Three Audio Reviews: Kids in Trouble

Time for three new audio reviews!  I haven’t been driving much, so this has taken a little longer than expected.  Although it wasn’t planned, these three books do have something in common: Kids in trouble, trying to find their way home…even though they’re already there.

So, here we go!

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The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
by Joan Aiken, read by Lizza Aiken
4 CDs, 4 hours, 49 minutes

Sylvia is leaving the only home she’s known with frail, elderly Aunt Jane. She’s off to live with her cousin Bonnie and Bonnie’s parents, Lord Willoughby and Lady Green at Willoughby Chase, an estate deep in the wilds of Britain.  It’s the middle of winter, and there are wolves on the prowl…and not only the furry kind.

When Bonnie’s parents leave for a year-long journey abroad to  improve Lady Green’s health, Sylvia and Bonnie are left in the care of a distant cousin.  Miss Slighcarp was recommended to Lord Willoughby, but neither girl likes her. She soon proves she’s not to be trusted, as Sylvia and Bonnie are locked in the attics, the servants are dismissed, and all Bonnie’s toys and books and belongings are sold.  Miss Slighcarp tells the girls that Bonnie’s parents have been lost at sea, and they soon end up in a workhouse run by the evil Mrs. Brisket.  Bonnie is determined to get Sylvia out of there and back to Willoughby Chase.

Will Miss Slighcarp succeed in her evil activities, or will Bonnie and Sylvia manage to escape and stop her?  And if they do escape, will they even have a home to return to?

We featured The Wolves of Willoughby Chase earlier as one of our Old Favorites.  It’s a very exciting story, full of adventures and daring escapes.  It is considered a modern classic by most children’s literature sources. Lizza Aiken, the reader, is Joan Aiken’s daughter. Her reading is well done; her cadence and accent vary for most characters.

The audio recording of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase starts with a wonderful foreword, where Lizza shares details about her own childhood and memories of her mother writing the book.  I feel these details help create an immediate connection between the listener and the reader.  The little tidbits about the background of the book are interesting and memorable.  My only reservation is that I’m not sure that a new reader appreciates the foreward as much as someone who has already read the book and is listening to it as a “re-reading”.  Some of the information depends on knowledge of the story.

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase is a fairly short book; only 150 pages.  Because it’s sort of an “alternate history” book of Britain though, it might confuse younger readers…and even adults not familiar with British history. It is chock-full of adventure and emotions though, and would be enjoyed by listeners as young as third grade, and probably up to middle school.  It’s an excellent choice for a family car trip!

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What Came From the Stars
By Gary D. Schmidt, Narrated by Graham Winton
6 CDs, 6.5 hours

The Valorim are under attack, and their way of life is at an end.  Young Waeglim, of The Ethelim, manages to pull all the strength of the Valorim  into one small package, which he casts out into the galaxy.  Traveling at the speed of thought, the Art of the Valorim makes it through multiple universes until it comes to a small, single-sun planet on the remote edges of a tiny galaxy…

Tommy Pepper lives in Plymouth, Massachusetts.  His family lives in a ramshackle old house on the seashore.  Every morning, Tommy, his dad and his little sister Patty greet the morning out on the beach, watching the sun come up.   After that, Tommy and Patty walk or take the bus to school. Both of them prefer walking; then they don’t have to deal with Cheryl Lynn Lumpkin and her bullying about how her mother’s new development is going to take over the stretch of beach in front of their house.

The morning of Tommy’s twelfth birthday starts out with nothing going right. Tommy’s father makes him take the lunchbox his grandmother sent him to school–the lunchbox for a show Tommy hasn’t watched since he was eight.  Afraid that the other kids will laugh at him, Tommy hides the lunchbox under the picnic table.  Tommy doesn’t notice when a mysterious glowing green chain falls from the sky and lands in his lunchbox.  He just thinks it’s part of the birthday present from his grandmother, and puts it on.

Suddenly, Tommy is using words his classmates have never heard before. The town of Plymouth is under attack from something that breaks into houses when no one is home and leaves them strewn with stinky seaweed. Tommy can draw things that move, hear music that no one else can hear, and his head is full of information about life on a double-sun world. Plymouth Police are at the Peppers’ door and Tommy spends more time in the principal’s office than he ever has before.

Does all this have something to do with the glowing necklace Tommy is now wearing?  Tommy and his friends are going to try to figure it out. But when Tommy draws a figure in the sand, it comes to life, and suddenly Tommy isn’t only dealing with his odd new memories and abilities, but an O’Mandim, the enemy of the Valorim, come to life on Earth.

The audio recording of What Came From the Stars is excellent–I love the narrator’s voice.  His take on Tommy, his family and his friends (and enemies) are all slightly varied.  He does a wonderful job with integrating the foreign words Tommy starts using, making them sound completely commonplace.

I enjoyed the descriptions of the Valorim as well, their planet and their way of life.  In the book, the chapters based on the Valorim are in italics.  I did find it a little more confusing to hear the names rather than read them.  There are a lot of vowels and “th” sounds in the names of the O’Mondim, Valorim and Ethelim, and I had a hard time distinguishing who belonged to which group.  But that’s probably just me.

What Came From the Stars is probably best for fifth through eighth grade readers. It would make a wonderful audio book for a family car trip.  The book balances well between science fiction and a realistic school story.  Tommy Pepper has some problems, and his friends rally around him to help him deal with them.  Yes, he is dealing with inter-galactic technology and aliens, but at heart, this is a story about love and life and loss.

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Liar & Spy
by Rebecca Stead, Read by Jesse Bernstein
4 CDs, 4 hours, 41 minutes

Georges (the s is silent) is not happy to be leaving the house he grew up in, but his father has lost his job and is still looking for a new one.  In order to save money, they had to sell the house and move into a small apartment.  They’re in an entirely different neighborhood, but still close enough so that Georges can go to the same school.  Not that that’s a huge benefit, since Georges best friend dumped him the year before to sit with the cool crowd, and Georges hasn’t really made too many other friends.  Georges tends to end up at the table with the other outcasts, like Bob English Who Draws.

Living in a apartment building is very different from living in a house. There are people coming and going on the time, and your neighbors are a lot closer.  When Georges and his father go down into the basement to look over their new shared laundry room and garbage cans, Georges’ dad sees a sign for an upcoming Spy Club meeting.  Georges’ dad writes “what time?” on the announcement.  When the reply is penciled in the next day, Georges decides to go.  (Or maybe his father pushed him into it.)  At any rate, Georges meets Safer and his little sister Candy.

The Spy Club turns out to be an excuse for Safer to get Georges to be his second in command and spy on Mr. X, another tenant in the building. Safer is convinced that Mr. X is up to no good, and has something to hide.  Georges goes along with it, learning techniques of observation and spying skills. He also starts to spend some time with Safer’s eccentric family when his father is away or visiting his mother at work.

At school, Georges is spending more time with Bob English Who Draws, and finds that maybe being picked on by the popular kids isn’t something he has to just take.  As time goes by, Georges finds that living in an apartment is still something to get used to though, even though he and his father are taking it one day at a time.

The audio for Liar & Spy is excellent.  I really enjoyed listening to the recording.  This is a book where things unfold very slowly, and although the clues are there, it’s not until later that you see them. The narrator’s voice fits the story well.

I did have one problem though…although I wanted to, I really didn’t like Safer.  Because I listened to the book rather than read it, I don’t know if it was the character’s actions or the voice the narrator chose to use for him. Since I had a pretty quick reaction to the voice though, I think it was that.  I’m not sure if my take on the book might have been different if I had read it rather than listened.

Liar & Spy is an interesting book about a boy who is trying to figure out what friendship really means. He’s also dealing with quite a few changes in his life, and some issues that he doesn’t even want to acknowledge.  It’s probably best for readers in fifth through eighth grades, but a mature fourth grade reader would probably enjoy it too.

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So, there you have it.  Three VERY long reviews of three very different books.  I think I’m going to go for humor next time!

::Kelly::

 

Three Excellent Teen Audios for Review

Are you looking for something new to listen to (or read?)  Here are three excellent suggestions of good books–one fantasy/science fiction, one fantasy/horror, one fantastic crime caper.  In fact, I’ve been driving longer lately, just so I can finish a chapter or a disc!  What are these great titles?  SO glad you asked…

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Incarceron
By Catherine Fisher, Read by Kim Mai Guest
10 CDs, 11 hours, 37 minutes

Finn lives in a prison.  It’s all he can remember.  Incarceron is a sentient prison; it is aware of all the prisoners within it, and it arranges their lives; it has been doing it for generations.  No prisoners have entered or left Incarceron in all that time.  But Finn wasn’t born in the prison–he doesn’t think so, anyway–but when he woke up there, about four years earlier, he was just a terrified boy with no memory of his past.  In order to survive, Finn has learned to function with the holes in his knowledge; he’s even joined a gang and sworn allegiance to his oath-brother, Keiro.  Together, Finn and Keiro have managed to rise to positions of power with one of the warlords of Incarceron.

Claudia is the Warden of Incarceron’s daughter.  She lives in a beautiful castle, with servants at her beck and call.  She is engaged to Caspar, Earl of Steen, Heir of the Realm. Claudia doesn’t like Caspar much. She actually liked his brother, Prince Giles, who she had been set to marry before he was killed years earlier.  Now, Claudia spends much of her time maintaining her father’s household, or with her tutor, the Sapienti Jared, trying to figure out what plots her father and the Queen are involved in.

Both Finn and Claudia long to escape their worlds, Finn to get Outside of the prison, Claudia, to throw off the rules and protocols that limit her existence.  Neither of them is aware of the other.  But then Finn retrieves a stolen artifact from a prisoner, and Claudia finds a hidden treasure while searching her father’s office…and they find each other through the devices.  Now Finn and Claudia are communicating, and they may be able to help each other achieve their individual goals.

