The Knife of Never Letting Go
by Patrick Ness (Walker, 2008); audiobook read by Humphrey Bower (Bolinda, 2011)
A young adult quest with genuine moments of high emotion but also a relentless, dour futility that cries out for—yet in this first book of the trilogy, doesn’t afford—resolution. Bower’s audiobook reading is grist to the grimly dystopian first-person narrative.
Return to the Hundred Acre Wood
by David Benedictus (Egmont, 2009); audiobook read by Humphrey Bower (Bolinda, 2009)
Benedictus recaptures much of the charm — and certainly the narrative style — of A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh books. He also hasn’t been afraid to introduce a new character (Lottie the Otter). All that might be considered lacking is the original’s almost surreal absurdity.