AudioFile Magazine

At once timeless and timely, this dystopian novel studies, among other things, the role of women in a society that has stripped them of their rights. Claire Danes sparkles in this performance. Read the full AudioFile review.

This National Book Award winner is a treat. In acts and scenes set in the steampunk city of Zombay, young Rownie runs away and teams up with a troupe of outlawed goblin actors. Read the full AudioFile review.

On October 6, 1998, Matthew Shepard, a gay 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming, was viciously beaten, tied to a fence, and left to die. Author Newman’s intimate reaction to this tragedy, a heartrending collection of 68 poems, is narrated by an outstanding cast. Read the full AudioFile review.

Narrator Robin Sachs's deep, gravelly voice perfectly complements the internal thoughts of the protagonist of this introspective novel, aging stage actor Alex Cleave. The story takes place entirely in Alex's mind as he attempts to write his memoirs. Read the full AudioFile review.

Karen Hesse, a Newbery Medal winner, once again spotlights the poetry inherent in everyday people and ordinary things. Lamia holds on to listeners' sympathy for 17-year-old Radle, the dumpster-diving heroine. Read the full AudioFile review.

The lives of freed slaves, particularly that of Sam Freeman, are presented in unsparing brutality, with snippets of kindness and humanity by an occasional white person. Crisden expertly depicts Sam’s journey on foot in search of his wife. Read the full AudioFile review.

James and his dad engage in discussions about various meals, none of which James cares to eat. Then Dad proposed alternatives like smelly socks or dirt. Peter Jay Fernandez’s tongue-in-cheek narration is spot-on. Read the full AudioFile review.

This first installment in the Paul Chang series is a chilling mystery told from the viewpoints of killer and cop. Haberkorn’s skilled narration captures the tension and excitement as the partners hunt down the psychopathic car salesman. Read the full AudioFile review.

Queen Elizabeth’s spontaneous and unescorted journey on a train throws the staff of the Royal Household into chaos as they hurry to locate Her Majesty before harm befalls her.A sweet treat for Anglophiles. Read the full AudioFile review.

In the sixteenth century, Jepp, a dwarf, was taken from his home and became an amusement for the Spanish Infanta. Is this humiliating fate written in the stars, or can he shape his own destiny? Paul Michael Garcia is superb as he uses subtle touches to give each character a unique flavor. Read the full AudioFile review.

Part travelogue, part history lesson detailing the author’s experiences while walking the old ways—paths, roads, and trails—of his native Great Britain and other parts of the world. Narrator Robin Sachs sets an entrancing tone for the essays, luxuriating in the scenic descriptions and poetic language. Read the full AudioFile review.

The inhabitants of Neversink find themselves in an epic struggle against their oppressors, the owls. Cooper’s narration is at once relaxed and suspenseful as Lockley, a puffin, and the exiled Egbert, the walrus, end up on a journey to rescue the home they love. Read the full AudioFile review.

The ninth book featuring Scottish philosopher and inadvertent detective Isabel Dalhousie is a delight for fans of the series. The leisurely paced plot combined with well-loved characters is like a retreat for the mind. Narrator Davina Porter adds even more charm. Read the full AudioFile review.

Alice Munro has written another extraordinary collection of short stories. Both Kimberly Farr and Arthur Morey lend intuitive pacing to their nuanced performances of these works. Read the full AudioFile review.

Branch, the author of the most comprehensive history of the Civil Rights movement has produced a short but powerful book that highlights the major events of the era, and puts those proceedings in chronological and documentary perspective.  Read the full AudioFile review.