Narrating this first in a series, Neil Patrick Harris’s tone aims at taking listeners into his confidence. After giving tips on how to listen, Harris dives into the story. Carter is desperate to leave his miserable life assisting his guardian, a con artist. After he finally escapes on a train, he finds himself in Mineral Wells, where he’s welcomed by an illusionist and a gang of five friends who are young, quirky, and a bit magical. Can they save the town from the scheming B.B. Bosso and his traveling slideshow? Harris’s breathless style suggests he’s telling the story exclusively for each listener. His characters are distinctive: Carter’s trust issues are portrayed clearly; the other young people sound believable; and the villain, B.B. Bosso, comes across as appropriately gruff and conniving. While the quick changes in character voices can be a bit jarring at times, overall, the many characters add to the story’s excitement. A.R. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
Amid your summer reading, our July Monthly Picks have arrived! Let us top off your TBR piles with a thrilling procedural from Michael Robotham; a breaking and equally beautiful memoir from Michele Harper; an enthralling reinterpretation of a class Greek myth from Claire Heywood; the Nebula Award finalist by Rebecca Roanhorse; a darkly glamorous world […]
B&N’s Book Haul is back! From Wednesday, February 27, through Monday, March 4, more than 400 new releases, best-sellers, and paperback favorites for all ages at are available for 50 percent off at Barnes & Noble. Included among these are fabulous series your young reader will love, just perfect for bingeing over spring break—which will be […]
In the last year young readers have been rewarded with an abundance of terrific new titles. With an inspiring new collection of stories for Rebel Girls, a new Diary of a Wimpy Kid novel, newly discovered books from Shel Silverstein AND Mark Twain, and a hilarious return to the Dragons Love Tacos universe, our list of […]
Explore the stories behind the young adult books you love with the B&N YA Podcast. Join us as we sit down with fellow YA authors to talk about books, life, their teen years, their pop cultural obsessions, and how they came up with the stories that keep us up at night. Subscribe to listen in on […]
The kids are back in school, but that doesn’t mean it’s time for them to stop reading for pleasure. It’s an amazing way for kids to wind down at the end of the day, conjure up some awesome dreams for bedtime, and stretch their imaginations through the weekends. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite […]