Audiobook Mini-Reviews

Aiden wakes up to the shock of his life: he is inside someone else's body. He is told that tonight a murder will occur. It is up to him to figure out who will commit the murder. If he can correctly name the killer, he will be released from this English estate. If not, the entire cycle will start again tomorrow with Aiden in the body of a new guest.

I am in the minority on this one. Many readers loved this very unique story, but I found it incredibly frustrating. Because Aiden bounces around from one person to the next, it is difficult to remember who is who and next to impossible to really care about any of the characters. In the last bit of the book, the reason for Aiden being there is revealed, along with the framework that holds him on the estate and sends him into the different people. While that was the most interesting part of the story for me, it is quickly case aside in favor of getting back on the merry-go-round of discovering who committed the murder.

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
By Stuart Turton
Tantor Media September 2018
Narrated by James Cameron Stewart
17 hours

Assistant extraordinaire Emily Charleston has left New York City with her husband and now works as an image consultant to the famous and extravagantly wealthy. Lately she finds herself missing her work at Runway magazine, especially when her pop star clients keep turning to younger consultants. Her friend Miriam introduces her to Karolina, a former model turned senator's wife whose life has imploded over a faked DUI, and Emily sees a golden opportunity to turn someone's life around and ascend back to the top of her game.

I have to confess I chose this book specifically because Laura Benanti was the narrator. She is a Tony-award winning actress who most of you know as the actress who plays Melania Trump on the Colbert Show, but I will always remember as the actress who shone brighter than even the great Patti Lupone in Gypsy. When she is narrating as Karolina, you can hear shades of her work on the First Lady. Benanti takes a somewhat predictable novel about the extravagances of the wealthy and choosing between your children and your work and elevates it to a fun listening experience.


When Life Gives You Lululemons
The Devil Wears Prada #3
By Lauren Weisberger
Narrated by Laura Benanti
10 hours, 14 minutes

Getting into an Audiobook

For many of my reading years, I avoided audiobooks. What would I do when I hadn't listened for a day or two and forgot what had happened? How could I flip back through the pages to check on a specific fact? Plus, you never know exactly what will happen next and I have two young children who don't need to hear an unexpected steamy scene or four-letter word.

But this past year, I've started incorporating them into my reading. I especially love them on long trips or when I'm cleaning up the kitchen after putting the kids to bed. I've had the pleasure this year of listening to Cinnamon and Gunpowder, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, The Signature of All Things, Shadowshaper, and The Book of Unknown Americans. I confess to picking several of the books because they were immediately available from my library or because I adore the narrator (Lin-Manuel Miranda or Anika Noni Rose, anyone?).

                         

With almost every audiobook, I find myself having an adjustment period. It takes longer for me to hit my groove than it does when I read a paper book. When reading a paper book, I can tell within a few chapters if this book will work for me. With an audiobook, I've had several times where I almost set it aside and then found myself happy I stuck with it. But once I hit that point, I am sneaking in a chapter or two any time I find a few quiet moments. 

Is this true for you too? Does it take you a longer time to really get invested in an audiobook?

Audiobook Review: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Aristotle is pretty sure he doesn't need anybody. He doesn't exactly have friends, his older brother is in prison, and his parents seem to be silent about the things that really matter. One day at the local pool, he meets a boy named Dante who seems effortlessly comfortable with who he is. The two boys strike up an unlikely friendship. It's good that the friends found each other, because Aristotle and Dante are about to be challenged in ways they never imagined.

I listened to this as an audiobook, which is narrated by Lin-Manuel Miranda. You may know him from a little show called Hamilton. Miranda is a perfect narrator and I will forever think of his voice as Ari's. This is not just the skill of the narrator though; Benjamin Alire Saenz has written an unforgettable protagonist with a unique way of looking at the world.

I loved the way that Saenz wrote the relationships between the boys and their parents. As the story progresses, we see both sets of parents open up to the boys and become more honest with their older children. I enjoyed seeing good parents try the best that they could to relate to and guide their sons, in spite of their very different parenting styles.

