Michael Crouch – The Hub

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2023) Featured Review of All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir

All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir
Narrated by Deepti Gupta, Kamran R. Khan, Kausar Mohammed
Books on Tape, Listening Library
Publication Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 9780593502235

When Misbah passes, she leaves behind her son, Salahudin, who will do anything to keep her legacy, the Clouds’ Rest Inn Motel running. His father is spiraling from grief and alcoholism and his best friend, Noor, is no longer speaking with him since The Fight. Noor is doing all she can to make her way to college, while her uncle does his best to prevent her. In the end, Salahudin makes some decisions that put both his and Noor’s futures on the line.

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2022) Featured Review of In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner

In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner; narrated by Michael Crouch
Listening Library
Release date: August 8, 2021
ISBN: 9780593399040

Cash and his friend Delaney are barely surviving in their small Appalachian town. Cash is being raised by his grandparents after his mother succumbed to opioid addiction, and Delaney is running from drug dealers and an unstable home while working at Dairy Queen. A small but profound scientific discovery by Delaney gives her leverage to earn them both places at a prestigious boarding school. Cash is torn between going and leaving behind the grandparents who have raised him and grabbing the otherwise unattainable opportunities the scholarship would give him. Convinced by Delaney to go to the new school, he discovers his inner poet, and goes through many coming of age experiences.

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2022) Featured Review of We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This by Rachel Lynn Solomon

We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This by Rachel Lynn Solomon; Narrated by Carly Robbins
Simon and Schuster Audio
Release date: June 8, 2021
ISBN: 9781797123639

Wedding harpist Quinn has just graduated high school and her life has been laid out for her: attend business school nearby while continuing to help out with her parents’ wedding planning business, just as her older sister did. But Quinn is burnt out on love, especially after last summer when she confessed her feelings for wedding caterer Tarek and he vanished off to college without a reply. This summer he’s back and they keep getting thrown together to solve wedding emergencies, all while Quinn navigates telling her parents she doesn’t want to be a wedding planner and learning to build harps.

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2022) Featured Review of Some Girls Do by Jennifer Dugan

Some Girls Do Audiobook by Jennifer Dugan cover art

Some Girls Do by Jennifer Dugan; narrated by Nora Hunter & Bailey Carr
Penguin Random House
Published: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 9780593397862

After track star Morgan is kicked out of her religious school for being queer, she wants a fresh, proud, start. However she finds that being openly queer and an elite athlete can be a complicated mix. All Ruby wants is to fix cars, but her overbearing mother has pageant dreams for her. When the two find their feelings growing they must contend with the dynamics of a relationship where only one person is out.

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2022) Featured Review of Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean

Tokyo Ever After Audiobook by Emiko Jean - 9781250804167

Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean, narrated by Ali Ahn
Macmillan Audio
Release date: May 17, 2021
ISBN: 978-1250804167

First book of the Tokyo Ever After series, the story begins with a report from a newspaper about an unnamed princess. Juxtaposed between each news article, Izumi struggles with the “cultural punches” of beauty standards, not knowing her father, and being a unilingual Pan-Asian. When her friend Nora accidentally stumbles across a scrapbook with a name, Izumi has to decide whether she wants to learn more about her father, her father’s family, and herself.

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2022) Featured Review of Lore by Alexandra Bracken

LORE by Alexandra Bracken, read by Fryda Wolff - Audiobook Extract by Hachette Children's

Lore by Alexandra Bracken; narrated by Fryda Wolff
Disney Hyperion
Publication Date: January 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1368075107

Lore, or Melora Perseous, is a fighter who knows she is destined for greatness despite her family’s ignominious reputation. She has steadfastly avoided the bloodbath of the Agon, a punishment of nine Greek gods that dooms them to be hunted by the Greek families and killed for their power. That stubborn resistance to becoming a hunter is tested when Castor, her childhood friend and beloved companion, returns–seemingly from the dead as a new deity. Her resolve is further tested when Athena shows up on Lore’s doorstep with a mortal wound, a vendetta, and a way to bind Lore through oath to keep Athena safe.

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2021) Nominees Round Up, December 9 Edition

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

The Talk: Conversations About Race, Love & Truth edited by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson; Narrated by Fajer Al-Kaisi, Feodor Chin, Gisela Chípe, Michael Crouch, Janina Edwards, James Fouhey, Renata Friedman, Catherine Ho, Nicole Lewis, Omar Leyva, Guy Lockard, Jesus E. Martinez, and Lisa Renee Pitts
Listening Library
Publication Date: August 11, 2020
ISBN: 978-0593121610

Through poetry, essays, lists, and letters, The Talk gives 17 different conversations that delve into race, racism, identity, and self-esteem. Coming from a variety of experiences, which are often intergenerational and intersectional, this is a conversation starter for dissecting structural racism, moves to be more antiracist, and ways to be more inclusive with a focus on being affirming to listeners.

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2021) Nominees Round Up, July 22 Edition

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

Furious Thing by Jenny Downham; narrated by Jenny Downham
Scholastic Audio
Publication Date: January 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1338605259

Lex is a highschool student that has always had issues controlling her anger, often justified anger at circumstances in her life, and of those she loves. Once her mother becomes engaged to a very controlling and manipulative man, Lex soon realizes that standing up for those you love, and expressing her pain and anger is not a burden, but her gift.

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2021) Nominees Round Up, April 22 Edition

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

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson; narrated by Bailey Carr, Marisa Calin, Michael Crouch, Gopal Divan, Robert Fass, Kevin R. Free, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Carol Monda, Patricia Santomasso, Shezi Sardar, and Amanda Thickpenny
Listening Library
Publication date: February 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1984896360

Pippa has never felt settled about a murder in her town that happened 5 years ago. A girl went missing, and the prime suspect died from apparent suicide before a trial was held.

As part of a school project she takes on trying to find out what really happened. She ends up working alongside the younger brother of the accused murderer and they uncover a twisting tale finding many people in unfavorable light. Through Pippa’s notebook entries, interviews, and more we hear the story unfold.