A Good Morning America Book Club YA Pick! This program features multicast narration.
"This is an audiobook one wishes would never end." —AudioFile on The King of Crows (an Earphones Award winner)
From New York Times-bestselling author Libba Bray comes an evocative and groundbreaking young adult historical mystery that examines truth, rebellion, reconciliation, and what must be sacrificed for a better world.
It was said that if you write to the Bridegroom's Oak, the love of your life will answer back. Now, the tree is giving up its secrets at last.
In 1940s Germany, Sophie is excited to discover a message waiting for her in the Bridegroom's Oak from a mysterious suitor. Meanwhile, her best friend, Hanna, is sending messages too—but not to find love. As World War II unfolds in their small town of Kleinwald, the oak may hold the key to resistance against the Nazis.
In 1980s West Germany, American teen transplant Jenny feels suffocated by her strict parents and is struggling to fit in. Until she finds herself falling for Lena, a punk-rock girl hell-bent on tearing down the wall separating West Germany from East Germany, and meeting Frau Hermann, a kind old lady with secrets of her own.
In Spring 2020, New York City, best friends Miles and Chloe are in the first weeks of COVID lockdown and hating Zoom school, when an unexpected package from Chloe's grandmother leads them to investigate a cold case about two unidentified teenagers who went missing under the Bridegroom's Oak eighty years ago.
A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
February 4, 2025 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781250353993
- File size: 475735 KB
- Duration: 16:31:05
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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November 4, 2024
Three generations of teens find themselves while fighting for change in this inspiring historical mystery from Bray (the Diviners series). It’s 1939 in Kleinwald, Germany, and best friends Hanna and Sophie would rather fantasize about an ancient mythical entity’s purported matchmaking abilities than pay attention to world events—until Hitler invades Poland. In 1980, aspiring photographer Jenny and her preppy conservative family relocate from Dallas to West Berlin, where Jenny meets Lena, a queer German punk rocker who lives in a squat and vows to show smitten, closeted Jenny the “real” Berlin. And in 2020 Brooklyn, while navigating lockdown and learning about social justice movements, Miles agrees to help best friend (and secret crush) Chloe investigate a package from Chloe’s grandmother containing mini-cassettes and a scrapbook featuring two Kleinwald teens who disappeared in 1941. Bray’s intimate third-person narrative kaleidoscopes back and forth in time, interweaving the three story lines and highlighting their internal resonance. Though the setup is occasionally awkward, nuanced, gratifying character arcs and a harrowing, emotionally charged third act send this lengthy novel out on a high note. The cast is intersectionally diverse. Ages 12–up. Agent: Joanna Volpe, New Leaf Literary. -
A trio of narrators portray teens from different eras and settings. January LaVoy transitions smoothly from the accented dialogue of Hanna and Sophie, two Polish teens, to an unstressed voicing of their risk-taking amid Hitler's threats in 1939. Jeremy Carlisle Parker transitions listeners to 1980 West Berlin, where Jenny adjusts to her family's move from Dallas. Parker also portrays passionate, German-accented Lena, a queer punk rocker, whom Jenny comes to love. In addition, Parker delivers the softer storytelling tones of an older German woman. Major Curda communicates the growth of Brooklynite Miles, who solves the mysterious disappearances of two girls sixty years earlier. The trio heighten their narrations as the story's tension increases and connections become clear. Libba Bray cheerily reads her Author Note. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine
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