Behind the Mic With Kirkus Reviews

Can life be like a Broadway play? In alternating viewpoints, the authors—and two narrators—tell the story of two teens. Sixteen-year-old Arthur sees a cute boy at the post office in New York City and strikes up a conversation with him—they connect, but he never gets the cute guy’s name. Ben can’t forget Arthur, either, and the two do all they can to find each other again. Plenty of NYC references,...

Based on the author’s personal experience, this story of 5th grader Mia Tang captures her qualities of cheer, ingenuity, and resilience. Mia moves with her parents from China to California and almost immediately aids them in managing a motel by taking over the front desk. By turns humorous and horrifying, Mia’s optimism sees her through transitions and challenges and wins the hearts of motel weekl...

Christopher Skaife is a Yeoman Warder, otherwise known as a Beefeater. He’s partly responsible for tours of the Tower of London, and years of telling stories about the ravens and the tower’s history have honed his skill as a narrator for this audiobook. Listeners get the bonus of the sounds of the ravens between chapters. As he talks with obvious affection for his charges—the ravens—listeners lear...

Author Maryrose Wood joins us on a bonus episode. Maryrose is the author of The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series that listeners can enjoy in six brilliant audiobooks. The Incorrigibles are set in Victorian England and focus on Miss Penelope Lumley, who is engaged as a governess to care for and educate three children who were originally raised by wolves. Mayhem ensues, and these rolicki...

As a run-up to the holidays, plug into food writer Ruth Reichl’s memoirs. We talk about MY KITCHEN YEAR: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life, https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/105024/ read by the author, in which she makes food sound decadent, luxurious, and a pleasure to be savored in both the preparation and the eating. In her earlier memoir GARLIC AND SAPPHIRES, https://www.audiofilemag...

Italian author Calvino’s first novel, published just after WWII, tells the story of a young boy who joins a group of partisans in German-occupied Italy. Edoardo Ballerini’s sensual narration transports you to the grim provincial town during the war, making the most of Calvino’s evocative writing. Published by Recorded Books. Read the full review of THE PATH TO THE SPIDERS' NESTS at audiofilemagazi...

Revel in Joanne Froggatt’s skillful narration of this sweeping tale of art, beauty, love, and murder. She brings her “Downton Abbey” voice to the story of Birchwood Manor over the course of 150 years, from the fateful summer of 1862 to the current time. Australian author Kate Morton is the author of THE LAKE HOUSE—also an Earphones Award-winning audiobook. Published by Bolinda Audio. Read the full...

Jack Reader, the loner, mysterious stranger, and knight errant makes a random choice at a New England crossroads to explore his father’s ancestry. After 20+ episodes of Child’s mega-series, listeners know things don’t turn out as expected. Golden Voice narrator Scott Brick takes over for longtime voice of the series Dick Hill. Never fear, Brick nails Reacher’s concise verbal style and the thriller...

This short novel pays tribute to combat veterans everywhere in a profoundly moving look at the emotional toll of modern warfare. Told from the point of view of Eden’s Marine buddy who died in the explosion that left Eden severely wounded. Narrator Macleod Andrews connects us to this story with quiet intensity. Ackerman, a former Marine veteran of 5 combat tours, is also author of the celebrated DA...

Begin and end your day with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s gentle, encouraging voice offering tiny but powerful doses of affirmation and inspiration. He guides you not just with his words, but with his breaths, or a yawn—this audiobook is an intimate experience that you can savor one pep talk at a time. The creator and star of “Hamilton” shares these sometimes sweet, sometimes moving, sometimes funny greeti...

A “sortabiography” from actor and comedian Eric Idle, member of the legendary comedy troupe Monty Python and author of the Broadway musical “Spamalot.” Can it get any better than Idle telling his own life story? Funny voices, Monty-Pythonesque routines, and his own god-given distinctive British accent bring us one of the funniest audiobooks of the year. Published by Random House Audio. Read the fu...

Bosch. Harry Bosch. In his 21st novel, L.A. Detective Harry Bosch is joined by young, fierce police detective Renée Ballard, who Connelly introduced in THE LATE SHOW. They collaborate on a cold case. Titus Welliver, who plays the title role in Amazon’s BOSCH, has won a succession of Earphones Awards for the Bosch audiobooks, and he’s joined here by Christine Lakin as Ballard. Published by Hachette...

