Ever try listening to a book? I have a very long commute every day, and I
would be lost without hearing someone read a really good book to me! Of course, the narrator makes all the
difference. If the book is not narrated well, you will come away thinking it
was terrible. On the other hand, a great narrator can make even a mediocre book
interesting and enjoyable. Here are a few that stood out for me.
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr.
This one’s narrated by Alyssa Bresnahan.
The narration is mysterious and captivating, telling a story of a modern
day teenage girl who has the questionable gift of being able to see the fey
people, faeries who live among us and wreak havoc on unsuspecting humans. When
the fey king, Keenan, begins following her and tempting her to join him as his
queen, thus giving up her human life forever, she is terrified. This is the first in a series, and the only
one narrated by Bresnahan. I feel it to
be the best in the series.
Patrick Ness wrote A Monster Calls based on an idea of
fellow author and friend, Siobhan Dowd, who died of cancer before she could put
her idea to paper. It is a story of grief, and coming to terms with the loss of
a loved one. Narrator Jason Isaacs puts a strange dreamlike quality to the
narrative that makes the story almost surreal.
It’s a short one, only 4 hours’ worth of listening here, and I recommend
it highly.
We already know that Daniel Krauss’s stories peg out the
creep meter, and Rotters is no exception. It’s about grave robbers, and the
teenage son of a master robber who is drawn into the field. Kirby Heyborne’s
talent for voices is amazing and his narration will stick with you for a long
time. This one won the Odyssey Award (American Library Association award for
excellence in narration of a Young Adult book), and it is well deserved! I don't suggest listening to this one late at night, but if you do,
keep the lights on!
Libba Bray’s satirical book Beauty Queens is read by
the author. I am not usually a big fan of author narrations (I much preferred
Tim Curry’s narration of the Lemony Snicket books to the author’s) but in this
case Bray does a fine job adding life and personality to the various beauty pageant
entrants who have crash landed on a deserted island and are forced to exist
without makeup and costume changes (gasp!). This one’s purely for fun!
Boy, can A. S. King write!
I just LOVE her books. Ask the Passengers is a coming of
age and self-discovery story of a young girl who finds it much easier to trust
people she does not know who fly over her yard in commercial jets than her
family and friends. Devon Sorvari lends
her voice to this one, and the narration is sweet and gentle.
And, last but not least, let’s not forget The
Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. Allan Corduner lends his voice to Death,
the narrator of this unforgettable story of Nazi Germany and a little girl
named Lisle who witnesses things she cannot understand. One of my all-time
favorite teen books, this audio version is stellar!
Happy listening!
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