Central Places
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Natalie Naudus
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By:
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Delia Cai
About this listen
A PHENOMENAL BOOK CLUB PICK • “A sensitive, sharp-eyed, slyly funny novel of venturing back into the foreign country that is your past—and discovering that you can never really shake the places and people that shaped you.”—Celeste Ng, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Our Missing Hearts
A young woman’s past and present collide when she brings her white fiancé home to meet her Chinese immigrant parents in this vibrant debut from an exciting new voice in fiction.
A HARPER’S BAZAAR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
Audrey Zhou left Hickory Grove, the tiny central Illinois town where she grew up, as soon as high school ended, and she never looked back. She moved to New York City and became the person she always wanted to be, complete with a high-paying, high-pressure job and a seemingly faultless fiancé. But if she and Manhattan-bred Ben are to build a life together, in the dream home his parents will surely pay for, Audrey can no longer hide him, or the person she’s become, from those she left behind.
But returning to Hickory Grove is . . . complicated. Audrey’s relationship with her parents has been soured by years of her mother’s astronomical expectations and slights. The friends she’s shirked for bigger dreams have stayed behind and started families. And then there’s Kyle, the easygoing stoner and her unrequited crush from high school that she finds herself drawn to again. Ben might be a perfect fit for New Audrey, but Kyle was always the only one who truly understood her growing up, and being around him again after all these years has Old Audrey bubbling up to the surface.
Over the course of one disastrous week, Audrey’s proximity to her family and to Kyle forces her to confront the past and reexamine her fraught connection to her roots before she undoes everything she's worked toward and everything she's imagined for herself. But is that life really the one she wants?
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Critic reviews
“Delia [Cai] does an incredible job of capturing the complicated feelings that returning home can evoke—especially when an old boyfriend is involved. I love this intergenerational immigrant tale and Delia’s sharp social commentary about identity, and cultural differences. Delia Cai is an exciting new voice in fiction.”—Emily Giffin, The Today Show
“For anyone who spent the holidays listening to Taylor Swift’s “Tis the Damn Season” and brooding in their hometown . . . [Central Places is] a Hallmark movie plot with a literary bend, and Cai’s musings on being a person of color in a small town add a refreshingly nuanced layer to a classic story.”—Buzzfeed
“[A] luminous depiction of the complications of relationships with friends, old and new romantic loves, and immigrant parents.”—Electric Literature
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When Danny discovers a taped-up box in his father's closet filled with old letters and a file on a powerful Silicon Valley family, he realizes there's much more to his family's past than he ever imagined. Danny has been an artist for as long as he can remember, and it seems his path is set, with a scholarship to RISD and his family's blessing to pursue the career he's always dreamed of. Still, contemplating a future without his best friend, Harry Wong, by his side makes Danny feel a panic he can barely put into words.
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A poignant, touching novel for the Asian American millennial
- By Jenny on 06-30-23
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The Field Guide to the North American Teenager
- By: Ben Philippe
- Narrated by: James Fouhey
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Norris is clever, cynical, and quite possibly too smart for his own good. A Black French Canadian, he knows from watching American sitcoms that those three things don’t bode well when you are moving to Texas. Plunked into a new high school, Norris finds himself cataloging everyone he meets: the Cheerleaders, the Jocks, the Loners, and even the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Making a ton of friends has never been a priority for him, and this way he can at least amuse himself until it’s time to go back to Canada, where he belongs. Yet those labels soon become actual people to Norris....
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Heartwarming...but profuse profanity.
- By Dajah B. on 01-28-19
By: Ben Philippe
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The Fragile World
- A Novel
- By: Paula Treick DeBoard
- Narrated by: Jessica Almasy, Will Damron
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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The Kaufmans have always considered themselves a normal, happy family. Curtis is a physics teacher at a local high school. His wife, Kathleen, restores furniture for upscale boutiques. Daniel is away at college on a prestigious music scholarship, and 12-year-old Olivia is a happy-go-lucky kid whose biggest concern is passing her next math test. And then comes the middle-of-the-night phone call that changes everything.