With a poet’s passion, Kwame Alexander narrates his novel-in-verse about high school friends Noah and Walt. Alexander’s strong connection to his characters shines—he’s inside the heads of these teens. Consider it a listening companion to SOLO, also by Alexander and Hess, or the celebrated THE CROSSOVER—both Earphones Award winners. In an AudioFile interview, Alexander said, “Good poetry—the kind t...

Could you burn a book? Orlean, author of THE ORCHID THIEF, contemplates the idea in her book that’s part memoir, part tribute to libraries and librarians. Intriguing and fascinating, the audiobook, read by the author, is full of bizarre factoids about the Los Angeles Public Library and the library’s catastrophic 1986 fire. Published by Simon & Schuster Audio. Read the full review of THE LIBRARY BO...

An audiobook for the first time, James Baldwin’s 1961 essay collection conveys his struggle to understand the times in which he was living, his self-imposed exile abroad, and his subsequent decision to return home—and then venture into the American south. His seminal essay collection THE FIRE NEXT TIME was published in 1963. The series of essays in this audiobook sheds light on the thinking of one...

Explore the key role the French navy played in the American Revolution through the straightforward account by celebrated historian Nathaniel Philbrick. The naval and military strategy was vital in the run-up to the battle of Yorktown in 1781. Golden Voice Scott Brick makes the most of Philbrick’s journalistic style. He’s also the narrator of Philbrick’s other maritime histories IN THE HEART OF THE...

This biography of David Hosack, a pioneer in medicine and in botany and attending doctor at the duel between Hamilton and Burr, is one of those great untold stories. Johnson's book is a National Book Award finalist, and it’s a captivating look at both daily life and aspects of medical and political history in the early 1800s. Hosack was also the founder of the first public garden in America. Narra...

Listeners expecting another macabre tale from Stephen King may be surprised by this audiobook—but pleasantly so. A timely tale about finding common ground, the story is set in the familiar town of Castle Rock, a place where, as in all small towns, people have deep-rooted differences. It’s narrated by the author, who has a keen sense of pacing and fun accents for his Maine characters. And for reade...

This biography of Manhattan District Attorney Eunice Carter is remarkable—both for her accomplishments—including helping to take down the notorious mobster “Lucky” Luciano—and also for being a trailblazer as an African-American woman in the 1930s. Carter was grandmother of the book’s author, Stephen L. Carter, who is a Yale law professor and author of fiction and social commentary. Published by Ma...

Dive into a magical world where vampires, witches, and daemons live among humans. As with her All Souls Trilogy, Harkness offers a rich tapestry of intersecting stories. Listeners revisit Diana and Matthew and their magical twins, and learn of vampiric transformations in the present and during the American Revolution. Narrator Saskia Maarleveld nimbly adds diverse accents to the mix. Published by...

A contemporary retelling of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE set in a tight-knit Bushwick neighborhood. Zuri Benitez and her four sisters cope as changes come to their lives and their community. Ibi Zoboi is known for last year’s celebrated YA novel, AMERICAN STREET. Narrator Acevedo—an award-winning slam poet—gives these verses a perfect flow. Publisher by HarperAudio. Read the full review of PRIDE at audiofi...

A perfect listen for fans of adventure stories, with strong women carving out lives on their own terms. Felicity Montague, a young Englishwoman in the 1700s, has the single-minded ambition to become a doctor—and is readily and repeatedly told that being a woman means the world of medicine is closed to her. Remember THE GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO VICE AND VIRTUE? Listeners will be glad to encounter Percy...

Explore the complex emotions of adopted children in this memoir about family. Narrator Janet Song recounts the upbringing of author Nicole Chung, a Korean-American who was adopted by white Americans and raised in a small, mostly Caucasian town in Oregon. Song's narration is sensitive as she delivers details of subtle discrimination against Chung and her questions about her biological parents. This...

Do you already love Rosie Revere and her fellow Questioneers? The picture books have many fans, and your young listeners will find lots to like with Rosie’s second audiobook. Sound effects and music add to the fun, along with inspiration for problem solving and inventions. Rachel L. Jacobs’s narration is a perfect complement and received AudioFile’s Earphones Award. Published by Dreamscape. Read t...

This darkly funny novel of contemporary Russian life is both charming and depressing. Russian-born American grad student Andrei returns “home” to take care of his grandmother. Baba Seva steals the show in Ari Fliakos’s heartbreaking and hilarious performance of this frail and feisty elderly woman. Fliakos is a perfect choice in the casting of A TERRIBLE COUNTRY. Author Gessen worked as a journalis...