But Incarceron is awake and aware, and it has been keeping prisoners captive for hundreds of years.  No one has ever escaped, and Incarceron is not going to let Finn be the first.  And Outside, the Warden and the Queen are not without their own resources.  How far will Finn and Claudia manage to go before someone stops them?

I loved Incarceron the book, and I loved Incarceron the spoken recording.  Kim Mai Guest has a very unique way of separating the narration from the characters.  When she’s reading the descriptive passages, she uses an American accent. All of the character’s voices, however, have distinct English accents.  It’s a wonderful way to clarify the story in an obvious way.  All of the character voices are distinctive; it sounds as if the listener is hearing the action unfold as it’s happening.

There is a sequel to Incarceron, called Sapphique.  I believe it is only a two-book set, since Ms. Fisher has just written the first book of a new projected trilogy (The Obsidian Mirror) that comes out in April.

Incarceron is in our Teen Section.  I would recommend it to dystopian fans, readers of steampunk, and science fiction/fantasy fans.  It’s probably best for 8th – 10th grades, but a good 5th grade reader who enjoys those genres would probably be able to read the book with no problems.  I know quite a few adults who have enjoyed it too!

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The Raven Boys
by Maggie Stiefvater, Read by Will Patton
10 CDs, 11 hours, 9 minutes

Blue Sargent spends the night of April 24th, St. Mark’s Day at the local cemetery.  Every year on that day, she helps her clairvoyant mother speak with the spirits so she can discover who will die over the course of the year.  Blue’s mother is a psychic, and every member of Blue’s family has a psychic power…everyone but Blue herself.  Blue does have a talent though–she amplifies the psychic ability of the people around her.  So on St. Mark’s Day, the year she is sixteen, Blue is surprised to see a spirit herself for the very first time.

She’s even more surprised when she sees the “spirit” in person a few days later.  He’s a boy named Gansey.  Blue investigates and discovers that he’s one of the rich students at Aglionby, the local private school.  The boys are mostly from wealthy backgrounds, and used to getting their way. The locals call them The Raven Boys, after the school mascot.  Blue meets Gansey and his friends, Adam, Ronan and Noah at her waitressing job.  She and Gansey immediately rub each other the wrong way.

Gansey might not be a spirit…yet…but the fact that Blue saw him in the churchyard on Saint Mark’s Day means that he will die before the year is out.  Blue doesn’t want to get involved with any of the Raven Boys, but suddenly they seem to be everywhere she turns.  Gansey, who makes her angry every time he acts; Adam, the local poor boy at the school on a scholarship; Ronan, who can’t control himself or his life; and Noah, the quiet one who seems to notice everything.  Blue doesn’t know that the boys are working on their own project–Gansey has been working for years, trying to find a ley line.  If he can find the one that seems to run through the Virginia landscape, he might be able to waken the sleeping Welsh king, Glendower, who he believes is hidden in the nearby hills.

Try as she might, Blue cannot seem to stay away from Gansey and Adam and the other boys. Eventually, she begins to help them, starting a friendship that might turn into something more.  But  Blue and the boys are not the only ones searching for Gwendower, someone else is too.  And he has a much more sinister reason, and will stop at nothing to satisfy his needs.

I really loved The Raven Boys.  The story is excellent.  I had a bit of a problem with the narrator; his voice grated on me so much that at first I didn’t think I’d even make it through the first CD.  He has a soft-spoken southern accent, and he speaks in almost a whisper throughout the first chapter, trying, I suppose, to sound feminine.  It gets a little better when he starts the second chapter which is louder and less accented, from Gansey’s point of view.  By the third chapter I didn’t even notice, I was so absorbed in the story.  I do wish that the narrator was more personable in his voices, but the story is compelling enough that it overwhelms the dislike I felt.

The Raven Boys is also in our Teen section of the library.  It’s sort of a modern fantasy, with elements of both horror and history.  The story is probably best for readers in 8th grade and up.  I do know a lot of adults who have read and enjoyed the book…I think it’s one of those crossover novels that can be enjoyed by readers well beyond their teen years.  (Shannon, Karen, Casey and I all read and enjoyed it, and my sister, who has nothing to do with teens or books, loved it!)  The Raven Boys is the first title of a projected four book quartet, so there’s plenty more to come!

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Heist Society
By Ally Carter, Performed by Angela Dawe
5 CDs, 6 hours, 10 minutes

Kat Bishop has never had an ordinary life.  Boarding school is about the most normal it’s ever been.  But her new life at the Colgan School is cut short when Kat gets blamed for putting the Headmaster’s car on top of a fountain.  It’s not that she couldn’t do it, but this time, she’s actually not guilty!  It doesn’t matter though; Kat can’t convince the school council and she leaves the school.

Her friend billionaire W. W. Hale the Fifth is on hand to pick her up in his limo. It turns out that Hale, her friend and sometime partner-in-crime, is the real culprit behind the car incident.  The plan had been to cut off all contact with her former life at boarding school, but Hale is sure that Kat needs to be back with her friends and family.  Hale tells her that Kat’s father is the main suspect in the theft of five paintings from a powerful mobster named Arturo Taccone.  Not suspected by the police or Interpol, but Taccone is certain that he’s the only one with the knowledge and skills to pull off the theft.

Kat’s childhood included casing the Louvre and stealing the crown jewels of Austria.  her family is well-known in the world of art thieves, con artists and high society crime.  It’s not impossible to believe that her father took the paintings.  But when she flies to Paris to meet with him, he tells her that he is innocent–he was pulling another job that night; stealing a statue from an art gallery. Kat believes him.  So when Arturo Taccone has her picked up by his goons, and tells her that she has two weeks to return his paintings or there will be consequences, she’s aware that she’s in serious trouble.  Taccone is a scary man, and Kat is knows that her father’s life is on the line.  The only solution?  Find the art and steal it back!

With Hale’s help, she gets in contact with her cousins and friends and starts assembling a crew of teenage thieves, hackers and con men.  Is two weeks enough time for Kat to organize her crew into a cohesive unit?  Can they pull off a job that seems impossible to even Uncle Eddie, the most experienced master thief in the family?  And why does the name Visily Romani, an alias from one of the worlds greatest heist families, keep coming up?  If they can pull it off, Kat and her crew will save her father’s life and prove themselves the best thieves in the world.

Heist Society was a fun read.  It’s a teen version of Ocean’s Eleven, with a touch of the TV shows White Collar, Nikita and Leverage thrown in for good measure.  The narrator of the audio recording was good–her voices for the various characters were on the mark.  She did a range of different accents for characters who came from all around the world, and it was very convincing and fun to listen to.  My only problem was that I had to keep adjusting the volume.  When characters whispered, the sound became almost inaudible.  Just turn up the volume, and you should be good to go!

Our copy of Heist Society is in the teen collection. All the characters are between fifteen and seventeen, but the book itself would be accessible to both middle and high school readers.  It’s a fun “caper” book.  There are two sequels, Uncommon Criminals and Perfect Scoundrels, and I just saw a short story online that crosses over with Ally Carter’s other series, The Gallagher Girls.  (In the stort story millionaire Hale meets spy Macey during a society party that turns into a hostage situation.  And if that doesn’t sound like a great crossover, what would?)  Heist Society has been optioned for a film by Drew Barrymore.  It sounds like she’s planning on aging the characters up by a few years, but I still think it would be fun to watch!

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So if you’re looking for a good book to listen to during your next car trip or vacation, these three books from our YA collection would be great choices to listen to, and also good series to read.  So pick them up in either format and see what you think!

::Kelly::

Audio Reviews: Three (and a fifth) titles

These audio books have been waiting in my review pile for far too long!  So here are a few new audio books for your listening pleasure.  Try one of these titles (or any of our previous reviews) on your next road trip!

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Fake Mustache: Or How Jodie O’Rodeo and her Wonder Horse (and Some Nerdy Kid) Saved the U.S. Presidential Election from a Mad Genius Criminal Mastermind
by Tom Angleberger, Narrated by Jonathan Todd Ross and Jessica Almasy
3 CDs, 3.25 Hours

Lenny Flem Jr. is a nerd.  He freely admits it.  His friend Casper Bengue is more of a con-man, so it’s hardly surprising that when Lenny finds himself in a heap of trouble, Casper is at the root of it.

Both boys live in Hairsprinkle, a rather strange little town where nothing every changes.  They still have trolleys running down the middle of main street, the Hairsprinkle Hot Dog Stand, Sven’s Fair Price Emporium, Chauncey’s Big & Tall, Short & Small store, and there’s even the Heidelberg Novelty Company on the outskirts of town.

When Casper borrows the last ten dollars he needs from Lenny to pay for a fake mustache at Sven’s–not a cheap one either, but the Heidleberg Handlebar Number Seven–Lenny isn’t really surprised.  Weirded out a bit, maybe, but not surprised. He’d spent the entire afternoon following Casper as he made a variety of odd purchases, including a pin-striped suit and the mustache.  But everything becomes clear to Lenny the next day, when he hears that the local bank has been robbed.  He knows it has to be Casper.   After all, what other criminal mastermind could pull off a heist with a gang of strolling accordion players, led by a short, well dressed man-about-town sporting a spectacular handlebar mustache?

Of course, no one believes Lenny, and soon he finds himself trying to stop his best friend from his crime spree.  Things only get worse though, when Casper has the financial backing to run for United States President. Lenny has to call in the big guns: Jodie O’Rodeo, former child star, now teen cowgirl queen, and her trained horse.

Will Lenny and Jodie succeed?  Or will Casper win?  It’s a battle of wits as these friends face off over a fake mustache and the fate of the U.S. population!

