Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2022) Featured Review of Middletown by Sara Moon

Middletown by Sarah Moon | Audiobook cover art

Middletown by Sarah Moon, narrated by Hope Newhouse
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Release date: April 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1662083341

The story opens with thirteen year old Eli sleeping with her seventeen year old sister, Anna, while waiting for her mom to come home after a night of drinking. This time, their mom is caught drunk driving for the second time and is sentenced to mandatory rehab for at least 90 days. Anna and Eli struggle to find money to pay the bills and feed themselves while attending school and navigating parent-teacher conferences. On top of this, Eli has feelings for one of her best friends, Mina. At the same time, she finds out that Anna was sexually harassed by the coach at her high school and tries to encourage other girls to speak up. When the schools try to get in contact with a guardian and send a social worker to their home, Anna and Eli run away to try and find a place where they belong.

The narrator does a great job of capturing the different female voices within the story. The audiobook captures the pacing and progression of the story in an engaging way.

Similar to Crank by Ellen Hopkins, this story draws attention to the resilience required to overcome addiction and continue to be in relationship with family and friends. For readers who enjoy texts about being resilient, try Parenthesis by Élodie Durand, No Longer Human by Junji Ito, and The Sea in Winter by Christine Day.

– Caitlyn Seale 


The Selected Lists teams read throughout the year in search of the best titles published in their respective categories. Once a book is suggested (either internally or through the title suggestion form), it must pass through a review process to be designated an official nomination. 
Each week, the teams feature a review of one of the officially nominated titles. Additional titles to receive this designation are listed as well. At year’s end, the team will curate a final list from all nominated titles and select a Top Ten. The previous years’ lists are available on The Hub.

Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2020) Nominees Round Up, July 11 Edition

Click here to see all of the current Great Graphic Novels nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

The Avant-Guards, vol. 1 by Carly Usdin and Noah Hayes
Boom! Studios
ISBN: 978-1684153670
Publication Date: September 3, 2019

When Charlie transfers to The Georgia O’Keefe College for Arts and Subtle Dramatics, she thought she was done with basketball and the pressures of college athletics. Struggling to fit in and feel comfortable in a strange new environment, the last thing she wants is the added pressures of basketball on top of everything else. She doesn’t count on Liv, the passionate and exuberant basketball player determined to start a women’s league at O’Keefe. With Liv’s drive and help from the other quirky yet welcoming members of the team, Charlie realizes that this squad might not stress her out like the previous team she fled in the past. Also, She may have found the kind of friends she was looking for—and maybe even a new girlfriend.

Continue reading Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2020) Nominees Round Up, July 11 Edition

Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2020) Nominees Round Up, May 9 Edition

Click here to see all of the current Great Graphic Novels nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

Smashed: Junji Ito Story Collection by Junji Ito
VIZ Media
Publication Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1421598468 

A collection of thirteen terrifying tales by the Japanese master of horror, Junji Ito. From your average suburban landscape to high schools, libraries, rivers and parks, no place is safe from Ito! In his deft hands, a haunted house becomes something to truly fear. He makes the mundane monstrous, and the monstrous something truly spooky that will get under your skin, with just the right amount of gore and humor for new readers and dedicated fans. Read with the lights on!

Continue reading Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2020) Nominees Round Up, May 9 Edition