Behind the Mic: On Kent State by Deborah Wiles, Read by Lauren Ezzo, Christopher Gebauer, and More

Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens.

Fifty years after four young people were shot by the National Guard at Kent State University, Deborah Wiles gives us an honest fictional account enhanced by this production. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss the moving and powerful narration of this young adult novel in verse. The narrators give voice to several witnesses, each with a unique perspective. We hear the truth as perceived by students, townies, the National Guard, and others.

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Support for Behind the Mic comes from Blackstone Publishing, publisher of the audiobook of Richard Adams’ classic tale Watership Down. This May Blackstone is celebrating the centenary of the author’s birth. This is a great moment to reflect on the novel and experience it all over again, as well as introduce it to a new generation of listeners. Read by the actor Peter Capaldi, Watership Down is an exciting adventure story and an engaging allegory about freedom, ethics, and human nature. A stirring epic of courage and survival against the odds, the beloved classic continues to be discovered by readers of all ages. Watership Down from Blackstone Publishing is available wherever you get your audiobooks, including Downpour.com.