I had a little bit of trouble getting into this one, but I'm glad I stuck it out. Ari and Dante are at that terrible place in adolescence where you are no longer a kid, but you aren't sure how to navigate being an adult. They have the added trouble of figuring out how to be seen as men and whether or not they are allowed to show emotions or compassion. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is the kind of book that reminds you of the power of friendship, and how your life can be radically changed just by having someone who will take you as you are, who can laugh with you and ponder the big questions of life. It's also a story of first love and the way that it can be simple to fall in love with your best friend, even if it isn't always easy.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
By Benjamin Alire Saenz
Narrated by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Simon and Schuster Audio April 2013
7 hours, 29 minutes
Listened to via Overdrive and my library

Audiobook Review: Shadowshaper

Sierra Santiago is ready for the summer, to spend time with her friends and work on the mural she has been commissioned to paint. But strange things are happening in her neighborhood: people are disappearing and a zombie crashes a party. Sierra learns that her grandfather, who has recently suffered a stroke, was a part of a group called the Shadowshapers. They can utilize magic through stories and art and Sierra discovers she also has this ability. With the help of a fellow artist named Robbie, she must find out who is attacking Shadowshapers and save her friends and family.

Many readers loved this story and I agree that Daniel Jose Older has created a fabulous protagonist, a fascinating kind of magic, and a vivid community of characters. But the best part of this book for me was the narration by Anika Noni Rose. She brings Sierra and every character to life with specificity and nuance. She could probably narrate a dictionary and I would listen with rapt attention.

There is so much going on in this story. You feel as if you are walking the streets of Sierra's Brooklyn neighborhood with her and it is clear that Older took care to ensure that each character is unique and well-known to the reader, even among the large group of Sierra's friends. I did occasionally wish we had some more information about the way that the magic of shadowshaping works, but we are learning through Sierra's eyes and so we are just as new to it as she is. There are several points in the story when Sierra isn't sure what she should do next; I'm pretty sure we would be the same if we suddenly discovered we were heirs to a complicated and dangerous kind of magic. I am excited to see what evils will infiltrate Brooklyn next and how Sierra will come into her own as a woman and as a shadowshaper.

Shadowshaper
By Daniel Jose Older
Narrated by Anika Noni Rose
Scholastic Audio 2015
7 hours, 21 minutes
Listened to via the library

Audiobook Mini-Reviews: The Book of Unknown Americans and Brown Girl Dreaming

When their daughter Maribel has a terrible accident, Arturo and Alma make the difficult decision to move to America to get her the best possible care. The Rivera family moves into an apartment complex with residents from Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and Panama. Maribel soon becomes friend with Mayor Toro, a boy who sees her as just beautiful and not someone who sometimes becomes confused or loses her train of thought. Just as the Riveras begin to settle into their new life and Maribel and Mayor see the start of a romance, things begin to fall apart with devastating and irreversible consequences.

This book was fantastic in so many ways. I loved the universal story of parents trying to make the best life possible for their child and young love, and I loved the specificity of Henriquez writing vignettes from many people in the apartment complex that describe their journeys to America. The Book of Unknown Americans is a full cast audiobook, which means you get a different narrator for each character. This was an inspired choice and it made the lives and stories of each person you meet seem real. I highly recommend listening to this book if you want to read it.

The Book of Unknown Americans
By Christina Henriquez
Penguin Random House June 2014
9 hours, 12 minutes
From my library

Jacqueline Woodson's childhood spanned the 1960s and 1970s all the way from New York City to South Carolina. In Brown Girl Dreaming, she tells her story in verse as she remembers frequent moves, a childhood that was both idyllic and troubled, and her growing realization that she was meant to be a writer.

This book is one of the few that manages to effortlessly blend a specific moment in American history with a universal story about growing up. It's a book that is marketed as middle grade, but it is resonating deeply with readers of all ages. Woodson reads her own book and you can hear her wryly remembering moments of humor and the grief she still carries from the tough times. While many readers adored this as an audiobook, I think I would have been better off reading it in print. It's tough to fully appreciate the writing when your experience is interrupted by a kid's request or the oven timer going off. In spite of this, I can appreciate why it is both important and much beloved and I will certainly remember this book for my kids to read.


