April 2021 Earphones Award Winners

Soneela Nankani narrates this delightful contemporary romance with her whole heart, drawing listeners in with her enthusiasm. She embodies Reena Manji, capturing her anxieties about her meddling Indian Muslim family, her boring finance job, and a series of lackluster boyfriends. When she bumps into her new neighbor, Nadim Remtulla, she's initially intrigued by his British... Read More

Narrator Derek Perkins keeps listeners enthralled throughout the 35-plus hours of DAVID COPPERFIELD's mysteries, emotional upheavals, and delightful resolutions while simultaneously conjuring visual images of Dickens's memorable characters. Perkins wonderfully delivers the long, convoluted monologues of the writhing, oily Uriah Heep (you'll want a shower after hearing his... Read More

Narrator Saskia Maarleveld displays impressive vocal versatility in this gentle fantasy. Wren's gift for healing magic is unparalleled, but it's not enough to save her from the Queen's wrath when Wren's reckless actions go too far. Dismissed from the guard, Wren travels to the estate of a lord who is seeking her assistance, only to find Hal Cavendish, her kingdom's sworn enemy,... Read More

Narrator Rosalyn Landor tells the first Bridgerton story with heaps of heart. One of an alphabetically named group of eight siblings, Daphne Bridgerton has always imagined she will marry and start her own family. Then she meets her brother Anthony's friend, Simon, the Duke of Hastings, whose childhood trauma has him vowing never to marry and never to father children. Landor... Read More

Jill Larsen narrates this memoir with warmth and, well . . . empathy. As she alternates her delivery between storyteller and lecturer, her confident narration ultimately makes her a transparent surrogate for the author. To start, she mines the emotions felt by a child burdened by family secrets. When appropriate, she takes on an objective tone; for example, when unveiling the... Read More

Isabella Star LaBlanc brings an authentic-sounding narration to this powerful audiobook. Set amid state and tribal lands in Michigan, the story of Daunis, who is caught between these two cultures, is told with heartfelt compassion. LaBlanc masterfully amplifies Daunis's apprehension when she becomes involved in helping the FBI investigate a new, deadly street drug. Thriller,... Read More

Narrator Stephen Mendel is quite capable of a range of voices and accents, so his decision not to use them in narrating Russell Banks's kaleidoscopic novel is clearly a strategic choice. Leo Fife, the novel's protagonist and sometimes voice, may be confabulating, or he may be misremembering. As he is dying, the narrative shifts subtly between what he is saying and thinking, and... Read More

Narrator Edoardo Ballerini steps smoothly into the role of Archer, an ex-con who is looking for work as a private investigator. Narrator Brittany Pressley portrays Liberty Callahan, a sexy beauty who craves stardom. As they travel to California, they fall knee deep into a 1940s-style whodunit with more dead bodies than they can count. Ballerini and Pressley's delivery of... Read More

In this gaming-themed novel, Robbie Daymond deftly narrates the authentic-sounding middle-school dialogue. Teams in Caleb's school's new e-sports club compete in a WWII RPG called The Good War. Unversed in WWII history, students develop their own assumptions about the war. When the Axis team starts identifying with their gaming characters, German Wehrmacht soldiers, light... Read More

Narrator Sura Siu will be a fresh voice for many listeners, and her wonderfully subdued narration proves perfect for portraying Klara, the all-too-observant "AF" (artificial friend) purchased by a mother for her ailing child. Assigned to look after Josie, Klara slowly discovers she is being groomed to be the failing child's replacement. On this charged premise novelist Kazuo... Read More

The inviting performances of Marisa Calin, Shiromi Arserio, Katherine Littrell, Danielle Cohen, and Siobhan Waring add to the immersive pleasure of this engaging historical novel by bestselling author Julia Kelly. Set alternately in 1907, 1944, and the present day, the plot centers on the women of England's Highbury House. Venetia, the estate's 1907 garden designer, struggles... Read More

Kevin Free's approachable narration of Chammah's multifaceted historical investigation of the death penalty makes the topic easier to bear while simultaneously delivering a gut punch as one realizes the horror of it all. In 1972, SCOTUS found the nation's death penalty laws to be unconstitutional, prompting states to rewrite them. Chammah explores the sentence's racist origins,... Read More

Kirby Heyborne's congenial performance is perfect for this diverting audiobook based on HRH Queen Elizabeth II's rituals and routines for daily living. There is a liveliness and charming affability in Heyborne's narration as he relays the 23 rules that have contributed to HRH Queen Elizabeth II's longevity and well-being--and that make her surprisingly accessible to us... Read More

Renée Watson narrates this story like it's a chat with a best friend. Nala's goals for the summer before her senior year are to spend tons of time with her cousin-sister-friend Imani and, she hopes, to get a boyfriend. When she meets Tye at one of Imani's "Rise, Harlem" events, she feeds the sparks between them with a few little lies designed to make herself sound like more of... Read More

Narrator Nigel Shawn Williams seemingly reanimates the late Barbadian poet Austin Clarke, who spent decades living in Toronto, won Canada's Giller Award, as well as other literary recognition, and was named a Member of the Order of Canada. Williams's Caribbean-inflected speech and deliberate pacing fully deliver Clarke's delight in language as this memoir unfolds--from island... Read More

This must-listen is narrated by the author, who drew from her own experience in an all-girl R&B group to tell the harrowing story of three teenage girls' attempt to make it big in the music industry. Denver and her BFFs, Dali and Shak, are confident they've found their big break when they meet Merc, a huge R&B star who acts as their mentor. But when Merc monitors everything... Read More

This audiobook is a great example of the magic that happens when a masterful author and a talented narrator come together to deliver a captivating story. In addition to effectively portraying the many characters--Scottish, British, and European; male and female; young and old--Peter Forbes convincingly voices Hitler, Goering, and de Gaulle. When forensics scientist Enzo Macleod... Read More

Not only is this queer rom-com audiobook PERFECT ON PAPER--it's also perfect on audio. Narrator Barrie Kreinik portrays a diverse cast of lesbian, gay, trans, and straight characters. Bisexual high school junior Darcy Phillips runs an anonymous relationship advice service through Locker 89 at her school, despite having never been in a romantic relationship herself. When... Read More

Narrator Marin Ireland delivers an emotionally charged performance in this story of postpartum depression. Blythe received little nurturing or support in her childhood. After she gives birth to her second child, she can't help favoring her first child, her son, over her second, a daughter, and she spirals into depression. In her struggle to connect with her family, she also... Read More

Andy Aragon and Arami Malaise's seamless alternating narration creates a dazzling portrait of Pen and Xander, a young Latinx couple, and the Mexican-American community in Austin, Texas, where they live. This debut is an affecting coming-of-age story and a splendid romance, as well as a trenchant exploration of father-child relations, immigration, and the impact of crime upon a... Read More

Ruairi Conaghan's narration enhances this captivating story of the TITANIC. The clever twist to this well-crafted version is its protagonist, 15-year-old Samuel Scott, who lost his life while working on the vessel's construction. Samuel's ghost moves unseen among his colleagues on Belfast's docks and among the passengers and crew of his beloved ship during her maiden voyage. He... Read More

It is not often that the listener is asked to multitask, but here we are invited to be audience, critic, and student all at once. With a voice that expresses academic passion and easy humor, Syracuse University creative writing professor George Saunders takes us on a deep dive into the literary craft, psychology, and historic background of seven superb nineteenth-century... Read More

Jan Morris's piquant, irreverent daily diary about life as a nonagenarian in the 21st century is brought to vibrant life by narrator Jennifer M. Dixon. As she did in her first book of jottings, the famous Welsh author and historian, who died in 2020, observes everything from world politics to neighborhood birds--from aging, family, and love to the pleasures of jam on toast in... Read More

Narrator Kevin Stillwell brings to life this gut-wrenching story of the weight of war, family secrets, and human depravity. Stillwell is the voice of Gibson French. "Gibby" sounds young, sometimes eager, and often defensive as he forges a relationship with his estranged brother, Jason, against their parents' wishes. Jason enlisted after his drafted twin was killed in Vietnam.... Read More

Narrators Sneha Mathan and Neil Shah work together to recount the harrowing events that take place as an Afghan family attempts to find a peaceful place to live. Fereiba must flee with her three children when the Taliban murder her educated husband. Mathan captures the constant worry and fears plaguing the distressed mother on her journey from Kabul to the streets of Europe.... Read More