Fake Mustache is such a goofy story; all  preposterous situations and ridiculous coincidences and silly clues. That’s what makes it fun though!  The two readers split Lenny and Jodie O’Rodeo’s telling of the story, and they do a wonderful job.

The main characters in this story are all twelve years old and in middle school.  Tom Angleberger is also the author of the popular Origami Yoda series, and like those books, Fake Mustache will be popular with the fourth through eighth grade crowd.  Make sure you check out the book, even if you’re planning to listen to the CDs…the illustrations are great and add an extra level of absurdness to the story.  And you’ll definitely want to check out the mustache types on the end pages!

If you want a serious story, give Fake Mustache a pass. But if you want an absurd, over-the-top extravaganza of wackiness, go for it.  You’ll be laughing as you try to figure out what Casper is going to do next, and how Lenny’s predicament can possibly get any worse!

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A Confusion of Princes
By Garth Nix, Read by Michael Goldstrom
8 CDs, 9 Hours, 44 minutes

Prince Khemri is a Prince of the Empire.  While most citizens of the Empire go about their boring lives, living out their short life-spans, Princes are taken from their parents at a very young age and placed in a temple. For the next ten years, their minds and bodies are augmented by three forces: Mektek, Bitek and Psitek.  This makes Princes stronger, faster, smarter and luckier than normal humans.  The only drawback is that once a Prince reaches maturity, he is subject to the rules that govern all other Princes–there is only one Emperor.  And the surest way to ensure your endurance is to kill, dishonor or destroy the competition.  Fortunately, when a Prince dies, his life is assessed, and if the Imperial Mind finds him or her worthy, he or she is reborn.

When Prince Khemri reaches his majority, he has to leave his temple and make his way to a protected learning place.  At one of the Academies, he will be safe from being challenged to duels and protected from major, obvious, conspiracies.  But of course, one thing about Princes is that they always believe they’re right, so being in a protected place doesn’t actually mean that Khemri is safe.  No, it just means that the rules are harder to figure out, and that the game is even more deadly.

Khemri is finally chosen for a special assignment, and is sent out on a secret mission.  In the midst of his trial period, after a deadly space battle, he finds himself rescuing a lieutenant named Raine on a disabled and drifting spaceship.  Is this another test, or is it real?  When Raine and her world challenge everything Prince Khemri has ever known about the Empire, the Imperial Mind, the Emperor and himself, will he find a way to reconcile all these different sources of information?  Or will he return to what he knows?

Although I love reading science fiction, I sometimes find it difficult to listen to.  I was a little afraid that I would have that problem with this audio recording, but was quite pleased that while it sounded futuristic, it was also exciting and current.  Michael Goldstrom, the narrator, is enjoyable.   His voice sounded both young and confident, befitting a prince. There was some infrequent but useful sound effects for Khemri’s internal psitek evaluations when he spoke with the Imperial Mind.

A Confusion of Princes is in our Teen section. Because of violence and some romantic situations, is more appropriate for upper middle school and high school readers and listeners.  Garth Nix has had quite a few series (The Seventh Tower, The Keys to the Kingdom, and the Abhorsen Trilogy) and this one should be just as popular.  Science fiction readers and listeners–teens and adult– could enjoy this together.

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The Willoughbys: A Novel
Nefariously written by Lois Lowry, Narrated by Arte Johnson
3 CDs, 2 Hours and 55 Minutes

The old-fashioned Willoughby children live in a small, old-fashioned house with their old-fashioned parents.  Timothy is the eldest, is twelve.  Barnaby A and Barnaby B, the twins, are two years younger.  Jane is the youngest at six and a half.  All four children are convinced that, like Anne of Green Gables and James of the Giant Peach, they should be orphans.  After all, in old-fashioned books, all the best worthy and winsome children are orphans.  And it’s not like their parents really like them or anything, they couldn’t even manage to think of two names for the twins!  The clincher to the orphan thing is when they find a beastly baby abandoned on their doorstep. Of course, they don’t want to keep it, so they pass it on to the rich old gentleman down the road.

But when their parents depart on a sea voyage with the Reprehensible Travel Agency, they hire Nanny to watch after the children.  The letters home prove that the Willoughby parents are remarkably resistant to the dangers of floods, volcanoes and tornadoes.  However, they’re also resistant to their worthy and winsome offspring.  They put their house on the market with no intention of ever returning.

Timothy, A and B, Jane and Nanny are not very happy with this situation. They Must Do Something!  And with the help of sweets tycoon and bereaved benefactor Colonel Melanoff and his adopted ward, Baby Ruth, they may rise above their situation and prevail!

The Willoughbys is a parody of all the “great” children’s classics. It really helps to know the rags to riches, poor orphaned premise of stories like Pollyanna, The Secret Garden, Mary Poppins and Heidi to know what the Willoughbys are going through!  Every element of Old-Fashionedness is here, from villains and wealthy benefactors to long-lost heirs and abandoned babies. The Willoughbys pays playful homage to classic works of children’s literature with all the wit of current writers like Lemony Snickett.

Arte Johnson is the perfect narrator; droll, dry and understated.  He sounds like he’s surprised with every twist and turn of the plot, but he’s as matter-of-fact about these developments as the children are.

The Willoughbys is for all ages; anyone who appreciates parody and children’s literature will enjoy both the book and the audio.  It’s a fast read, and a fun listen.  There is a great glossary of old-fashioned terms in the back of the book, as well as a bibliography of classic children’s literature mentioned during the story.  This would be a fun book for a family car trip with kids in third grade through middle school.

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…and the “fifth” of a book:

Seraphina
By Rachel Hartman, read by Mandy Williams with Justine Eyre
11 CDs, 13 hours, 15 minutes

Seraphina lives in a world where humans and dragons co-exist, although there are still problems between the two groups. These issues are part of Seraphina’s secret: although her father is human, her mother, who died when she was born, was a dragon.  If anyone knew, she would be put to death immediately.

Seraphina’s father has told her not to reveal her secret to anyone, and to make herself as inconspicuous and invisible as possible.  But Seraphina keeps finding herself in situations that bring her to the attention of powerful people–human and dragon.  Can she keep her secret and discover her heritage?

Why is this “a fifth”?  Although I LOVED the narrator’s voice in the audio recording of Seraphina, my daily commute is about ten minutes. And I couldn’t keep track of who people were (lots of fantasy names with different-sounding vowels) and what they were doing (which was pretty detailed and convoluted) in such short, choppy segments.  I’m sure this is a wonderful audio, but it needs to be savored in long stretches of time.  So although I only listened to the first two CDs, the book is in my list of Books To Read, because I think it’s sure to be a wonderful story.  For me, it just needs more time and visual contemplation.

Because of the situation and concepts of Seraphina’s existance, Seraphina is definitely a teen book. I would highly recommend it to fantasy and dragon fans who have the time to pour over it.

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And there you have it!  Three (okay, almost four) audio books to listen to on your next trip.  And let our staff know what you think!

::Kelly::

Two Audio Reviews: Friendship

Still catching up!  Here’s two new audio reviews.  And they were GREAT!  I’d recommend both of these stories to any reader.  Although you wouldn’t think of it by reading the two descriptions, these books have much in common.  The Night of the Howling Dogs is a story about survival and friendship, where Wonder is a story about friendship and survival.  But read on, and see what you think.

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The Night of the Howling Dogs
by Graham Salisbury, Narrated by Robert Ramirez
5 CDs, 5 Hours

Dylan Scout Troop is going camping!  And it’s not just camping, the middle school troop is taking all their gear and hiking to Halape, a deserted stretch of beach on the southern flank of Kilauea volcano on the Big Island of Hawai’i. The beach can only be reached by an eight-mile hike over lava flows and rough ground from the Hilina Pali trailhead.  Dylan’s best friend Casey will be there, along with his father, troop leader Mr. Bellows, a former Marine and current police detective.  Also on board are nine other scouts and one other leader along for the four-day trip.

It would be perfect, except for one thing.  Louie Domingo.  Ever since he joined the troop, Louie has been making things difficult for Dylan.  Dylan is convinced that it’s because of a confrontation between them a couple years ago, when he was a fifth grader and they didn’t even know each other.  But whatever it is, Louie seems to hate Dylan’s guts and doesn’t mind showing it.  Dylan and Casey have no idea why Mr. Bellows even let Louie into the troop or why he keeps telling the boys to give him a chance.

The hike into Halape is tough, especially since it’s over 90 degrees outside. But the boys eventually reach the beach, where they split up to find spots to camp.  The younger scouts go off with the troop leaders for the day, leaving Casey and Dylan to deal with Louis and his attitude.

Dylan doesn’t know that Louie is the least of his worries.  Before the weekend is over, Dylan, Casey, Louie and the rest of the scouts will be dealing with bigger problems.  Disaster-type problems.  Because the dogs howling on the beach are warning of big changes on Halape.  Earth-shattering changes. Ocean-moving changes.   And Dylan and Louie may never be the same.

The narration of The Night of the Howling Dog audio book is excellent.  I love the voices of the various characters, from the Hawai’ian dialect of the paniolos who join the scouts on the beach to the hispanic accents of other characters to the various voices of the other characters.  It’s easy to distinguish who is talking.

I also love the descriptions of Hawai’i.  Sometimes, when I’m reading,  descriptive passages of places don’t register as much; but when you’re listening to a book read aloud, this sense of place is much more real.  The heat, the smells, the beauty of the island come through clearly.  So does the danger the boys find themselves in.

The Night of the Howling Dogs is based on a true story of a group of scouts who found themselves facing nature’s fury in 1975.  One of those real scouts was Graham Salisbury’s cousin Tim.  Dylan’s story is all about survival, courage and friendship.  It’s  a great read for kids in fourth through eighth grade. It’s a wonderful audio book for a family car trip, for Boy Scouts, or for anyone who’s about to visit Hawai’i.

