Behind the Mic: On When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed, Read by Faysal Ahmed, Barkhad Abdi, and a Full Cast

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.

Skillful soundscaping and a full cast heighten the atmosphere and emotion in this audiobook inspired by the childhood of coauthor Omar Mohamed. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly talk about the audiobook that captures the intensity and tedium of life in a refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. Faysal Ahmed is extremely emotive as Omar, an 11-year-old boy who fled Somalia as a 4-year-old with his younger brother, but was separated from his mother after his father died. The full-cast narration helps listeners imagine the lively and warm community surrounding him throughout his childhood in the camp, where he finds joy in school and tries to balance the hope of resettlement against grim reality. It’s a moving and memorable listening experience.

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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.