Floors

Floors by Patrick Carman

Welcome to the Wippet Hotel! The Wippet was created by an excentric gentlemen who excelled at creating strange inventions. Each floor of the hotel is unique and full of surprises and adventures. No one knows the ins and outs better then the janitorial staff of the Fillmore family. Leo Fillmore discovers all this and more when a mysterious box is discovered...which leads to more myserious boxes.

Carman writes an amazingly imaginative tale that will appeal to a wide range of listeners. If you need a book that needs to span a range of ages during a roadtrip, this is an excellent selection. The older listeners might be able predict the some plot points, but there are plenty of surprises along the way. The ending wraps up happily with hints at more Wippet adventures.

Jesse Bernstein reads the first Floors novel. The narrator is well-known for his reading of The Lightning Thief and the Percy Jackson series. His voice is youthful and he differentiates between the characters. I prefer consistancy between books, so if the Floors series continues, I hope Berstein will return to tell the tale.

Reviewed from a library copy.

Audio Book Details...
Floors by Patrick Carman
Series: Book One, Floors
Read by Jesse Bernstein
Produced by Scholastic Audiobooks
Number of Discs: 5
Total Time: 6 hours, 10 minutes

It's Audiobook Month!

Did you know? June is audiobook month! With the majority of schools breaking for summer, June is a wonderful time to celebrate the audiobook format of reading. These auditory adventures are wonderful to listen to when traveling, finishing chores, taking a walk, or just for fun! My favorite place to enjoy an audiobook is during my commute to work. When do you like to listen to audiobooks?

Happy listening, friends!

The Strange Case of the Origami Yoda

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger

The Strange Case of the Origami Yoda has a sequel called Darth Paper Strikes Back. These books are popular among tweens and teens at the library. To catch up on reading I jumped in and found the audiobook version.

Origami Yoda is a short chapter books lasting the length of two compact discs. Surprisingly, Recorded Books used five narrators to represent all the characters in this novel. The storyline includes a crowd of unpopular teens who deal with the surprising wisdom from Dwight's paper puppet. The chapters are people's reflections about the circumstances around Yoda's wisdom. The main character, Tommy, remarks upon each incident as does Harvey who is pessimistic about Yoda's/Dwight's wisdom.

I understand the pull of Origami Yoda. Angleberger shares the themes of frienship, school life, and relationships. He also focuses on an extremely popular pastimes of Star Wars and origami. Listening to Origami Yoda looses some of the uniquness of the novel itself. Character Kellen adds doodles to the pages and being audio, you miss out on the illustrations. If audio is preferred format, go ahead and have a listen, but reading it would be the best format for Origami Yoda.

The readers include Mark Turetsky, Greg Stenbruner, Jonathan Todd Ross, Julia Gibson, and Charlotte Parry. With so many characters, it was wonderful to hear a audible clue of who's case is the focus of the chapter. Overall, everyone shared a great story. Some narrator's tried too hard to capture a teen's attitude and voice characteristics. My favorite was the cases recorded with a player (then trascribed by Tommy). I also enjoyed everyone's rendition of Yoda's voice - very humorous.

Reviewed from a library copy.

Audio Book Details...
The Strange Case of the Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
Series: Book One, Origami Yoda
Read by Mark Turetsky, Greg Stenbruner, Jonathan Todd Ross, Julia Gibson, and Charlotte Parry
Produced by Recorded Books
Number of Discs: 2
Total Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes


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The Case of the Deadly Desperados

The Case of the Deadly Desperados: Western Mysteries, Book One by Caroline Lawrence

P.K. Pinkerton is on the run. His adoptive parents were murdered by a gang masquerading as American Indians. He needed to escape before he was killed as well. He runs to Virginia City to find an escape, but Wittlin Walt is always right behind P.K.

Lawrence's newest mystery series is centered in the Wild West during the Silver Rush. I heard about the popularity of this book and I enjoy a good Western. It was a very pleasant surprise to find a new series. P.K. keeps running and the listener will be on the edge of their seat to see if he succeeds. He needs to grow up fast and be quick witted to survive in a city where no once trusts each other. The final twists to the tale are clever and interesting. I am looking forward to hearing book two, The Case of the Good-Looking Corpse.

T. Sands is the narrator of this tale. With a diverse community in Virigina, Sands did a wonderful job distinguishing the different accents. P.K.'s twelve year old voice wasn't too deep or too high, very believeable with a country hitch. I hope Sands will return to read again.

Reviewed from a library copy.

Audio Book Details...
The Case of the Deadly Desperados by Caroline Lawrence
Series: Book 1, Western Mysteries
Read by T. Sands
Produced by Listening Library
Number of Discs: 6
Total Time: 7 hours, 19 minutes