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Wonder
By R.J. Palacio, Performed by Diana Steele, Nick Podehl and Kate Rudd
7 CDs, 8 hours, 12 minutes

Auggie has never been to school.  When he was a preschooler, it was because he was in the hospital too much. Later, it was because his medical needs made it easier to be home schooled.  But now, he’s ten, and with over a dozen surgeries behind him, he’s ready to move on.  Auggie is about to go into fifth grade.

Auggie thinks he’s a pretty ordinary kid…inside at least.  But outside?  He knows his appearance is anything but ordinary.  He was born with several rare conditions that interacted and caused his face to be…different.  As Auggie says “I know I’m not an ordinary ten-year-old kid. I mean, sure, I do ordinary things. I eat ice cream. I ride my bike. I play ball. I have an XBox. Stuff like that makes me ordinary. I guess. And I feel ordinary. Inside. But I know ordinary kids don’t make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. I know ordinary kids don’t get stared at wherever they go.

“I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.”

But August isn’t a boy who is pitied. He’s a boy with incredible strength of character.  And this story isn’t just about his first year of middle school.  It’s a story about expectations, about bullies, about friendship, about school assignments and about how someone who’s never been to school figures out how things work.  How cliques work. How honesty is important. And how being yourself is the best thing you can be.

He may look different, but August is determined to be an ordinary student with an ordinary life.

Auggie’s story is told in both his own words and in chapters from his family and friends.  The audio book has three different narrators, but there are several different perspectives.  It was a little hard to get used to Auggie’s voice at first…the book describes him as having a “funny, raspy voice”, but the narrator sounded (to me at least) like a woman trying to sound like a kid.   Auggie’s friend Jack spoke with a strong Brooklyn accent that seemed kind of cartoonish; an unnecessary reminder that the book takes place in New York City.  But the story is so compelling that I forgot my initial reaction and just wanted to hear Auggie.

The chapters are short, and each character tells about their interactions with Auggie, and how he has woven his life into theirs.  When I was listening, I found myself cheering for Auggie and his friends.  There were a couple points in the narration where I had to turn off the CD player because I was on the verge of tears.  (Not safe when driving!)  Other times, I was laughing out loud at some of the antics in the Beecher Prep classrooms.  And I loved Auggie’s family, flaws and all.

Wonder is a book that I think every child should read.  It has the potential to open up some great discussions between parents and kids, teachers, and classrooms.  It’s probably a fifth through seventh grade reading level, but it’s a good book to share with everyone from third grade through high school…and even adults.

Auggie’s appearance may be different, but in his heart, he’s just an ordinary kid.  His story, though, is extraordinary.  Wonder came out this year, and I think it’s a serious contender for for the 2013 Newbery Award.  I really hope it wins.  Auggie and R. J. Palacio deserve it.

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Both these books are stories are highly recommended to read and to listen to.  If you have any other great suggestions for audio books to review, please let me know!

::Kelly::

 

Two Audio Reviews–Fantastic Adventures!

I don’t know how it happened, but I have a back-up of audio books to review!  So…on with the first reviews!

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The Beyonders: A World Without Heroes
by Brandon Mull, Narrated by Jeremy Bobb
12 CDs, 14 Hours

The prologue starts in a dungeon with a tense confrontation between a prince and an emperor.  The prince loses. Or does he?

Skip to a completely different world.  Jason Walker is your normal, average, everyday Colorado thirteen-year-old.  He’s athletic, has several good friends, pretty good grades in school and a volunteer job at the zoo.  It’s that job that drops him into danger…but probably not in the way anyone would be expecting.

One afternoon, cleaning around the hippo tank, Jason hears mysterious music.  Because he’s curious, he follows the music to the source…the hippo tank.  Or is it the hippo?  Trying to find out where, exactly, the music is coming from, Jason falls into the tank and into the hippo. The hippo’s mouth, to be exact.  After a brief bout of disorientation, he finds himself coming out from the top of a tree in the middle of a dark forest.  He doesn’t know where he is, but it’s certainly not Colorado!

Not sure what to do, Jason hears the same mysterious music and once again follows it until he finds a river. On the river is a raft full of people playing instruments, on the banks of the river are people watching them.  Jason starts asking questions, and learns that the musicians are about to make a statement against their evil ruler, The Emperor Wizard Maldor, by falling to their deaths over the waterfall just downriver.  Horrified by the inaction of the watchers and needing to stop the musicians from killing themselves, Jason tries to save them. He saves one of the musicians, but makes an enemy of the guards. The crowd has also turned against him.

This is just too crazy!  Jason thinks he must be still in Colorado, unconscious from a head wound or something and hallucinating, but sees no reason to hang around for the crowd to find him.  He runs through the forest and starts following a path.  Eventually, he comes across an imposing building, where he seeks refuge for the night.

The building turns out to be The Repository of Learning. The Loremaster who resides there tells Jason about Lyrian, the land where he is.  Jason learns that Lyrian is ruled by the cruel emperor Maldor, who cares nothing about his people.  People live in fear, and anyone who speaks or acts against the emperor vanishes, never to be seen again.  Over the course of the night, Jason discovers that seems to fill a prophecy about a Seeker of Knowledge.  Before he knows it, he’s on a quest to find the syllables of a unique word that will defeat Maldor and bring peace and prosperity to Lyrian.

He can’t do it alone though, and along the way, Jason finds himself allied with Rachel, a girl from Washington who has also fallen through our world and into Lyrian, Ferrin, a man who cannot die, and several other people who he helps along the way.  Will Jason and Rachel find the word?  Will it defeat Maldor?  And what happens if they find a way home first?

Lyrian is a world where almost everyone has been quashed. No one is able to stand up for anyone else, they’re all just trying to survive.  Jason and Rachel, two ordinary kids with ideals and a strong sense of right and wrong end up in a world that is not like anything they know.  Their quest starts out as a straightforward search for a word, and ends up with them in a position to be the heroes that Lyrian needs.  Of course, The Beyonders: A World Without Heroes is only the first book of a trilogy, so you know that there’s more to come.

Jeremy Bobb, the narrator of this audio book has a great voice for the tale.  His voices for the characters are separate and varied.  The pace of his reading is great; his pacing for the action sequences makes the action both easy to understand and suspenseful.  He does a wonderful job keeping the listeners’ interest.

The Beyonders: A World Without Heroes would be a great book for a family car trip. There are some violent parts, so it’s not for very young children or for sensitive listeners. A good fourth grade fantasy fan could read it, but it’s more appropriate for  kids in fifth through eighth grade.  Listeners could be a little younger, although parents might be explaining things to them. The book on CD is long, so you may want to save it for a long ride!

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The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp
by Rick Yancey, Read by Paul Michael
6 CDs, 7 Hours

Alfred Kropp is an orphan. He never knew his father, and his mother died when he was thirteen.  He now lives with his Uncle Farrell, a security guard, in Nashville.  Alfred is big for his age, a little slow, and maybe a bit of a coward.  He’s afraid of fights, confrontations and blood.  When his uncle tells him he has a way to get rich quickly, Alfred is skeptical.

Uncle Farrell has worked for Mr. Samson, a rich businessman for over twenty years. But when Mr. Myers, one of the man’s rivals offers him a million dollars to steal something from Samson’s safe, Uncle Farrell thinks it’s easy money.  The only problem is, his plan requires two people. Alfred objects.  Even though Mr. Myers told them he only wanted to take back something Mr. Samson stole from him, how do they know that Myers is telling the truth?  Besides, something about Mr. Myers gives him the creeps. But Uncle Ferrell doesn’t listen to Alfred’s objections. He threatens to turn him over to foster care if Alfred doesn’t help. Totally against his will and principles, Alfred steals the object–an incredible sword.

Is it Excalibur?  Alfred finds himself fighting mysterious monks with the sword, and defeating them. And he doesn’t know anything about fighting or swords! With the sword now in his possession, Alfred returns home with Uncle Ferrell.  When they get there Myers is waiting. Uncle Ferrell tries to hold out for more money, and Myers kills him.

Alfred is now alone.  Mr. Samson comes to talk to him, but although he seems kind, and tries to help, he has his own problems.  Soon Alfred is on the run with Excalibur, allied with a wounded knight, driving a Ferrari, with punks on motorcycles and a mysterious organization chasing him.  Will he find out the truth about the sword and return it to its rightful owner?

I wasn’t too sure about the narrator when the book started. Alfred and Uncle Farrell sounded too much alike.  But as soon as other characters started popping up, I was enthralled.  From Irish businessmen to American spies to not-quite-French mercenaries, everyone sounded different.  I loved the narration.  And the pacing was great.

Alfred is a reluctant hero. He grows as he faces things he never thought he could handle, and comes out the other side a stronger person.  Since there are two other books about Alfred’s adventures, you know that he’ll have a lot of dangers to face before he reaches his final adventure.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp is a great adventure story for fantasy and spy fans, but it is violent. And that violence is described in detail in the narration. For that reason, I’d recommend it to kids in sixth grade and up.  Although younger kids could read it, The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp is in our teen section.  It has been optioned as a movie, so it may pop up on the silver screen at some future point in time!

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And…that’s it for tonight!  More tomorrow…I hope. 

::Kelly::

Audio Reviews: Survival!

I didn’t realize there was a theme between the last three audio books I listened to, but when I put them together, it was right there.  One space adventure, one steamy Everglades fiasco, and one white-water rafting trip in the middle of a tropical storm.  And yet, they all have one thing in common–Survival!

