Between the Lines
by Nikki Grimes; read by Cherise Boothe, Lori Gardner, Almarie Guerra, Sisi Aisha Johnson, Edward Lopez, Ruffin Prentiss, and James Shippy
Middle School, High School    Recorded Books
Rev. 3/18    4 CDs    4 hrs.    978-1-5019-6261-5    $13.99

Nine high school students take turns giving readers their impressions of a poetry class they’re all taking, which leads them to reflect on their personal problems; each teen’s sections conclude with one of his or her poems. For this audiobook treatment, seven different actors gamely voice not just the students, who come from a variety of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, but also the occasional friend, relative, foster family member, or teacher. Each actor states the name of the student before assuming his or her voice, heading off confusion about who is speaking, although by the time the teenagers are participating in the end-of-semester poetry slam, listeners will know these voices by heart.

From the July/August 2018 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.