The Diamond of Darkhold

Katherine Kellgren's performance makes this production sparkle. Sit back and be transported as Kellgren alternates between a silky-smooth objective narration and the fully engaged voices of Jeanne DuPrau's appealing characters. Several harsh months have passed since Lina, Doon, and the others escaped their dying city. Doon comes across a book written by the Builders of Ember, with only eight pages remaining, referring to a mysterious artifact still in the dead city. After a perilous journey back to Ember to search for the device, Doon is taken prisoner by scavengers, and Lina must go for help. In this fourth and final story in the Ember series, DuPrau's teens continue to be admirable, clever, and resourceful, and Kellgren's lively reading makes us know and like them. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine