Pilar Ramirez and the Escape From Zafa by Julian Randall, Read by Amanda Alcántara

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.

Amanda Alcántara’s vivacious narration embodies the sarcastic voice of 12-year-old Pilar Ramirez in an audiobook that blends the poetry of images and the music of language. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss the fun of listening to Pilar Ramirez and the Escape from Zafa, Julian Randall’s middle-grade debut packed full of adventure. Pilar dreams of finding her missing cousin, who disappeared as a teen in the Dominican Republic during the Trujillo dictatorship. While investigating for her documentary, she’s magically transported into a supernatural world called Zafa full of fantastical beings—and dangerous villains. Alcántara makes dialogue sparkle, humor warm, action speedy, villains threatening, and Pilar an unforgettable, bighearted heroine.

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This episode of Behind the Mic is sponsored by the audiobook editions of Sherryl Woods’s Sweet Magnolias series. With the new season available to watch now on Netflix, now is the time to listen to the entire Sweet Magnolias audiobook series, all brought to you by Dreamscape Media. For more information about Sweet Magnolias, please visit www.Dreamscapepublishing.com