Abridged
The Real Education of TJ Crowley - Abridged by Grant Overstake & May Wuthrich
  Send as gift   Add to Wish List

Almost ready!

In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.

      Log in       Create account
Phone showing make the switch message

Limited-time offer

Get two free audiobooks!

Now’s a great time to shop indie. When you start a new one credit per month membership supporting local bookstores with promo code SWITCH, we’ll give you two bonus audiobook credits at sign-up.

Sign up today

The Real Education of TJ Crowley - Abridged

Coming of Age on the Redline: An Audio Drama

$24.10

Get for $14.99 with membership
Length 9 hours 12 minutes
Language English
  Send as gift   Add to Wish List

Almost ready!

In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.

      Log in       Create account

Set in 1968 after the slaying of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., this immersive audio dramatization, inspired by the author’s own experiences, features an award-winning cast of 15 actors, in a fast-paced, suspenseful coming-of-age story.

With his father’s mysterious disappearance and his brother Ronnie enlisting in the Vietnam War, 13-year-old TJ Crowley is left alone with his racist, unstable mother, Kate. The newly enforced Fair Housing Act results in the unthinkable for the Crowleys when a Black family, headed by the eminent Dr. Washington, crosses the racial red line and moves in next door. Kate is quick to warn TJ that their new neighbors are strictly off-limits and makes a panicked call to beg Ray, her old flame, to travel to their home in Wichita Kansas to help deal with “the problem next door.”

At his now integrated junior high, TJ resents that teachers tell him he must get to know his Black classmates, yet he understands that staying out of trouble can only help assure him an all-important spot on the basketball team. At school, a violent confrontation with Leon, the tough new kid in 7th grade, lands them in the principal’s office. And at home, Ray ropes him into building a fence that will send the Washingtons a message that they’re not welcome.

But the fence can’t quiet the sounds of unfamiliar music floating over the fence nor hide the strength and beauty of his new classmate, Ivy Washington, who fiercely stands up for what she believes in.

Over time, TJ begins to question the lessons he’s learned at home and decides to accept Dr. Washington’s invitation to visit their family. Devastated when his poor grades and bad behavior keep him from the basketball team, TJ turns to the doctor, a former athlete, who coaches him for the track team, teaching him how to throw the shot put.

When TJ’s secret visits to the Washingtons are discovered, and a series of escalating hate crimes point to Ray, TJ is forced to make a defining choice that will forever change his life.

Performed by Dani Martineck, Dion Graham, Tavia Gilbert, Johnny Heller, Kevin R. Free, Shayna Small, Ari Fliakos, Michael Crouch, Kirby Heyborne, Graham Halstead, Peter Berkrot, Thérèse Plummer, Brittany Pressley, John Wright, and Sheila Brown Kinnard, playing the role inspired by her mother, Josephine Brown.

Grant Overstake, a storyteller and educator, draws from his background as a former Miami Herald sports writer and decathlon All-American to write authentic sports themed novels of raw emotion. Grant and his wife, Claire, sing in the multicultural ARISE Ensemble, who’s music is featured in this program.

An award-winning producer and director with over 400 titles to her credit, May Wuthrich is a former actor with a background in traditional book publishing and book-to-screen script development.

Presented by Grain Valley Publishing

“The gospel music of the ARISE Ensemble enhances the listening experience. The audio drama has moments of remarkable verisimilitude: from the play-by-play announcing of a basketball game to the whirring of a helicopter in Vietnam. Performed by a gifted cast, this slice of our history stays with the listener.” —AudioFile (Earphones Award winner)

Grant Overstake, a storyteller and educator, draws from his background as a former Miami Herald sports writer and decathlon All-American to write authentic sports themed novels of raw emotion. Grant and his wife, Claire, sing in the multicultural ARISE Ensemble, who’s music is featured in this program.

An award-winning producer and director with over 400 titles to her credit, May Wuthrich is a former actor with a background in traditional book publishing and book-to-screen script development

Dion Graham is an award-winning narrator named a “Golden Voice” by AudioFile magazine. He has been a recipient of the prestigious Audie Award numerous times, as well as many other awards. He is also a critically acclaimed actor who has performed on Broadway, off Broadway, internationally, in films, and in several hit television series, including HBO’s The Wire and A&E’s The First 48.

Tavia Gilbert, a six-time Audie Award nominee and multiple Earphones and Parents' Choice Award-winning producer, narrator, and writer, has appeared on stage and in film. Library Journal said of the highly acclaimed actress, "as close as you can get to a full cast narration with a solo voice." Tavia has narrated more than 250 multicast and single-voice audiobooks.

Johnny Heller, a Golden Voice Lifetime Achievement Award winner, has recorded over 800 audiobooks spanning every genre. He is a four-time Audie Award winner; an AudioFile Best Voice, Booklist Editor's Choice List, and Publishers Weekly Listen Up Award winner; and the winner of over thirty Earphones Awards. His national and international audiobook coaching workshops are called "game changing" by attendees. AudioFile magazine named him one of the top fifty voices of the twentieth century.