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Have Space Suit, Will Travel
By Robert A. Heinlein, Read by Will McAuliffe and the Full Cast Family
8 CDs, 8 Hours

Kip has wanted to go to the moon since he was in elementary school.  There is a lunar base up there, of course, but most people have to do something extraordinary to get stationed there. Kip decides that he’ll just have to go into science, work hard, and get there. His parents support his plan, although they tell him he’ll have to work hard.  In fact, his father takes a look at his school and the curriculum, and gives Kip a bunch of extra homework to do in order to have the type of basis he’ll need to get into a good college.

But then Kip hears about a contest a soap company is running. The person who creates a new slogan for their product will win an all-expenses paid trip to the moon!  Kip is suddenly the biggest fan of soap that ever was. With everyone in town giving him soap wrappers to mail in the slogans he thinks up, Kip is sure he can win.  With five thousand entries, one of them has to catch the eyes of the judges.

But Kip doesn’t win first prize; he wins something else. A spacesuit. Formerly used on the space station but retired, it’s still (mostly) space-worthy.  Instead of selling it for college tuition, Kip decides to completely renovate and update it.

Which is why he’s standing in the middle of a field when he receives a distress call from space.  And it’s how he survives being snatched by space pirate, meeting aliens, and being stranded on a secret base on the moon.

If Kip survives the experience, he’ll have a LOT to tell his grandchildren!

Have Space Suit, Will Travel was written in 1958, and it’s an interesting blend of 50s culture, projected technology and science fiction. For example, Kip is trying to fit a radio into his spacesuit helmet, and he mourns the fact that the transistor circuit isn’t smaller.  But of course now, we have micro circuits that could fit a radio in something the size of a quarter…and have much better ways than radio waves to communicate, anyway.  Kip wants to make multiple copies of something, but can’t because he doesn’t have access to a mimeograph machine.  There are computers, but they’re the size of houses. And Kip buys 5,000 stamps for under $200!

But even though there’s a huge difference from the projected future of Kip’s world and what we have now, Kip and Peewee are kids who could exist today.  They’re brave, and funny, and determined to get back home.

Now, there is quite a bit of scientific theory in this book, which might make it a little hard to listen to for listeners not interested in how things work.  But if you’re a budding scientist, with a yen for space travel, this book would be perfect for you.  And I do love the narrators of Full Cast Audio, who have different actors reading each part.  The voices are perfect, and listeners will find themselves absorbed in the adventure.

I’d recommend Have Space Suit, Will Travel book to listeners in 5th – 8th grade.  The book might be more accessible to slightly younger readers, because you can skip over the science theories and explanations.

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Chomp
By Carl Hiaasen, Read by James Van Der Beek
5 CDs, 6 Hours, 11 Minutes

Wahoo Cray lives in Florida, where he shares his home with his parents, several alligators, a few dozen snakes, monkeys, raccoons, turtles, a wild cat and a bunch more animals.  His father, Mickey, is a wildlife wrangler, and is so good at his job that he’s frequently in demand by TV and movie productions.   Unfortunately, he’s currently having problems due to being hit on the head by a frozen iguana dropping out of a tree onto his head and causing a head trauma and a (temporary) coma. Even though he’s now home, he’s not quite up to working.

Because the family still needs to pay their bills though, Wahoo’s mother takes a job in Japan. When she’s gone, Wahoo accepts a job over the phone, one that will pay extremely well and help the family pay off their bills.  All they have to do is work with Expedition Survival!, a TV-reality show starring Derek Badger.  What Wahoo doesn’t know is that Derek Badger is a pampered TV star who believes his own press and thinks that he can wrestle any wild animal into submission. And then eat them.   Mickey, who is extremely protective of his animal family, clashes with Derek immediately.

So when the Expedition Survival! production company decides to film in the wild, instead of in the Cray’s Everglades staging lot, Mickey and Wahoo are hired to go along as animal wranglers.  Who knew things would be complicated by a runaway girl named Tuna, a crazy boat driver, Derek Badger’s inflated ego, and a dangerous man with a gun.  Will Wahoo and Mickey survive Expedition Survival!?

Chomp is a great book to listen to!  Carl Hiaasen always creates completely wacky situations that seem to be just normal life for his characters.  I loved Wahoo and Tuna and Mickey.  And even though I didn’t really LIKE Derek or Raven, his producer, they were a lot of fun to hear about.  As they travel around the Everglades, finding snakes and dodging giant bats and encountering danger, you won’t want to stop listening.

James van der Beeks’ narration was quite enjoyable, although I was a little unsure of it at first.  Wahoo and Mickey sound very similar, and I thought there would be a problem distinguishing between the voices.  As soon as the cast of characters started growing though, everyone had a distinct voice and rhythm.  And it makes sense that a father and son would sound alike.  And he did some great Australian, Floridian, and backwood swamp folk accents.

Chomp is a great survival story, with a hint of mystery that could be enjoyed by readers in grades 5  through grade 8.    The audio could be listened to by kids slightly younger, although Tuna’s situation and her father’s actions might require some discussion with younger kids. I think adults and high school kids would enjoy it as well…it has a unique and subtle humor that makes you grin, rather than laughing out loud.  And then try Hoot, Flush and Scat, which are all great books and books on CD as well!

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Take Me to the River
By Will Hobbs, Narrated by Steven Boyer
5 CDs, 5.25 Hours

Dylan has been planning this trip to Texas to visit his uncle and cousin for months.  Although he’s never met them, all three share a love of white water rafting; for the visit they’ve planned a trip  down the Rio Bravo, with Dylan in a canoe and Rio and his father in a raft.  When Dylan gets to the airport, he takes the bus to town, just as planned. But no one comes to meet him. Instead, he gets a message that he should hitchhike to his uncle’s house.

Puzzled and dismayed, but not wanting the adventure to be cancelled, Dylan finds a ride with a trucker, and meets Rio in a little restaurant where he works.  There, he learns that his uncle has been hired as a river guide in Alaska, and won’t be able to go on the rafting trip.  Rio was supposed to call Dylan while he was still at home in North Carolina, so that he could change his travel plans.  Rio didn’t make that call though, because he wanted to meet Dylan, even if all they can do is hang around Rio’s house.

And then the boys have an idea.  Why don’t they go on the rafting trip anyway?  They’re old enough and responsible enough, and they have plenty of experience on a variety of rivers. They get a friend of Rio’s to give them a ride to the head of the Rio Bravo, planning to buy most of their supplies at the store there.

But when they reach the store, it’s closed. And there are black helicopters on the river.  Dylan and Rio learn that there’s a tropical storm approaching and that the US and Mexican governments are searching for a group of dangerous drug runners.  Even though they consider both these problems with care, Dylan and Rio decide that it’s most likely that the tropical storm will go another direction, and that the Mexican criminals will be spotted by the searchers before they even reach the river. They set out on their trip.

But of course, things don’t go as planned, and soon Dylan and Rio are faced with tropical downpours, a raging river that’s much higher than they’d planned on, and two unwanted passengers.  Will they manage to survive?

Take Me to the River is a great adventure book for anyone who likes their stories spiced with danger!  The cousins don’t always make the wisest choices, but they’re both smart, and tough, and trying to do the right thing.   Although they’ve been in touch through e-mail and phone calls for years, this is the first time they’ve had a chance to meet, and it’s quite an introduction!

The descriptions of the storm, the raging river and the various weather fronts make the listener feel like they’re in the back of the raft.  The tidbits of information about life on the border of Texas and Mexico are quite interesting, and very eye-opening.  Once the boys run into their uninvited passengers, their actions stay true to their natures, and they struggle with a lot of difficult choices.

Take Me To The River is a wonderful survival story for kids in fifth through seventh grade. The audio could be enjoyed by family members of all ages for a long car trip.  This is a must read for anyone planning to raft the Rio Bravo, and would be an enjoyable selection for anyone who might be going white water rafting.

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And…that’s it.  Enjoy these survival stories and let us know what you think.  If you’re in the Weston Public Library looking for something to read or listen to, ask one of our librarians for help.  We’re glad to assist you in finding the perfect book or audio!

::Kelly::

Two Audio Reviews that will make you think

Summer is a great time to listen to audio books, whether you’re driving back and forth to the beach, to camp or to visit relatives.  Audio books make the trip go faster and, if the whole car is listening, give you something to talk about along the way.

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Okay For Now
by Gary D. Schmidt, Read by Lincoln Hoppe
8 CDs, 9 hours, 18 minutes
Winner of an Odyssey Honor Award for Audiobooks

Doug Swieteck is not in the least bit happy when his father’s temper causes him to lose his job. Instead of just finding another one in the city, his father calls an old buddy, Ernie Echo, who gets him work at the papermill he works for in upstate New York. So Doug, his mother and his older brother have to give away everything that doesn’t fit in a pickup truck and move.  One of Doug’s classmates shows up as Doug’s mom is giving away her plants and gives Doug a jacket signed by his hero, Joe Pepitone.

But even Joe Pepitone’s jacket can’t save the day. Stupid Marysville is a small town, and The Dump, as he calls the family’s new home, is disgusting. Doug has to share a tiny room with his brother, the criminal mind. He has to hide Joe Pepitone’s jacket from him too, or the criminal mind would take it and trade it for something else.

On the first stupid Saturday in stupid Marysville, Doug ends up on the steps of the local library, where he meets Lil Spicer, who teaches him how to drink a really cold Coke. She also gets him a job with her father, delivering groceries for Spicer’s Deli. On his route, Doug meets some of the characters in Marysville, like  and Mrs. Windemere, an elderly playwright with a penchant for different ice cream flavors every week.

And in the library, Doug discovers a treasure–a book of John James Audubon’s Birds of America. The book is in a glass case, but Doug is fascinated by the Arctic Tern, whose eyes seem to see more of life than Doug could have imagined.

