Karen Chilton’s performance of Jamila Minnicks’s debut novel is what happens when an outstanding narrator finds their perfect match in a text. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss this historical novel about Alice Young, who in 1957 flees her home in rural Alabama and lands in New Jessup. It’s an all-Black town that has spent generations carving out a place for itself as a safe haven for Black families. Chilton is a stunning narrator, and she captures the Southern dialect and Alice’s narrative voice to tell this emotional story of community and love.

Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Hachette Audio.

Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com

Behind the Mic is supported by Brilliance Publishing who recently released The Survivalists, a sharp, funny novel by Kashana Cauley. An ambitious Black lawyer has dreams of making partner, until she falls for a coffee entrepreneur and moves into his Brooklyn brownstone with his doomsday-prepping roommates. Packed with tension, curiosity and optimized soy protein bars, The Survivalists is a darkly funny novel by Kashana Cauley, a former writer for The Daily Show and Pod Save America.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices