Hello Audiophiles!
Ah, air travel, the chaos-ridden, anxiety-inducing practice of flinging normally grounded members of the human species into the air. At least, that’s what it feels like to me. I never really flew a lot until I started dating a guy from the opposite side of the country. And I quickly realized that flying was not my favorite, to say the least. Now that my spouse and I have been together for over a decade, I think it’s safe to say that I at least know what I’m doing now.
As a disabled person, flying is especially draining. Huge airports, tiny amounts of leg room, and the inability to lift heavy objects into the carry-on storage bins in the plane tend to make my trip quite an adventure. And oh, right, and we’re in a pandemic.
To help counterbalance my anxiety, I spend a ridiculous amount of time choosing the audiobooks for my trip. This time, I decided to start listening to some middle grade novels that have been on my TBR for far too long.
Recent Listens
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As someone with a disabling chronic illness, I always have to take some time off to recover from traveling. So I’ve spent this past weekend resting up after my trip up to Kentucky to visit my parents. I ended up listening to SEVEN middle grade novels that have been sitting around just waiting for me to finally choose them to read.
Like I mentioned in last week’s newsletter, I started with Jasmine Warga’s The Shape of Thunder (narrated by Reena Dutt and Jennifer Jill Araya), which follows a biracial Lebanese American girl after her sister is killed in a school shooting. What’s worse, her best friend’s brother was the shooter. This audiobook is incredible and is a great way to start difficult conversations with the kids in your life.
I then moved on to Amina’s Song, the sequel to Amina’s Voice (both narrated by Soneela Nankani). Amina returns from visiting her dad’s family in Pakistan and starts school. But middle school is so complicated. I loved this novel, and it was one of my top listens of the weekend.
Rajani LaRocca published two books last year, including Red, White, and Whole (narrated by Priya Ayyar) and Much Ado About Baseball (narrated by Ariana Delawari and Eddie Lopez). She’s so busy! I also read the new novel How to Find What You’re Not Looking For by Veera Hiranandani (narrated by Priya Ayyar). The novel follows Ariel, a Jewish girl in the 1960s. Her older sister has just eloped and married an Indian man, and now Ariel’s parents refuse to acknowledge that Ariel even has an older sister.
But my favorite of the group was Omar Rising, a companion novel to Amal Unbound. Aisha Saeed outdid herself with this novel. Vikas Adam performs the audiobook. The man can really do no wrong. Omar gets a scholarship to go to a prestigious school for boys, but when he arrives, he realizes that the whole system is set up for boys like him to fail.
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In case you were wondering what the Corgis were doing while I was away, they spent some quality time with their dad. When I got back, Gwenllian snuggled with me, asking me to make up for all the pets I missed while I was gone.
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
New Releases
A Duet for Home by Karina Yan Glaser
June lives with her family in a homeless shelter called Huey House. But she’s not allowed to bring her beloved viola. Determined to change things for other kids like her, June pushes back, trying to make a better place for her and the other residents of Huey House.
Narrated by Sura Siu and Preston Butler III
Aru Shah and the Nectar of Immortality by Roshani Chokshi
In one of my favorite middle grade series, Roshani Chokshi has told us the story of Aru Shah and her sisters as they try to save the world from the Sleeper. Now the final book is here, and my heart is not ready.
Narrated by Soneela Nankani
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
The author of the smash hit sensation Station Eleven is back with another novel. Like many of her other novels, Sea of Tranquility is told over the course of several different sections that take place over the course of a long period of time. I love this episodic type of novel and can’t wait to listen to it!
Narrated by John Lee, Dylan Moore, Arthur Morey, and Kirsten Potter
He Who Fights with Monsters, Vol 5 by Shirtaloon (Travis Deverell)
I’ve had this audiobook pre-ordered for months. I love listening to Jason as he moves through this world of monsters in a video game-like environment. This is Vol 5 of the bind up of the serial story, so not exactly a novel. But definitely still lots of fun.
Narrated by Heath Miller
Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow
Memphis follows three generations of Southern Black women. Joan is an artist, and finds comfort in painting portraits of people from her community in the city. As we meet more of her family members, we begin to understand the past Joan is trying to forget and the future that she’s trying to make.
Narrated by Karen Murray, Adenrele Ojo, and Tara Stringfellow
That’s it for this week! You can find me over on my substack Winchester Ave or over on Instagram @kdwinchester. As always, feel free to drop me a line at kendra.d.winchester@gmail.com. For even MORE audiobook content, you can find my articles over on Book Riot.
Happy listening, bookish friends!
~ Kendra