But life in Marysville is challenging with a family like Doug’s. His brother, the criminal mind, is suspected of robbing several local stores. His father is spending more time with Ernie Echo than with his family. And Doug’s mother is thinking of her oldest son, serving in Vietnam.  Doug’s life in Marysville is filled with ups and downs, love and loss, discoveries and and learning how to see what life is really all about.  His time there changes his life, but his presence in Marysville changes the lives of the residents just as much.

I loved Okay for Now, and I adored the audio recording. The book is set in 1967, and full of details about life in the 60s.  (For instance, Doug earns $5 for a full day of deliveries, and the library is only open on Saturdays.) This was the year of the Apollo Lunar Landing and of Vietnam war protests. It was a turning point year in many ways, and Doug manages to survive things that kids today would consider horrible treatment.

I do have to admit, it took me the full first disc to get into the story. I didn’t like Doug’s accent (he sounded like an imitation Vinnie Barbarino) and I was tired of listening to “So what?” and what Joe Pepitone would and wouldn’t do. But I stuck with it, and I’m extremely glad that I did.

This is a book that could lead to some great discussions for book groups or for families. I would recommend it to middle school and high school readers, but certainly a sophisticated fifth grader could read and enjoy it.  It is recommended for listeners ages 10 through 16, and would be a wonderful sound recording for a family trip, especially with middle school students.

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No Passengers Beyond This Point
By Gennifer Choldenko, Read by Becca Battoe, Jesse Bernstein and Tara Sands
5 CDs, 6 Hours, 6 Minutes

Finn Tompkins is the middle child (and only boy)  between two very different sisters. His older sister, India, is into fashion and gossip and dating–a typical 14 year old.  His younger sister, Mouse, is a genius who has a unique outlook on life and an interest in science and planets.  They live with their mother, who is a teacher. Their father died after a car accident on the way to the hospital before Mouse was born.

When a series of bad decisions leads to their mother losing their house to foreclosure, she decides that Finn, India and Mouse will go live with their Uncle Red. Although she’ll join them eventually, she will have to complete the school year and stay with their aunt in town. It’s evident to the entire family that four more people just couldn’t all fit into Uncle and Aunt’s tiny house.

No matter how hard India argues that she HAS to stay with her friend Maddie…no matter how much Finn wants to stay and play basketball with his team…no matter how much Mouse cries and begs to stay with their mother, she remains firm. The kids are put on the plane to Red Fort and Uncle .

But when they arrive at the airport, it’s not Red Fort.  It’s not even Denver, or Colorado.  The man waiting for them in the airport turns out to be a boy disguised with a mustache. He drives a pink feathered taxi.  The kids are delivered to Red Bird, where crowds of people cheer and celebrate their arrival. India, Finn and Mouse are each given a small wooden puzzle piece and told the only way to return home is for all of them to decide they want to go home, and to join their wooden pieces together. They’re also given a clock, and told that they have 13 hours to decide, but that time will go differently for each of them.  Then each one is brought to all their new house, designed specifically to their interests, with an adult parent-substitute who will provide for all their needs, sometimes even before they ask.

India loves it (she has a direct line via computer to Maddie), Mouse is happy (her new “mom” has all the time in the world for her, plus she loves science experiments), but Finn questions where they are and what’s going on. His questions lead to him being kicked out of his house and trading time for information.

The more Finn discovers, the more he realizes that he has to find his sisters and get home. Unfortunately, it won’t be as easy as Finn thinks, because there are a lot of obstacles in his way, and the biggest one might be India.  And the clocks are ticking down…

No Passengers Beyond This Point was a very interesting book to listen to. I wasn’t quite sure what was going on until halfway through the book, and without the actual print copy I couldn’t flip through to see if I was right! It wasn’t until the very last chapter that the full story is revealed in a very clever fashion.  This really IS one of those books where to say too much is to give away the story.  However, I am very curious to know what other readers or listeners think!

I loved that there were multiple narrators for this book–each chapter is from the viewpoint of India, Finn or Mouse, and each had a different narrator.  This was much more effective than a single narrator would be, and gave each of the siblings a unique voice.   The pacing was great.

No Passengers Beyond This Point is recommended for listeners ages 8 to 14. I’d say the book is accessible to kids in grades four through six.  If you like adventures and puzzles, try this book. It’s enjoyable both on tape and in print.  It would also be a great discussion book for a parent-child book group.

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Try either of these audio titles on your next trip, and see what you think!

::Kelly::

Audio/Book Reviews: Four fantasy titles!

Traveling during vacation gave me a lot of time for listening.  My preference is usually fantasy, and so that’s what I read!  Er…listened to.  These four were not my favorites (in fact, one is the worst audio book I’ve ever listened to!) but the other three were pretty solid choices.

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Eyes Like Stars
by Lisa Mantchev, Read by Cynthia Bishop and the Full Cast Family
8 CDs, 8 hours, 30 minutes

Bertie lives in The Theatre Illuminata…she has all her life.  As a baby, she was left on the doorstep, and The Company joined together to raise her.  She lives on the stage (although she has to get off for performances) eats with the crew in the Green Room, and gets her clothing (and hair dye) from Wardrobe.  She has everything she needs to live a full life…or does she?

The problem with living in the Theatre is that no one can leave. Whether it’s Ariel from The Tempest, Nate from The Little Mermaid, or Cobweb, Peaseblossom, Mustardseed and Moth, Bertie’s fairy companions from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, not one of them has ever made it past the EXIT sign.  Only the mysterious Ophelia claims to have returned to the Theatre from Outside.

So when Bertie manages to get into enough mischief to alienate the Theater Manager, the Stage Manager, and Mr. Tibbs, the Properties Master, she is in terrible trouble.  These three, who never agree on anything, band together to tell Bertie that she will have to leave the Theater and the only life she has ever known.  At the protests from some of the Company, she is given an out: if she can find an invaluable way to contribute to the Theater, she will be allowed to stay.

Bertie is determined to find a way to keep her home, even if she has to turn it upside down to do so. And she has help from several of the players.  The only problem is…are they trying to help her, or help themselves?

The audio recording was done by Full Cast Audio, who have one reader for the narrative sequences, and different actors reading the voices of the characters.  I love the Full Cast Audio recordings, because I find them very easy to listen to–sort of a cross between a play and an audio recording. It’s nice to have male characters reading male voices, female characters reading female voices, and children who sound like children.  This production company always manages to make the best match-ups in voices.  The director of the production makes sure that the mood of the scenes are reflected in the voices, and the action sequences have a faster pacing that the slow scenes.  I loved the reading.

I’m not quite sure about the intended audience for this book though. It seems to be aimed at a middle school audience, but there is an assumption that the reader (or listener) has enough background to know who the Shakespearean characters (from at least five plays) are, and what their stories are.  There is also quite a bit of information that relies on knowing the background of a stage production.  And I was confused a bit about what is covered by the Theatre.  Is it all plays, or just classic plays?  It’s not just Shakespeare, because a bunch of characters from The Little Mermaid (the Disney version, as far as I can tell) are also thown into the mix. The internal logic of Bertie’s world seems a little flimsy, under close observation.

This book is the first book of a trilogy about Bertie. She’s an interesting and opinionated character, strong-willed and imaginative.  I am curious about the rest of her story, so the audio/book did succeed in making me want more.

This would be best for kids in middle and high school who are interested in theater production, Shakespeare and putting on a play.

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The Demon King: A Seven Realms Novel
by Cinda Williams Chima, Narrated by Carol Monda
13 CDs, 15.25 Hours

Han Alister is a child of the streets in the city of Fellsmarch.  He does get a slight break from the city though…for some reason his mother has always sent him into the mountains in the summer, to spend the summer months at the Marisa Pines Camp with the Clans.  Between his two homes, Han has been a street lord, a thief, a ragpicker, a healer, a merchant and a warrior.  Because of his younger sister Mary though, Han has vowed never again to steal or practice his darker crafts, wanting something better for her and his Mam.

But when walking through the mountains with his friend Fire Dancer of the Marisa Pines Camp, Han sees three wizards start a fire on the sacred mountain. That is something neither he nor Dancer can ignore. They stop the young wizards, and to keep one from killing Dancer, Han demands his jinxpiece. The arrogant young wizard finally hands it over, and the boys leave them to try to deal with their out-0f-control magical fire.  Han has no idea that this encounter will change his life forever.

Inthe palace, Princess Raisa ana’Marianna is the Princess Heir, destined to rule the Queendom after her mother. She has no idea of the conditions  the poor people in her queendom live with on a daily basis. But when her childhood friend, Amon, returns from a three-year apprenticeship to take his rightful position in the Guard, Raisa convinces him to let her go into the city to see what are the issues her people must deal with.

Han is one of her people, running from the guard, who accuse him of murder, from the demons, who are hunting for him, and from his destiny, which is wrapped up in the jinxpiece he stole from the young wizard.  When he is cornered, he kidnaps Raisa, thinking she is a governess called Rebecca Morley.

Will Han be able to escape his pursuers? Will Raisa be able to help her people?  Will these two very different teenagers, separated by their circumstances, be able to work towards peace?

I really enjoyed the narration of this audio book. Carol Monda manages to keep track of dozens of characters and give each a different voice, relying on speech patterns, cadence and accents.

The story alternates between Han’s and Raisa’s stories; they know many of the same people, but from very different perspectives. When the story starts, both characters are fifteen, and headed towards their name days, the day where they turn sixteen and take on adult responsibilites.  Because of their circumstances though, both are already responsible for not only their own lives and destiny, but for many other people. Headstrong and proactive, they may be at odds, but they’re both trying to do the right thing.

I would recommend these books to kids in middle school and high school, and even adults who enjoy a good fantasy series. A good fifth grade fantasy fan would be able to enjoy them too.  There are currently four books in the series; I believe there will be seven titles.

