April 2020 Audiobook Listening Copies (ALCs)

Space Struck

“Tremulous with star-pulsed stanzas as patiently alchemical as they are spontaneously acrobatic. . . [Lewis is] one of the most delightful, bewitching, and thoughtful voices I have ever encountered.”

Benjamin, Harvard Book Store

Little Family

“Little Family by Ishmael Beah is a powerful story of paradox of the effects of war and the determined human spirit to not only survive but to forge connection and community. Beah intricately develops his characters, while also conveying the landscape of their environment. This is an important perspective on coming-of-age that shouldn't be missed. Highly recommend.”

Tina, Leaves Book and Tea Shop

Death in Her Hands

“While on her daily walk in the woods with her dog, and elderly widow finds a handwritten note on the ground that seems to describe the details of a murder. Without evidence of a body, or any other visible clues to go on, the unreliable and quirky narrator somehow becomes obsessed with the mystery and sets out to solve it. Death in Her Hands is a truly strange and poetic psychological suspense novel and probably nothing like anything you have ever read before! The reading performance by Ann Marie Lee adds a rich layer to the narrator’s voice.”

Noelle, Oblong Books

Together

“Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World by Vivek Murthy is a well-articulated case for supporting human connection from a public health point of view. Murthy provides stories, medical reasoning, and strategies to apply in this playbook for connection. It's a timely read, especially in an environment that has required social distancing and isolation.”

Tina, Leaves Book and Tea Shop

National Book Award winner and MacArthur Genius Fellow Charles Johnson reflects on the joys of being a grandparent in this warm, inspiring collection of wisdom and life lessons—the ideal gift for any new parent or grandparent

An award-winning novelist, philosopher, essayist, screenwriter, professor and cartoonist, Charles Johnson has held... Read more »

The Imperfects

“After the death of Grandma, three siblings and their estranged mother gather to grieve at Grandma's run-down home. The three grandchildren were essentially raised by the Grandmother due to their Mother's abandonment. Bec, who was the closest to Grandma, is the designated executor of the will. She inherits a junky-looking broach that she had never seen her Grandmother wear. Eventually, after research, she discovers that it is the Florentine Diamond, which has been missing for many years. Let the games begin... The story goes on to weave all of the human emotions that the family members deal with including grief, sibling rivalry, and unresolved mother issues. The Imperfects is well-written and intriguing. The narration is done by one of my favorites, Cassandra Campbell.”

Melinda, Buttonwood Books and Toys

The writers behind the blockbuster hits Bad Moms and A Bad Moms Christmas and the acclaimed author of No Happy Endings join forces in this hilarious novelization of the hit movie franchise.

What happens when a trio of overworked and underappreciated good moms get pushed beyond their limits? They turn "bad"—ditch the kids, the housework, and their...

Simon the Fiddler

“Simon Boudlin’s passion is to be the best fiddle player there is, beholden to no one and following his muse wherever it takes him. But when he meets the beautiful Doris Aherne, his plans change. Paulette Jiles once again captures the great promise and sweeping beauty of the Texas frontier in cinematic prose as poetic and lyrical as the tunes that pour forth from the fiddler himself. Simon joins that great pantheon of strivers for a better life, and readers will root for him every step of the way. Fans of News of the World can rejoice — with Simon the Fiddler, Jiles has done it again!”

Peter Sherman, Wellesley Books

Candace Bushnell, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Sex and the City, and Katie Cotugno, New York Times bestselling author of 99 Days, team up to write a fierce, propulsive novel about a girl who is preyed upon by a manipulative teacher and finds the power to fight back. Perfect for fans of Courtney Summers and Laurie Halse Anderson.

It...

A bittersweet and humorous memoir of family—of the silence and ignorance that separate us, and the blood and stories that connect us—from an award-winning New York Times writer and comedian.

Approaching his 30 birthday, Sopan Deb had found comfort in his day job as a writer for the New York Times and a practicing comedian. But his stage material...

Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel

“This wonderful story is told alternately from the point of view of a young child, Tilly, and from the point of view of her adult self, Tilda. Tilly, who may or may not see ghosts, introduces a mixed bag of mostly lovable characters and asks a whole lot of questions. Did her mother kill her father and abandon her? Who is the man in the black hat? Why couldn’t she stay with Queenie? After her mother’s death, Tilda returns to Queenie’s Paradise Hotel and mysteries are revealed as Tilda explores her mother’s diaries, filling in the empty spaces in her past. Jane Collingwood effortlessly and believably narrates both Tilly’s delightfully honest, and often humorous childish voice and Tilda’s angst-ridden adult voice. I highly recommend this book!”

Becky, Rediscovered Books

From New York Times bestselling author Kate White comes a gripping novel about one woman’s dangerous quest to recover lost memories someone would rather she never find.

The key to her missing memories could bring relief—or unlock her worst nightmares.

On a cold, rainy morning, finance journalist Ally Linden arrives soaked to the bone at her...

Based on the true history of the uncrowned kings of Sicily: the story of a family, restless and ambitious, shrewd and determined to be richer and more powerful than anybody else. 

In this grand, sweeping epic inspired by the real lives of history-making titans, international best-selling author Stefania Auci brings to life the dark secrets, the...

Meet the SOCIETY OF SIRENS—three radical, libertine ladies determined to weaponize their scandalous reputations to fight for justice and the love they deserve…

She’s a Rakess on a quest for women’s rights…

Seraphina Arden’s passions include equality, amorous affairs, and wild, wine-soaked nights. To raise funds for her cause, she’s set to publish...

"With Radical Acts of Love, Janie Brown demonstrates the power of a book to transform, in fact to turn things upside down. She turns death into life, despair into hope, sorrow into joy, and pain into love with these twenty astonishing encounters with the dying. We all know somewhere in the back of our minds that a deeper understanding and... Read more »

INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER

"Travel to the land of Couldn't Be More Timely."--Margaret Atwood on Lean Out, in the West End Phoenix

"What begins as one woman's critique of our culture of overwork and productivity ultimately becomes an investigation into our most urgent problems: vast inequality, loneliness, economic precarity, and isolation from... Read more »

On the Horizon

“This brief (and true!) narrative in verse has more to it than most 300-plus paged books. Read by the author herself (does Louis Lowry really need an introduction?), ON THE HORIZON gives a snap shot of Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima through the scope of her life as a young girl playing on the beach in Hawaii as the ill-fated USS Arizona passes behind her unnoticed to its berth, to her adulthood at the end of the century, having lived in Tokyo and moved back to the states. This book gives a face to the victims and survivors of both tragedies, expertly illustrates how there are no true winners in war, and shows us that the world is far smaller than we think it is. It is breathtaking and it is perfection.”

Conner, BookBar

The List of Things That Will Not Change

“Rebecca Stead has written yet another layered novel about familial love in its myriad of forms. When her parents divorce, Bea is given a journal to write down things that will remain constant in her life. When her dad announces that he is marrying his boyfriend Jesse, Bea is excited to gain a sister. With the help of her notebook and her kind therapist, Bea is ahor.ble to work through her feelings (mostly her anger management ones). It's a quiet book that will resonate with Stead’s fans and hopefully garner new ones.”

Valerie, Blue Willow Bookshop

An Odyssey Honor audiobook and National Book Award Finalist, this remarkable graphic novel—adapted for audio—is about growing up in a refugee camp, as told by a former Somali refugee to the Newbery Honor-winning creator of Roller Girl.

Omar and his younger brother, Hassan, have spent most of their lives in Dadaab, a refugee camp in Kenya. Life... Read more »

Redhead by the Side of the Road

“Anne Tyler's gift for making the mundane details of a somewhat boring life into a delightful story is seemingly endless. Micah the Tech Hermit is my hero!”

Becky, Rediscovered Books