Brown Girl Dreaming
By Jacqueline Woodson
Penguin Random House August 2014
3 hours, 55 minutes
From my library

Mini-reviews: Upstream and Hallucinations

Mary Oliver is a writer known for her poems that praise the beauty of nature. In Upstream, she uses essays to examine her favorite writers and extol the ways that nature can give us hope and put things in perspective. For the reader familiar with her poems, it should be no surprise that her prose is sparse and beautiful. Some of the earlier essays deal with Oliver's childhood discovery that both the quiet forest and the pages of a book could offer companionship. Another essay holds her musings on the nature of creativity and the meeting of hard, regular work and the spark of inspiration. Some essays focus solely on the life of animals, like fish and turtles and even a single spider, as she reports her observations.

As always, reading words from Mary Oliver is a balm for the soul. These essays are a reminder for each of us to pay attention to our lives, to the small joys of every day, and to the wonders of nature all around us.


Upstream: Selected Essays
By Mary Oliver
Penguin Press October 2016
178 pages
Read via Netgalley

Hallucinations are a manifestation of mental illness, right? Dr. Oliver Sacks reveals that, instead, there are a variety of kinds of hallucinations and reasons for them to occur. Some people experience hallucinations because of injury or illness. Others purposefully seek out these experiences by taking drugs. In this book, we learn about the wide range of hallucinations from a doctor who wants readers to understand them instead of fear them.

I have been meaning to read something by Oliver Sacks for a while. When I saw this book recommended as a starting point for his work, I found the audiobook through my library. I usually find nonfiction a good genre to listen to, and this book was no exception. The narration is good and Dr. Sacks teaches you a lot without losing those of us who don't have advanced degrees in brain science. Just be prepared for some strange looks when people walk into the room and suddenly hear about malevolent voices or the appearance of tiny people....


Hallucinations
By Oliver Sacks
Random House Audio November 2012
9 hours, 49 minutes
Listened via Overdrive through my library

Audiobook Review: I Am Malala

Most people know of Malala Yousafzai, the teen who was shot by the Taliban in 2012 because she dared to fight for education for girls. Malala survived the attack and I Am Malala is her story. The book is co-written by journalist Christina Lamb and the two tell the story of Malala, her family, and the Swat Valley that was her home.

There are pluses and minuses to listening to Malala's story as an audiobook. On the one hand, Archie Panjabi does a fantastic job of reading the book and listening to Malala herself recount what happened to her on that fateful October day in the prologue brought me to tears. However, she also delves deep into the history and politics of the Swat Valley region where she grew up. There were many moments when I would have appreciated being able to flip back a few pages and find the connections between events.

One of my favorite things about Malala's decision to tell her story is her commitment to showing that she is just a normal teenager. It would be easy for her to sit on some sort of pedestal as a Nobel Prize winner. Instead, she is candid about her fights with her siblings, a youthful bout of stealing from a friend, and her love for Ugly Betty and Beyonce. She talks about the dissonance between her perception of herself as a normal girl and the media's portrayal of her as "the girl who was shot by the Taliban."

While this is unarguably Malala's story, we also learn a lot about her father Ziauddin. He was the one who ran the school for girls in the face of opposition from the Taliban. Ziauddin hated the ways that school were required to follow the decrees of whoever was in power and do favors and give bribes to the right people. Instead, he started his own school even when the upkeep threatened the financial well being of his own family. He also encouraged his daughter to speak up for her right to an education. One of my favorite parts of the book was hearing about Ziauddin's decision to name his daughter after a legendary poet and female warrior. He says that he knew from birth that his daughter was special and would do amazing things.

I Am Malala is an important story. Before she even turns twenty, Malala has found her voice, a cause to fight for, and the courage to carry on in the face of great opposition. As she recounts her squabbles with her brothers and teasing from her father, she reminds us that families in Pakistan are not so different from our own here in the United States. As she recounts the history of her country and her people, she teaches us about a place most of us have never seen and opens our eyes to what is happening on the other side of the world. When she fights for every girl and boy to have an education, she reminds us that "one child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.” 

