Behind the Mic With Kirkus Reviews

It starts small, with one college student falling into a deep sleep and never waking up. Her classmates are devastated — and then, it spreads. Cassandra Campbell elegantly narrates this character-driven story about contagion, with deep examinations into the most private inner worlds of those who succumb to sleep. Another beautiful novel from the author of AGE OF MIRACLES. Published by Random House...

The audio adaptation of this middle-grade graphic novel uses a full cast and sound effects to draw listeners into Jordan’s story of starting 7th grade in a new private school. It’s always hard being the new kid in school — and that’s especially true if you’re feeling isolated in a school where you’re black, and mostly everyone else is white. You’ll hear narrator Jesus Del Orden’s bright, youthful...

In this highly anticipated follow-up to THE HATE U GIVE, Bri is a 16-year-old black girl who is desperate to make it big as a rapper. She’s also worried about getting targeted at her mostly white school, the very real potential of getting evicted, and the threat of gang warfare. Narrator Bahni Turpin makes this a raw, funny, and vulnerable listen. THE HATE U GIVE has spent 100+ weeks on the New Yo...

Powerful ancient gods, a stolen throne, and revenge. This is the first fantasy book from Leckie, an author known for her space operas, and narrator Adjoa Andoah’s dynamic voices for the imaginative cast of characters make it an audiobook worth seeking out. The story is narrated by a god, the Strength and Patience of the Hill, who tells the story of the world it has observed for millennia. The god...

SADIE won the 2019 Odyssey Award, the American Library Association’s highest honor for an audiobook. Part expository podcast, part vengeance road trip, this YA novel is guaranteed to suck you in. Nineteen-year-old Sadie is narrated with intensity by Rebecca Soler. She’s run away in pursuit of the man she thinks killed her 13-year-old sister, Mattie. Radio producer West McCray, narrated by Dan Bitt...

Golden Voice narrator Robin Miles is known for her powerful voice and has narrated hundreds of audiobooks, including important works of women's and Black History. She combines thoughtful and subtle reading with a chameleon-like ability to create a wide array of accents for titles including: Zora Neale Hurston’s BARRACOON A GIRL STANDS AT THE DOOR: by Rachel Devlin REFLECTIONS BY ROSA PARKS: THE QU...

Meghan Cox Gurdon, the Wall Street Journal’s children’s book reviewer, brings great insight and passion to her discussion about the importance of reading aloud, especially to children. She sprinkles this audiobook with accents and enthusiasm for “the miraculous power of reading aloud in the age of distraction.” Published by Harper Audio. Read the full review of THE ENCHANTED HOUR at audiofilemagaz...

Dorothy Butler Gilliam was the first black female reporter and columnist for the Washington Post during the Civil Rights and Women’s movements. She had a front-row seat at some of the nation's most significant turning points. January LaVoy's soft, clear voice narrows the space between listener and author, and her fluid, expressive delivery expertly conveys Gilliam's determination, frustration, pri...

An account of the 544 days that Jason Rezaian, Washington Post Tehran bureau chief, was imprisoned in Iran, accused of spying for America. His harrowing story of arrest and imprisonment in Iran is also a detailed account of one Iranian-American's love affair with the land of his heritage and how it goes horribly wrong due to the suspicions of its government. Published by Harper Audio. Read the ful...

Two brothers have polar opposite takes on the responsibilities of family life. Thrown into the mix are the brothers’ bitter mother, her late husband (the boys’ father), bigamy, and a theme of interconnectedness through time. The author’s literary gifts show off dark humor and an exploration of modern American grief, searingly performed by Edoardo Ballerini. Published by Hachette Audio. Read the fu...

Famous Western lawman and scout Wild Bill Hickok is the subject of this new biography. Go beyond the legends and folklore--the real Wild Bill was more than a dime-novel titan and every bit a larger-than-life character. Published by Macmillan Audio. Read the full review of WILD BILL at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. On to...

Author Alan Bradley and narrator Jayne Entwistle join us for a bonus episode to talk about the Flavia de Luce series. Flavia, Bradley’s 11-year-old sleuth, has just solved her tenth mystery, THE GOLDEN TRESSES OF THE DEAD. Flavia lives in the village of Bishop’s Lacy, in 1950s England. She’s passionate about poisons – although she’s almost as interested in old churchyards and the fascinating chemi...

Four narrators, including the author, bring Deborah Eisenberg’s much-anticipated story collection to life, and listeners will be delighted with the variety of topics. Six tales take the listener through a range of emotions. Published by Harper Audio. Read the full review of YOUR DUCK IS MY DUCK at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s news...

Zookeeper’s son Pi Patel is alone on a 26-foot raft with a hyena, an orangutan, a zebra, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger with the incongruous name of Richard Parker. Definitely not a Disney movie, this is a realistic, heart-thumping audiobook that Vikas Adam delivers with verve, intelligence, and sensitivity. Published by Audible, Inc. Read the full review of LIFE OF PI at audiofilemagazine.com. For...

Lee Israel was a writer who was down on her luck and turned to forging letters from celebrities, including playwrights Lillian Hellman and Noel Coward, in order to stay afloat. The recent film with Melissa McCarthy is based on this memoir of literary forger Israel. Published by Simon & Schuster Audio. Read the full review of CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audioboo...

A tiny uninhabited island off the coast of Western Australia is the setting for this unusual novel that views the difficulties of the immigrant experience as seen through the eyes of nine asylum seekers. After a storm destroys their boat, the survivors drift on the ocean in a dilapidated skiff. They have no idea where they are. An Earphones Award winner, and a 2019 Audie Award Finalist. Published...

Jessica Farris, a makeup artist in New York City, participates in a study of morals and ethics as a quick way to make money—but things get very personal very quickly. Psychologist Dr. Shields leads the study, but has other plans for Jessica. Two skilled narrators give alternating perspectives. Published by Macmillan Audio. Read the full review of AN ANONYMOUS GIRL at audiofilemagazine.com. For mor...

James Baldwin’s 1974 novel is the basis for Barry Jenkins’s recent film. Written from the perspective of 19-year-old Tish, the story of great love and great injustice is searing. Narrator Bahni Turpin delivers the raw power of Baldwin’s storytelling, and the sweet love of Tish and Fonny. Published by Blackstone Audio. Read the full review of IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK at audiofilemagazine.com. For...

Steven Spielberg’s film of the story of industrialist Oskar Schindler was released 25 years ago. The acclaimed bestselling classic of Holocaust literature on which it was based is an involving listening experience through the brilliant narration by Humphrey Bower. It’s a fascinating, portrait of Schindler, the unlikely savior of hundreds of Jews, and a terrifying account of vicious Nazi officers....

Dani Shapiro has written a “memoir of genealogy, paternity, and love” and the journey she began in 2016, at the age of 54, when DNA test results revealed her paternity was not what she had been raised to believe. Listening to the author present her own memoir adds to the impact of this personal self-reflection. Published by Random House Audio. Read the full review of INHERITANCE at audiofilemagazi...

Burke’s detective Dave Robicheaux once more tangles with crimes in his district, and with personal relations in the backwoods and bayous of south Louisiana. Will Patton, longtime narrator of the Robicheaux audiobooks, shows his consistent brilliance with new and recurring characters and the evocative descriptions of the physical surroundings. Published by Simon & Schuster Audio. Read the full revi...

Seventeen-year-old Sylvie and her family join a professor and his students for a two-week re-enactment of Iron Age Britons. The summer holiday goes awry as her father’s abusive, controlling tendencies find fertile ground in the ritualist history. Sylvie’s interior monologue makes this powerful listening. Published by Macmillan Audio Read the full review of GHOST WALL at audiofilemagazine.com. For...

Discover — or rediscover — Marie Kondo’s secrets to tidying up your home and sparking joy. Her audiobooks came out in the U.S. and started a tidying sensation a few years ago, and now with Marie’s new show on Netflix, we’re seeing a resurgence! While her show is delightful, you don’t want to start your tidying journey without first listening to the Earphones Award-winning audiobooks. THE LIFE-CHAN...

In a romance that starts with a forced marriage, Rosalyn Landor portrays two determined souls who sweetly fall in love, in spite of their best intentions. When Adrian Hunter agrees to do a favor for his uncle, he doesn’t expect to be married at gunpoint. When Camilla Worth meets a handsome valet, she is shocked by the marriage she is forced into. Landor performs exquisite renditions of the charact...

Yetide Badaki’s dynamic narration returns with this sequel to AKATA WITCH. Sunny, an Igbo and American albino girl, has the power to save humanity. Sunny and her friends Chichi, Orlu, and Sasha push the rules as magical Leopard People to help save the world. Badaki skillfully switches between Sunny’s bright American accent and other characters’ Nigerian- and American-sounding voices. Encounters wi...