thank author Henry Neff for creating such an exotic cast of bizarre characters. But it's up to narrator Ramiz Monsef to bring those characters to life. This Monsef accomplishes magnificently with characters who range from Laszlo, a snarky 800-year-old demon, to Maggie, an earnest young... Read More

Rick Bass delivers these essays--old and new--at a deliberate pace and a careful tempo. His voice sounds kindly and literary. Reared in Texas, he retains a slight twang and the long vowels of that region ("fi-er", "why l" and "e-quator"). That he is soulful, sincere, and aspirational matters more. A fiction writer and essayist, he is also an environmental activist, and a number... Read More

André Santana's endearing voice delivers this relatable coming-of-age story. Listeners meet 11-year-old Coop, whose mother left him at a safe-haven hospital when he was a day old. Coop's happy with his adoptive family, especially wise and understanding G-Pop, who is terrifically rendered. Coop's summer plans change after he falls from a tree, breaking his arm, while watching a... Read More

What a treat it is to hear celebrated Irish actor Ger Ryan narrate Roddy Doyle's third Paula Spencer novel in her finest Dublin working-class brogue. It's 2020, the height of the Covid pandemic, and Paula finds herself locked down in her house with her oldest daughter, Nicola. They have a few things to talk about. Paula has survived an abusive husband and her own alcoholism,... 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

Narrator Natasha Soudek finds the voices to depict four amazing employees of Wynton's: Audrey, secretary to the owner; Gigi, a lunchroom waitress; Mary Jo, a wife and mother; and Vivian, owner of the in-store bridal salon. Wynton's is a massive department store that sells glamorous fashion to women. But it's struggling to keep its doors open because someone is stealing money.... 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

Mara Wilson gives an elegant performance of this novel about the residents of a women's hotel in mid-twentieth-century New York City. Her clear enunciation and careful pacing keep listeners oriented as the narrative sometimes abruptly shifts between the women's backstories and present-day lives. The plot begins with Mrs. Mossler, the hotel's long-term manager, who secured her... Read More

Joe Morton delivers a masterful performance in this gripping thriller set in the immediate aftermath of a commercial plane crash into a nuclear power plant outside a small town in Minnesota. Morton's impeccable timing and nuanced delivery capture the escalating tension as the characters race to prevent a disaster with far-reaching catastrophic results. The story, with its many... Read More

Jesse Bernstein brings Percy Jackson to life in this seventh installment in the series. Percy is tasked with house-sitting for the goddess Hecate and her two pets, a polecat and a hellhound. When the house is destroyed and the pets escape, Percy and his friends Annabeth and Grover must fix things before Hecate returns. Bernstein's vocal characterizations match each personality... Read More

Narrators Samantha Brentmoor and Patrick Zeller delight listeners in this sweet and steamy holiday romance. Lena returns home after losing her job to spend a peaceful Christmas with her family. However, she didn't plan for Gavin, her older brother's best friend, to be visiting, too. Gavin pushes Lena's buttons, yet she's drawn to his charm and good looks. Brentmoor's sensual... Read More

Like a subset of other actors who are so comfortable in front of the camera or a professional microphone, Tom Selleck presents an entirely relaxed, conversational, and professional memoir that may also serve as a primer on what the ascent of a performer's career resembles--brick by brick. Selleck has a somewhat halting delivery, which may be a function of age or style.... Read More