Audiobook Review – Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate, Narrated by Kirby Heyborne (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Children’s
Genre: Magical Realism
Length: 3 hours and 18 minutes (256 pages)
Publisher: Listening Library
Release Date: September 22, 2015
ASIN: B0141KXGYQ
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

“Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times. There’s no more money for rent. And not much for food, either. His parents, his little sister, and their dog may have to live in their minivan. Again.

Crenshaw is a cat. He’s large, he’s outspoken, and he’s imaginary. He has come back into Jackson’s life to help him. But is an imaginary friend enough to save this family from losing everything?”

This was a really well done book that I enjoyed it a lot. The story is mostly about a kid going into 5th grade whose parents are struggling with money problems. The kid’s childhood imaginary friend comes back to help him out.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was well done. The narrator does a great job with emotion and different voices.

There’s a lot about family and friendship in here. As well as some magical realism. While the story can be a bit of a tear-jerker (at least for me as a parent) it’s done in a somewhat humorous tone so it ends up being a fun read.

My ten year old son is reading it right now and has really been enjoying some of the humor and the imaginary cat 🙂 He was also discussing with me how lucky he feels to have never been in the situation the main character ends up in; so I think it was good for him to read about that.

Overall this is a quick little book that I would definitely recommend. It packs a lot of story for its short length and is great for all ages.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Audiobook Reading Challenge
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge