Preview
  • Abeni's Song

  • Abeni's Song, Book 1
  • By: P. Djèlí Clark
  • Narrated by: Funmi James
  • Length: 15 hrs and 39 mins
  • 3.8 out of 5 stars (5 ratings)

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Abeni's Song

By: P. Djèlí Clark
Narrated by: Funmi James
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Publisher's summary

IN DARKNESS, A SONG CAN LEAD THE WAY. BEWARE WHICH ONE YOU LISTEN TO.

Abeni's Song by award-winning author P. Djèlí Clark is the enchanting beginning of an epic West African and African Diaspora-inspired fantasy adventure for middle-grade listeners about a reluctant apprentice to magic and the stolen villagers she sets out to save.

“Lush and magical.”—KWAME MBALIA • “Astonishing.”—MARK OSHIRO • "Abeni's story will sweep you away."—AMANDA FOODY

On the day of the Harvest Festival, the old woman who lives in the forest appears in Abeni's village with a terrible message:

You ignored my warnings. It’s too late to run. They are coming.

Warriors with burning blades storm the village. A man with a cursed flute plays an impossibly alluring song. And everyone Abeni has ever known and loved is captured and marched toward far-off ghost ships set for even more distant lands.

But not Abeni.

Abeni is magically whisked away by the old woman. In the forest, Abeni begins her unwanted magical apprenticeship, her journey to escape the witch, and her impossible mission to bring her people home.

Abeni’s Song is the beginning of a timeless, enchanting fantasy adventure about a reluctant apprentice, a team of spirit kids, and the village they set out to save.

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books.

©2023 P. Djèlí Clark (P)2023 Macmillan Audio
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Critic reviews

"Vibrant and utterly immersive, Abeni's story will sweep you away with its depth of fantastical wonder, tragedy, and coming-of-age adventure."—Amanda Foody, New York Times bestselling author of the Wilderlore Series

"A lush and magical fantasy that will leave readers craving more of Abeni's adventure."—Kwame Mbalia, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Tristan Strong series

"Abeni’s Song is simply unlike anything else in the field. An astonishing adventure that managed to thrill, scare, and delight, all while telling a story that is beautifully complicated and moving. Middle grade readers, meet your new favorite author."—Mark Oshiro, award winning author of The Insiders

What listeners say about Abeni's Song

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good Story

I'm generally a big fan of P. Djèlí Clark. This one is pretty good, but not one of my favorites from him. Part of my issue with the book may have been the awful narrator. I usually like narrators who do different voices for the different characters, but all of the voices she did made me cringe. At multiple points I considered giving up on the audio version and just buying the book to finish reading it. Assuming her natural voice is what she used for the parts of the narrator, that voice sounded fine. I really wish she had not tried to come up with voices for each character. It ruined the book for me.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The story is fun and well written, but the performance was terrible

This is a great story. But I had to stop listening twice because the performer is so bad. There are four girls who are the hero’s, each separated from their family and each with their own lessons to learn. It’s both exciting and charming. Even the villain gets some sympathy. But the performer reads women (including the girls) in a painfully slow falsetto that is both annoying and hard to understand. Get this book in print, not from Audible. It is worth reading, but the Audible performance is painful to listen to.

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