I Am Malala

By Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb

Hachette Audio 2013

9 discs; 10 hours

From the library

Review: Songs for the Missing

Songs for the Missing

By Stewart O'Nan

Read by Emily Janice Card

8 CDs, 10 hours

Kim spends her last summer before college working at a local store and going to the lake with her friends. One day, she leaves her friends to get ready for work, but never makes it for her shift. She seems to have vanished into thin air. What happened to Kim? Songs for the Missing follows Kim's parents Fran and Ed, her sister Lindsay, her best friends Nina and Elyse, and boyfriend J.P., as they fight for answers, blame themselves and others, and struggle to find a way to keep living without the girl they love. 

Stewart O'Nan writes quiet and beautiful stories. Songs for the Missing is less about what happened to Kim and more about the effect her disappearance has on her friends and family. We think we can imagine the anguish of a family when a child goes missing, but O'Nan looks at the moments that the public doesn't see. Kim's father Ed is spurred to action and spends days driving up and down highways and heading up teams of local citizens, searching for some trace of his daughter. His wife Fran draws upon the composure she learned as a nurse and becomes the family spokesperson. Her life shrinks to updating their website and organizing community events. And Lindsay is left behind yet again - trying to live up to a perfect older sister is nothing compared to a sister whose fate is unknown.

This book does not just look at the days immediately following her disappearance. We follow these characters for years. How does the father feel when he goes to pick up the recovered car? How does the best friend leave town and go to college? Can the sister who was left behind ever escape the shadow of her parents' fear? 

The narration for this audiobook was great. Emily Janice Card reads the book perfectly. She gives distinctive voices to each character and the differences help us identify the characters without falling into familiar pitfalls of narration. The teenagers sound like teenagers without being annoying and she reads as Ed, the father, without resorting to a deep male voice. Card manages to exhibit empathy for the characters while still maintaining the distance of a narrator.

Stewart O'Nan is a master at writing the quiet moments of life. Instead of a flashy mystery, we are treated to a reflective look at fear and grief. While finding out what happened to Kim may keep you turning pages, the real reason to pick up this book is the author's deep understanding of loss. This book is not about the flashy moment when a clue is discovered or a case is solved. Instead, this is about the days after and the painful monotony of having to continue living without answers and without someone you love. 

Review: Jane Eyre Audiobook

Jane Eyre 

By Charlotte Bronte

Read by Emma Fielding

Naxos Audiobooks 2009

I had the embarrassing distinction of being one of the last people on the face of the earth to get through the story of Jane Eyre. I sort of knew the concept, but this was the first time I heard the story from the beginning to the end…or so I thought. I was dismayed to read the tiny print sometime during the second disk that this was the abridged version. Sigh. I was more than halfway through, so I just went with it.

In case you live under a bigger rock than I do, Jane Eyre is the story of a young orphan. She lives with her cruel aunt and cousins until she gets the opportunity to attend and then teach at a boarding school. Searching for a change in her life, she takes a job as a governess. She loves teaching her young pupil and is intrigued by the girl’s mysterious guardian Mr. Rochester.

I don’t know how many of my issues with this book have to do with the unexpected abridgement. I felt like there wasn’t a narrative throughout. Her terrible childhood with her relatives had practically nothing to do with the rest of the book. Bronte could have taken it out entirely with little consequence. I was really interested in the crux of the story - her relationship with Mr. Rochester, the mystery of Thornfield Hall, and the ways that Jane changes as she grows up.

I enjoyed Jane as a protagonist. I admired her determination and her unwavering belief, even when honoring those beliefs could hurt her. Despite this, I always felt a distance from her. She continuously seemed like someone I was reading about in a book, not someone who I could actually meet and get to know.

I enjoyed listening to this, and I think that sometime down the road I will pick up the (entire) book and actually read it. I know that many people count Jane Eyre as one of their favorite novels, and it’s a great story that has endured for generations.

Alright readers, tell me about your feelings for Jane. Do you love her, despise her, find her overrated? Do you read this every year because it’s your favorite book? Are my problems because I listened to a third-rate abridgment? I want to hear all about it!