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The Exiled Queen: A Seven Realms Novel
by Cinda Williams Chima, Narrated by Carol Monda
16 CDs, 17.75 Hours

This is the second book in the Seven Realms series.  Han and Raisa are both escaping from the queendom, Han because everyone he knows in the city has been murdered, Raisa because her mother tried to marry her off to a wizard, forbidden by the agreements put into place after The Breaking, a thousand years ago.

Both head to school at Oden’s Ford, where wizards, soldiers, diplomats, musicians and talented students are trained.  There, Han is set to learn wizardry, while Raisa, in disguise as Rebecca Morley, learns warfare, culture and diplomacy.  Both are concentrating exclusively on their studies, ignoring the social opportunities that the school offers. Neither knows the other is at Oden’s Ford, although they do have several friends in common.  Until one day, their paths cross again…

Like the first book, this is a wonderfully imagined fantasy.  There were a few times when I wanted to shake both characters (and a few of the minor characters as well) and tell them to stop being so pigheaded and open their eyes!  But that’s a minor quibble.  I still want to read or listen to the rest of the series, although I may take a break for a bit.  They’re long, and I need a little variety!

Again, these would be enjoyed by fantasy fans of all ages. Adults might find the teenage angst a little frustrating, but this would make a good listen for a car trip for a family with older kids.

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Wildwood
written by Colin Meloy, performed by Amanda Plummer
13 CDs, 15 Hours

Prue is a normal sixth grader with a horrible secret. When she was supposed to be watching her baby brother Mac, he was carried off by a murder of crows, lifted right off the playground and taken into the Impassable Wilderness on the outskirts of Portland.  Prue managed to keep the secret of what happened from her parents overnight, and the very next day she sets out to find her brother.

With help from Curtis, a super-hero drawing aquaintance with too much curiosity for his own good, the two find their way into the Wildwood, hoping to find Mac. Braving coyotes, magic, brigands and evil nannies, they bravely search for Mac.  Prue knows she can’t return home without him, but can she survive finding him?

Okay, this is it. The worst audio book I have ever attempted to listen to.  The story is full of adventure, danger and cliffhangers…but the narrator reads with a child-like lisp, her voice sing-songy and seemingly unconnected with the events of the story.  I couldn’t tell the differences between the characters at all. The pace was all over the place…slow in action scenes, slightly faster in slow scenes.  It was so soft that I couldn’t understand what the narrator was saying when I was driving.  I gave up.

Wildwood might work as an audio book for someone who is trying to go to sleep and doesn’t care about what the voice is reading.  But if you want to experience the adventure that this book offers, you’ll have to read it or find someone with a better grasp of the story to read it to you.

I never expected to write a review like this!  When I went back to the library and read the book, I realized that the reason for the narration style is provided in the last sentence of the story.  Unfortunately, that was too long for me to wait.  Maybe this issue is just with me, so if you listen to this audio book and enjoy it, let me know!

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And that’s it.  Next week, we should return to our regular schedule of Old Favorites on Tuesdays, the Teen Open Book newsletter every other Friday, and other reviews as we finish reading or listening.  Also keep your eyes out for our favorite summer reviews by students in the Summer Reading Program.

Until then, happy reading!

::Kelly::

Three Fantasy Audio Books Reviewed

Time for a few more audio reviews!  For some reason this month, they’re all fantasy-adventure stories.  I guess I have a type.

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Earwig and the Witch
by Diana Wynne Jones, Narrated by Charlotte Parry
1 CD, 1 Hour

Earwig was left on the steps of St Morwald’s Home for Children as a baby with a note pinned to her shawl:
Got the other twelve witches all chasing me.
I’ll be back for her when I’ve shook them off.
It may take years.
Her name is Earwig.

Of course, Matron didn’t believe that anyone would name a child Earwig, so she called her Erica Wigg. That never stuck though, and Earwig became…Earwig.

One of the interesting things about living in an orphanage is when people show up looking to foster children. Earwig always manages to avoid being chosen though, because she likes living at St. Morwald’s.  Where else would she be able to make everyone do whatever she wants? When potential foster parents come through, Earwig concentrates on looking unloveable. It’s always worked.

So when two strange people come in–the woman with one brown eye and one blue one in a mean face, with blue-rinsed hair and purple lipstick, wearing a brown suit with a green sweater and sky blue high-heeled boots,  the man just a tall black blur in the air–looking for a child, Earwig looks unloveable. It doesn’t work. The couple seems to see right through her concentration, and they take her. Earwig tries to refuse, but she has no grounds for an objection.  She goes to live with Bella Yaga and the Mandrake.

But the little house on Lime Street has some curious secrets. Why is it bigger on the inside than it is on the outside? Where are the doors to get out?  How can Thomas the cat speak to Earwig?  And what is Bella Yaga brewing in hter kitchen?  Soon Earwig has her hands full figuring out the mysteries of her new home and practicing magic, as well as trying to make her place in the world.

The narration for Earwig and the Witch is quite charming…I love the narrator’s matter-of-fact approach to telling the story.  All the characters have distinct voices and accents.

Earwig and the Witch was the last book Diana Wynne Jones completed before her death, and it’s an intriguing story.  Somehow though, it feels like it was only the beginning of a tale that is much longer and more involved.  I just wish she’d had the chance to write more about Earwig, Thomas and all the orphans at Saint Morwald’s.  But for a quick car trip or to introduce Diana Wynne Jones to younger readers, this would be an excellent choice.  I think kids as young as five would enjoy listening to Earwig’s story, and the book is aimed at second through fourth graders.

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Skulduggery Pleasant
by Derek Landy, Performed by Rupert Degas
6 CDs, 7 Hours, 30 minutes

Stephanie had always enjoyed her Uncle Gordon, even if he was a bit of a mystery. Part of that may be because he was a mystery writer, coming up with far-fetched horror plots where the hero never quite makes it through the book. But when Gordon dies and leaves the bulk of his estate to Stephanie, she’s as shocked as the rest of her family.

At the reading of the will, she meets the mysterious Skulduggery Pleasant. His only legacy from Gordon is a pithy piece of advice, but Stephanie is intrigued by his appearance. He wears a very fancy suit, gloves, a large hat, sunglasses and a scarf. There’s not a single bit of skin showing on his extremely thin frame. Stephanie and the rest of her family finds it very odd.

When Stephanie ends up alone in Gordon’s house–well, HER house now–overnight, she enjoys the time alone and the chance to read Gordon’s last manuscript.  Just after midnight, when she’s finished reading, someone starts banging on the door.  Stephanie tries to pretend she’s not there, but soon the prowler breaks into the house and attacks.  He apparently wants something that he thinks Gordon left to Stephanie–something that is hidden in the house. Something Stephanie has no idea exists.  She fights back, but Stephanie is no match for the mysteriously strong thug. She is saved by Skulduggery…who in the course of the fight reveals himself to be a living skeleton.

Stephanie is determined to learn what kind of craziness Uncle Gordon was involved in, and soon discovers that there is a whole other world which exists alongside the human world, populated by magic users, monsters and beings like Skulduggery, former humans transformed into something different by magic.  As she works alongside Skulduggery, trying to find out who is trying to kill her, she learns that she has some magic skills of her own…

The CD recording of Skulduggery Pleasant is fun to listen to.  I love the narrator’s accent, and his tone is full and rich.  I was at first taken aback by the bridges between chapters and scenes…most of them feature spooky music but there are also rattling bones, echoing footsteps, and sudden screams. (My poor dog practically jumped out of the car the first time she heard the screams on a car ride.)

The narrator’s voice is surprisingly deep, but there are so many menacing adult male characters in the story that his voice is perfect.  One thing that did throw me was that Skulduggery’s voice changed from disc to disc…on the first two CDs, he had a very deep voice with what sounded a bit like an American accent…but on the third CD, it was higher and had the same accent as most of the other characters.  It was a small flaw in an otherwise masterful recording.

Skulduggery Pleasant is both a mystery and a fantasy story.  It has two sequels–Playing with Fire and The Faceless Ones. The books do feature some magical fighting and contain some violence, so it’s probably better for older listeners.  I would recommend the books and the recordings to kids in fourth through seventh grade.

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Flora Segunda: Being the Magickal Mishaps of a Girl of Spirit, Her Glass-Gazing Sidekick, Two Ominous Butlers (One Blue), a House with Eleven Thousand Rooms, and a Red Dog
by Ysabeau S. Wilce, Performed by Danielle Ferland
10 CDs, 11.25 Hours

Flora Fyrdraaca has problems.  She’s the only Fyrdraaca at home, which makes her the one in charge of Crackpot Hall.  As if being fourteen and preparing for her Catorcena ceremony wasn’t enough, she has to clean a house with 11,000 rooms, muck out horses stalls, care for the family dogs and watch out for Poppy, her father who lives in his Eyrie away from everyone else at the top of the house, has temper tantrums that destroy rooms and cause more work for Flora.

Even if Flora’s Mamma was home, the responsibility would still fall to Flora. Mamma, after all, is the Rock of Califa, the Commanding General of the Army of Califa, second only to the Warlord who rules the country. She is much too grand and busy to worry about the upkeep of the house. It would be different for Flora if Mamma hadn’t banished the Fyrdraacan Denizen, the magical entity who IS the house. But she did, and that’s why nothing in Crackpot Hall works. Even though there are 11,000 rooms, only a handful are actually accessible regularly.

So when Flora takes a forbidden shortcut and ends up in the Library, a room she has never before seen, she just has to explore. And when a skinny boy comes out of the gloomy stacks and introduces himself as Valefor, the family butler, Flora is amazed at how much Fyrdraaca family history he knows. But when he tells her that she can restore him to the healthy magical Denizen of Crackpot Hall by giving him a tiny taste of her will, Flora is intrigued.  The pot is sweetened when he offers to restore some of the conveniences of the house with the rebuilding of his Will.  Flora will have help cleaning, and cooking, and have fresh towels and sheets and someone to talk to while her Mamma is away and Poppy is hiding in his Eyrie.  Flora agrees, and Valefor takes some energy.