Kevin R. Free is an audiobook narrator and the winner of numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and several AudioFile best narrations of the year selections. Known for his work with young-adult novels, he has read titles by Rick Riordan, Walter Dean Myers, and Joe Haldeman. In 2011 he was named a Best Voice in Young Adult and Fantasy from AudioFile magazine for his narration of Myers’ The Cruisers: Checkmate.

Shayna Small is an actress, singer, and educator based in New York, where she received her BFA in Drama from the Juilliard School. She has worked across a variety of media including theater, film and tv, music and voice-over.

Michael Crouch is an actor based in New York City. His audiobook narration has won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration, numerous Earphones Awards from AudioFile magazine, and Best of the Year accolades from Booklist, School Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly. He can also be heard on national commercials, cartoons, video games, and the animé series Pokémon XY and Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V.

Kirby Heyborne is an Earphones award-winning narrator as well as an acclaimed film and television actor. The cofounder and director of the celebrated Los Angeles–based improv comedy group The Society, he is also a successful musician who has released four solo albums and has had his music featured in many films. He has delighted audiences across the country with his ability to blend heart-warming stories, beautiful music, and comedic wit.

Ari Fliakos is an actor with experience in television, radio, film, theater, and voice-overs. He has earned four Earphones Awards, and his narration of Seth Patrick’s Reviver won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration for paranormal fiction. On screen, he is best-known for his roles in Law & Order, Pills, and Company K.

Graham Halstead is a professionally trained actor living and working in New York. As an actor, Graham has worked internationally in Edinburgh, Scotland, and London, England, as well as back home at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. In addition to acting, Graham is a professional audiobook narrator, having worked on 60+ titles for many different audiobook publishers.

Thérèse Plummer is an actor, award-winning voice-over artist, and counselor. She has won eighteen AudioFile Earphones Awards and has been a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. She has appeared in a variety of television and film roles. As a counselor for adolescents, she spent five years using drama therapy techniques in individual and group settings.

Brittany Pressley has won several Earphones Awards as well as the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration in 2018. She has recorded over one hundred titles and has received several nominations for American Library Association’s annual list of Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults. She is also an accomplished singer-songwriter and voice actress. Her voice can be heard on national and international TV and radio commercials as well as several animated series and video games. She is a graduate of Columbia University.

Peter Berkrot is a veteran of both stage and screen, having appeared in Caddyshack, Brotherhood, Unsolved Mysteries, and more. A prominent acting coach and a regular contributor to the award-winning news program Frontline, he was the director of narration for the Emmy-nominated The Truth About Cancer. His voice can be heard on television, radio, video games, documentaries, and industrials. An Audie Award nominee and the winner of multiple Earphones Awards, he has recorded over 170 audiobooks.

Featured in this playlist...

Audiobook details

ISBN:
9798874614478

Length:
9 hours 12 minutes

Language:
English

Publisher:
Blackstone Publishing

Publication date:

Edition:
Abridged

Libro.fm rank:
#37,664 Overall

Genre rank:
#2,319 in YA Fiction

Phone showing make the switch message

Limited-time offer

Get two free audiobooks!

Now’s a great time to shop indie. When you start a new one credit per month membership supporting local bookstores with promo code SWITCH, we’ll give you two bonus audiobook credits at sign-up.

Sign up today

Reviews

“A deftly-crafted, thought-provoking, and solid work of YA historical fiction. Unreservedly recommended for both school and community library YA fiction collections.”

“The casting is perfect and the audio elements like music, choir, and sound effects give the story an authentic boost…[that] reminded me of old radio drama series but even better.”

“The excellent, fearless performances, especially Dani Martineck as TJ, Johnny Heller as Uncle Ray, and Dion Graham as Dr. Washington…vividly bring the grim truths of America’s legacy of racial oppression to life, but the light of kindness and hope is always shining in this moving story of change.”

“Brought to life by a series of finely drawn characters, the book offers readers, particularly teens, a chance to think about some of the most important issues facing our society today.”

“Historical fiction at its finest.”

“The narrators of this fraught coming-of-age story are excellent…The gospel music of the Arise Ensemble enhances the listening experience. The audio drama has moments of remarkable verisimilitude: from the play-by-play announcing of a basketball game to the whirring of a helicopter in Vietnam. Performed by a gifted cast, this slice of our history stays with the listener. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”

“Puts the themes of To Kill a Mockingbird into overdrive…Unfinching…A novel for our times.”

“One of the most popular books in my classroom library. The questions it raises about race, class, and family resonate with young women and men encountering a world with injustice and conflict.”

“The perfect book to spur frank discussions about whiteness with teens and young adults, offering insights into the fear and hate of white supremacy and a model of how a white person can change and challenge what they think they know about race. This book will provoke meaningful discussions in the classroom.”

“Set in an explosive moment in America’s racial history, this coming-of-age story prompted me to consider my own moral courage. What choices would I have made if I were in TJ’s shoes? I was on the edge of my seat, turning the pages and rooting for TJ as he navigated his young life with increasing clarity.”

Expand reviews