THE FAULT IN OUR STARS

It's a testament to John Green's writing and Kate Rudd's narration that, in a book about teenagers with cancer, there are still plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. Green's teens are precocious and clever, and Rudd sells it, delivering every "or whatever" with perfect teenage inflection and fully inhabiting protagonist Hazel as she navigates the world with lungs ravaged by cancer. When Hazel has trouble breathing, we hear it in the way Rudd gasps and pants between words. It's a sad, funny, smart, beautiful book—listeners won't be able to help speculating about what's coming and may even wish they could fast-forward to find out, even as they hang on every word. J.M.D. 2013 Audies Winner, 2013 Odyssey Award © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2012]