Flora thought that things would get easier with Valefor’s help, but then Mamma comes home and she has to hide his presence. Mamma leaves shortly, but not before Flora’s snooping in Mamma’s office reveals that one of her heroes, the Dainty Pirate, is about to be hung.

Flora enlists her best friend Udo to help rescue the Dainty Pirate. But can two teenagers take on the entire forces of the country (not to mention the overlords and enemies of that country) to save one pirate? Some surprising people come to their aid, and some unsuspected villains are revealed as Flora and Udo take their lives into their hands to do what they think is right.

I loved the narrator of the Flora Segunda CD.  The language in the story is quite different from most books, with a little bit or exotic flavor. The narrator’s voice is quirky, and her accent is just right for this book.  There are terms thrown around that are not what you expect to hear, and yet they sound perfectly natural.  It feels like the listener is in an entirely different world.

Flora has to deal with some difficult issues in her life–her father has PTSD and drinks, her mother is away too much, her family tree is riddled with strange characters–yet her charm and innocence and determination comes through. But because of that, I would recommend both the book and the book on CD for kids in fifth through ninth grade.

And if you like Flora Segunda, try the two sequels: Flora’s Dare and Flora’s Fury.

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So if you’re in the mood for a good fantasy book of CD for a car trip, a bedtime listen, or just to play for fun, try one of these.  They’re sure to be a hit with the right listeners.

If you need suggestions for your next book on CD, please ask one of our librarians. We’ll be happy to help you find the perfect story for your family!

::Kelly::

Audio Reviews – Three series fantasy(ish) books!

These three books on CD have been waiting since February vacation to be reviewed!  All three are sort of fantasy…but not really.  One mysterious fantasy with some humor, one sort of dystopian science fantasy, and one fantasy alternate universe historical.

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Whales on Stilts
by M.T. Anderson, Read by Marc Cashman
3 CDs, 3 hours, 3 minutes

Lily Gefelty is a normal girl.  Sure, her hair hangs over her face so that she can only see out of one eye at a time, and her best friends both have their own book series, and her father works in an abandoned warehouse for an evil genius…but other than that, she’s pretty normal. Who knew that she’d soon be involved in a plot to take over the world?

The problem starts on Career Day when Lily’s dad, Mr. Gefelty, brings her to work. Mr. Gefelty is in sales, but he has to use the same secret door to the abandoned warehouse and check in with the receptionist, just like all the mad scientists do.  Lily can’t help but notice the secrecy about everything, the signage and guards everywhere.  Lily wants to linger and figure out what might be going on, but she can’t because (as her father tells her) the guards get nervous and start shooting if people don’t keep  moving.  Mr. Gefelty tells her that there’s no mysterious hidden agenda–the company is simply devoted to expanding cetacean pedestrian opportunities.

But when Lily meets Larry, her father’s boss, her suspicions only grow.  Larry is wearing a pin-striped suit, has bluish hands, and has a sack over his head with eye holes cut out for him to see.  There may even be the slightest hint of a tail under the suit. When Larry dumps a vat of briny water over his head in the middle of the conversation, no one even looks surprised. Despite her father’s reassurances, Lily knows something weird is going on.

Luckily, Lily’s best friends Jasper Dash, Boy Technonaut and Katie Mulligan (who doesn’t have a title but does have a book series of over 200 books dealing with her adventures with zombies, killer bugs, ghost teachers and other supernatural creatures) are ready and willing to help.  Between Lily’s investigation, Jasper’s inventions and Katie’s fighting skills, the kids think they can figure out what is going on.  But that’s when the whales appear, with lasers and stilts.  Can three kids save the world (or at least their town) from an unthinkable threat?

The audio book is read by Marc Cashman, who is a well-known voice actor. At the beginning, I thought the pacing was rather slow; as the story progressed, it became obvious that it started slow so that there could be better effects during the action-packed portions of the story. And the action-packed parts were very good!  The pace, tempo and emotions in the reader’s voice varied.

Whales on Stilts is a very quirky little story, but there was a lot in it. Whales on Stilts is the first book in M.T. Anderson’s Thrilling Tales: Pals in Peril. Each book features a story that’s a unique blend of mystery, laughs and thrills…sort of like the Hardy Boys were fighting a villain from Saturday morning cartoons alongside  Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with Anastasia Krupnik helping them.  It’s a blend that might appeal to parents as well as elementary school listeners.

I’d recommend this to fans of Goosebumps and detective series books. It might be a little frightening (or incomprehensible) to kids younger than second grade.  It’s a fun, short book for a car trip.  If you listen to the CD, make sure you look at the book as well…the illustrations are funny, and add a lot of extra clues to the story.

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The Queen of Attolia
by Megan Whalen Turner, Performed by Jeff Woodman
8 CDs, 9 hours

In this sequel to The Thief, Eugenides is still working for Eddis, his queen, trying to get information to aid their kingdom.  However, things are not going quite as well this time, and Gen is on the run.  Even though he’s slipped in and out of the palace of Attolia hundreds of time, this time, he’s been cornered. With the Queen of Attolia anticipating his every action, Gen uses all his skills to escape, but in the end he is captured and thrown into Attolia’s prison.

Although Eddis manages to ransom him, Gen is first subjected to an ancient punishment for thievery…his hand is cut off.  Sent back to Eddis one-handed and in terrible shape, Eugenides has to recover his health, his sense of adventure and his skills as a thief…and deal with his feelings for the Queen of Attolia.

During his recovery, war has erupted between Attolia and Eddis. Once he’s recovered, Gen knows that he is the one to end that war…and so Eugenides, Queen’s Thief of Eddis takes back his mantle and comes up with a plan.  All he has to do is has to steal a man, steal a war, steal a queen…and win a kingdom.

The audio book is read by Jeff Woodman, who also read The Thief (as well as the other sequels The King of Attolia and A Conspiracy of Kings.)  His voice is light and believable–which is not easy when the character he’s reading is hiding so many things!  He does a great job with all the characters, using his phrasing and tone to distinguish between their voices.

I love this series, and I love both the book and the audio rendition of The Queen of Attolia.  There are a lot of things going on in this, both on the surface and hidden beneath.  Little clues are interspersed throughout the unfolding story, and the reader or listener has to be watching to catch them all.  It’s difficult to talk about this story without worrying that you’ll be giving too much away!  All the Megan Whalen Turner’s books are stories where, if you go back and re-read, you’ll find all kinds of nuances that may have been missed or misinterpreted the first time around.

I’d recommend The Queen of Attolia to middle and high school readers, just because of the sophistication of the story.  Adults would enjoy it too.  Fantasy fans in fifth grade who enjoyed The Thief would enjoy this book too.  I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys Diana Wynne Jones, Neil Gaiman or Terri Pratchett.

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The Unwanteds
by Lisa McCann, Narrated by Simon Jones
6 CDs, 7.5 hours

Every year in Quill, thirteen-year-olds are sorted into three categories: Necessaries, Wanteds and Unwanteds. The Necessaries go on to do the boring, routine jobs that keep the city operating.  The intelligent and strong Wanteds go to the University and learn how to govern the walled city. And the artistic Unwanteds are sent to the Death Farm to be terminated.

Alex has known he would be an Unwanted since the day he was caught drawing with a stick in the dirt.  He doesn’t mind leaving his Necessary parents, but he regrets his separation from his twin, Aaron, who’s been declared Wanted.  He’s extremely hurt therefore, when Aaron turns his back and walks away as if it doesn’t matter…as if HE doesn’t matter. Crushed, Alex mounts the steps to the bus that will take him and  the 22 other Unwanteds purged this cycle. Their journey will end outside the gates the city. All the Unwanteds know that their fate is to be tossed into the lake of boiling oil on the Death Farm.

Instead, all the children are surprised after the Quillitary bus leaves, and the guardians and soldiers they expect to lead them to their death instead throw off their disguises and reveal the hidden land of Artime, a creative paradise run by the enigmatic Mr. Tomorrow, where statues talk, magic is learned, and every Unwanted ever purged from Quill survives and thrives. The children are given rooms and lessons, learning how to paint, make music, dance and sing.

Even as the Unwanteds learn creative magic and art, they are also being taught spells of destruction.  For if they are ever discovered, Quill will try to destroy them.  But Alex cannot forget Aaron, and wants his twin to join him. The bond between twins is strong, and Alex thinks to use that to rescue his brother. While Aaron is working to better Quill, Alex is trying to find a way to reunite them. Will Alex’s longing for his brother cost Artime the ultimate price?

The narrator of The Unwanteds audio book has a gravelly, very deep voice, which threw me at first.  It seemed too harsh for the story at first. But in a land where statues talk, as do flying turtles, it turned out that the narrator was perfect for the story. He’s just as convincing as a thirteen-year old-boy and a twelve-year-old girl l as he is at voicing a seven-foot granite statue.

The Unwanteds has been described as a blend of Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, and that really is an apt description.  It has the magic and heart of Harry Potter, and the dystopian fight-to-the-death background of The Hunger Games.  I think it’s a little more accessible to younger readers than The Hunger Games, but there’s almost as much mayhem and destruction in the final battle.  It is aimed at grades five through eight, and that is definitely the audience that will appreciate it most.  There’s definitely some disturbing violence at the end, as the battle between Quinn and Artime comes to a head.

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So if you’re looking for a good book on CD for your next vacation car trip, try one of these titles.  And let us know if you’d like these titles.  If you have any suggestions for other books to listen to as a family or as an individual, ask one of our librarians!  We’re here to help.

::Kelly::