Behind the Mic With Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus young readers’ editor Laura Simeon suggests three
middle-grade audiobooks that invite listening across generations, beginning with Anna James’s Alice With a Why, where Kristin Atherton’s graceful, finely tuned narration captures both the whimsy and emotional intelligence of this return to Wonderland. Jodi Meadows’ Confessions From the Group Chat offers a sharply observed look at middle-school dynamics, with Eevin Hartsough delivering a natural, conversational performance that makes Virginia’s missteps feel immediate and deeply human. And in Relic Hamilton, Genie Hunter, British author and former Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho narrates his own fast-moving, imaginative adventure with energy and warmth, anchoring its time travel and mythmaking in a voice that feels personal and inviting. These are three engaging middle-grade stories, elevated by narrators who bring clarity, nuance, and a strong sense of voice to every moment.

 

 Audiobooks Discussed:

Alice With a Why by Anna James, read by Kristin Atherton (Listening Library)

Confessions From the Group Chat by Jodi Meadows, read by Eevin Hartsough (Recorded Books)

Relic Hamilton, Genie Hunter by Joseph Coelho, read by Joseph Coelho
(Dreamscape)

 

Support for Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollinsFocus and HarperCollinsChristianPublishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Colleen Coble, Mark Harmon, Jennie Allen, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and many more.

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Contributor Alan Minskoff joins host Jo Reed to talk about three notable books—from George Saunders, Xochitl Gonzalez, and Lauren Groff—that offer rich and rewarding listening. They begin with George Saunders’s Vigil, an inventive, full-cast production featuring Judy Greer, Stephen Root, and McLeod Andrews, where a youthful ghost serves as a death doula to an unrepentant oil tycoon. The conversation then turns to Xochitl Gonzalez’s Last Night in Brooklyn, narrated compellingly by Elizabeth Rodriguez, a sharp, observant look at friendship, ambition, and gentrification in mid-2000s Brooklyn. They conclude with Lauren Groff’s Brawler, a collection of emotionally resonant stories read with empathy and thoughtful restraint by the author herself.  Together, these audiobooks show how skillful narration—from full casts to author performances—can deepen the emotional and imaginative reach of contemporary fiction.

 

Audiobooks Discussed:

Vigil
by George Saunders, read by Judy Greer, Stephen Root, MacLeod Andrews, Kimberly Farr, Mark Bramhall, Barrett Leddy, Eric Jason Martin, Karissa Vacker, Sunil Malhotra, Cassandra Campbell, Kimberly M. Wetherell, Aaron Goodson, Maggi-Meg Reed, George Saunders, and a Full Cast (Random House Audio)

LastNight in Brooklyn by Xochitl Gonzalez, read by Elizabeth Rodriguez
(Macmillan Audio)

Brawler
by Lauren Groff, read by the author (Penguin Audio)

 

Support for Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollinsFocus and HarperCollinsChristianPublishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Colleen Coble, Mark Harmon, Jennie Allen, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and many more.

 

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Host Jo Reed and contributor Stephen Cummings begin with Escape by Stephen Fischbach, an Earphones Award winner narrated by Julia Whelan, Imani Jade Powers, and Sean Patrick Hopkins; it’s a debut novel that digs into the machinations of reality TV and the costs of reinvention. Next they turn to Paper Cut by Rachel Taff, narrated by Helen Laser, a sharp exploration of true crime culture that follows a former cult member facing renewed scrutiny when a documentarian wants to revisit her past. Finally, they discuss the Earphones-winning Crown City by Naomi Hirahara, narrated by Brian Nishii, a richly observed social history threaded with a mystery as a newly arrived Japanese immigrant navigates 1903 Pasadena. Together, the three audiobooks—and their narrators—offer distinct portraits of pressure, survival, and the long reach of the past.

 

Audiobooks Discussed:

 

Escape! by Stephen
Fishbach, read by Julia Whelan, Imani Jade Powers, Sean Patrick Hopkins, and Stephen Fishbach (Penguin Audio)

 

Paper Cut by Rachel
Taff, read by Helen Laser (Harper Audio)

 

Crown City by Naomi Hirahara, read by Brian Nishii (Recorded Books)

 

Support for Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus and HarperCollinsChristianPublishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Colleen Coble, Mark Harmon, Jennie
Allen, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and many more.

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Host Jo Reed and contributor Alex Ritchie dive into three striking audiobooks, beginning with Half His Age, Jennette McCurdy’s
unsettling and sharply observed debut novel, narrated by the author in a style that mirrors its protagonist’s fragile bravado. Jo and Alex then travel to 15th-century Italy with Graceless Heart by Isabel Ibañez, where Beatrice
Grannò’s lyrical narration illuminates both the sensuality of the setting and
the pulse of magic running through the novel’s political intrigue. Finally,
they explore The Book of Blood and Roses by Annie Summerlee, brought
into vivid focus by Katie Leung’s clear, quietly magnetic delivery, which
grounds the paranormal elements while sharpening the story’s emotional
undercurrents. The conversation highlights how a narrator can deepen a book’s atmosphere, shape its emotional stakes, and transform the entire listening experience.

 

Audiobooks Discussed:

HalfHis Age, written and read by Jennette McCurdy (Random House Audio)

 

Graceless Heart by Isabel Ibañez,
read by Beatrice Grannò  (Macmillan Audio)

 

The Book of Blood and Roses by Annie
Summerlee, read by Katie Leung (Penguin Audio)

 

 

Support for Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollinsFocus and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, publishers of some of your favorite
audiobooks and authors, including Colleen Coble, Mark Harmon, Jennie Allen, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and many more.

 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Jo Reed and contributor Leslie Fine kick off their discussion of rule-breaking new thrillers with Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino, performed by Cia Court, in which a competitive housing market becomes the breeding ground for obsession. They turn to The Sunshine Man by Emma Stonex, narrated by Edward Rowe and Meg Salter, a tense story of revenge that widens into an exploration of class, trauma, and the moments that define a life. Finally, they consider Girl Dinner by Olivie E. Blake, a sorority-set satire with sharp dialogue and darker implications, told through the alternating performances of Stephanie Nameth-Parker and Rita Amparita. Across all three titles, the conversation underscores how the right voices can amplify a thriller’s tension, humor, and emotional stakes.

Audiobooks Discussed:

Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino, read by Cia Court (Macmillan Audio)

The Sunshine Man
by Emma Stonex, read by Edward Rowe and Meg Salter
(Penguin Audio)

Girl Dinner by Olivie Blake, read by Stephanie Nemeth-Parker and Rita Amparita
(Macmillan Audio)

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