natalie naudus – The Hub

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2023) Featured Review of Dead End Girls by Wendy Heard

Dead End Girls by Wendy Heard
Narrated by Natalie Naudus and Taylor Meskimen
Hachette Audio / Christy Ottaviano Books
Publication Date: May 10, 2022
ISBN: 9781668613238

After years of careful planning, Maude is ready to die. Or rather, to pretend to die. She’s ready to leave her life- her awkward relationship with her step-family and their wealth, her friends, her school, everything she’s ever known – behind. Everything is in place, but right before things start in motion her step-cousin Frankie finds out. And even worse for Maude – Frankie wants in. What follows is a delicious mess. Things go wrong – really, really, wrong. But Maude’s sheer determination won’t let them turn back, even after the bodies start piling up in their wake.

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2022) Featured Review of One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston; narrated by Natalie Naudus
Macmillan Audio
Publication Date: June 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1250803184

August Landry arrives in New York City with all of her possessions in five boxes. She’s 23 years old and her move to New York lets her escape the earlier years of her life which were spent working with her mother, an amateur detective, trying to track down August’s missing uncle. August moves into an apartment with Niko, a psychic, his girlfriend Mya, an artist, and Wes, a tattoo artist. August never had time for friends and fun when she was helping her mom, but she quickly becomes a part of Niko, Mya, and Wes’ chosen LBGTQ+ family. Then, August meets Jane on the Q Train. Jane isn’t like any other girl August has met before. Their relationship is full of the twists and turns of first loves. McQuiston asks the listener to travel along with them on a slightly sci-fi route, because, as August soon discovers, Jane has been stuck on this particular train since the 1970s.

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2022) Featured Review of Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron; narrated by Bahni Turpin
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Release date: September 4, 2020
ISBN: 9781547605590

In Mersailles, Cinderella is more than just a fairy tale: her story is a guide for how women should behave. All girls are required to attend the annual ball where they are either chosen as a wife or sent away, never to be heard from again. Sophia would much rather marry her childhood best friend, Erin, and makes the decision to flee. She ends up at Cinderella’s mausoleum, where she meets the last descendent of one of Cinderella’s stepsisters and learns the real truth behind the fairy tale while becoming entangled in the movement to topple the monarchy.

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.