19 Oct / A Thousand Steps into Night by Traci Chee [in School Library Journal]
Grace Rolek, who was part of the audio cast for Traci Chee’s We Are Not Free, makes her solo debut with this rousing Japanese-inspired epic. In fictional Awara, where demons, spirits, magical beings, oh – and humans – all coexist, 17-year-old Miuko is deemed “average by every conceivable standard,” except for being “uncommonly loud.” Out when she shouldn’t be, Miuko gets infected with evil “rot, spreading slowly.” Before she’s consumed by malevolence, she’s got to find the exorcising cure.
Chee’s detailed worldbuilding is enhanced with footnotes and pronunciation guides, crucial to Rolek’s effusive narration. Admirably unflagging through exploits and adventures, Rolek is particularly memorable as excitable, unpredictable Geiki, a trickster magpie Miuko once rescued who will return her kindness manyfold – albeit not without well-timed, hilarious snark.
Verdict: With Rolek as aural sidekick, Chee triumphs again.
Review: “22 Audiobooks Inspired by Fairy Tales and Mythology,” School Library Journal, August 29, 2022
From the introduction: For the latest audio roundup, we turn to titles inspired by fairy tales and mythology, each published in 2022. Rewriting, adapting, subverting the familiar has long been a popular literary trope – who can argue with universal appeal? Cinderella, especially, continues to be an evergreen favorite, appearing in multiple stories, often in surprising permutations. Read (and listen) on!
Readers: Young Adult
Published: 2022