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Inaccurate
- By CCB on 03-10-15
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10 Blind Dates
- By: Ashley Elston
- Narrated by: Sophie Amoss
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Sophie wants a little freedom from her overprotective parents for Christmas. When they decide to spend Christmas with her very pregnant older sister, Sophie looks forward to some much needed private (read: make-out) time with her long-term boyfriend, Griffin. Except Griffin wants a little freedom from their relationship. Heartbroken, Sophie flees to her grandparents' house, where the rest of her boisterous extended family is gathered for the holiday. That's when her nonna devises a plan: Over 10 days, Sophie will be set up on 10 different blind dates by different family members.
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Incredible 👌
- By Anonymous User on 05-06-20
By: Ashley Elston
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On the Corner of Love and Hate
- By: Nina Bocci
- Narrated by: Dara Rosenberg
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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When Emmanuelle Peroni’s father - and mayor of her town - asks her to help rehab Cooper Endicott’s image, she’s horrified. Cooper drives her crazy in every way possible. But he’s also her father’s protégé, and she can’t say no to him without him finding out the reason why: Cooper and her have a messy past. So Emmanuelle reluctantly launches her father’s grand plan to get this Casanova someone to settle down with and help him lose his Lothario reputation.
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Sweet, Sassy and Intelligent
- By Belle Barrell on 10-26-19
By: Nina Bocci
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True Biz
- A Novel
- By: Sara Novic
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan, Kaleo Griffith
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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True biz? The students at the River Valley School for the Deaf just want to hook up, pass their history finals, and have politicians, doctors, and their parents stop telling them what to do with their bodies. This revelatory novel plunges listeners into the halls of a residential school for the deaf, where they’ll meet Charlie, a rebellious transfer student who’s never met another deaf person before; Austin, the school’s golden boy, whose world is rocked when his baby sister is born hearing; and February, the hearing headmistress.
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A good story with added features both intriguing and informational
- By A Signing Mom on 05-15-22
By: Sara Novic
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Rules for Being a Girl
- By: Candace Bushnell, Katie Cotugno
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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It starts before you can even remember: You learn the rules for being a girl.... Marin has always been good at navigating these unspoken guidelines. A star student and editor of the school paper, she dreams of getting into Brown University. Marin’s future seems bright - and her young, charismatic English teacher, Mr. Beckett, is always quick to admire her writing and talk books with her. But when “Bex” takes things too far and comes on to Marin, she’s shocked and horrified. Had she somehow led him on? Was it her fault?
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THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ!
- By Laya Fisher on 04-11-20
By: Candace Bushnell, and others
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The Start of Me and You
- By: Emery Lord
- Narrated by: Angela Goethals
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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It's been a year since it happened - when Paige Hancock's first boyfriend died in an accident. After shutting out the world for two years, Paige is finally ready for a second chance at high school...and she has a plan. First: Get her old crush, Ryan Chase, to date her - the perfect way to convince everyone she's back to normal. Next: Join a club. But when Ryan's sweet, nerdy cousin, Max, moves to town and recruits Paige for the Quiz Bowl team, her perfect plan is thrown for a serious loop.
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Better for MG readers
- By Pink Amy on 06-21-24
By: Emery Lord
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The Never Never Sisters
- By: L. Alison Heller
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Marriage counselor Paige Reinhardt is counting down the days to summer, eager to reconnect with her workaholic husband at their cozy rental cottage in the Hamptons. But soon a mysterious crisis at Dave's work ruins their getaway plans. Paige is still figuring out how to handle the unexplained chill in her marriage when her troubled sister suddenly returns after a two-decade silence. Now, instead of enjoying the lazy summer days along the ocean, Paige is navigating the rocky waters of a forgotten bond with her sister in the sweltering city heat.
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Julia Whelan makes it worth the credit.
- By Ellen Zelda on 09-15-15
By: L. Alison Heller
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Gone Again
- A Thriller
- By: Minka Kent
- Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt, Gabra Zackman
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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On her fortieth birthday, Celia Guest has reason to celebrate. She has a loving marriage, a beautiful Connecticut home, and treasured friends. Celia has everything she’s ever wanted. But among the cards and well-wishes, she discovers a disturbing note: You don’t deserve any of this. Who could be so cruel, so resentful, so…knowing? Then, in the early morning hours, Celia vanishes without a trace.
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Nothing really happens
- By A reader on 04-11-23
By: Minka Kent
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The Opposite of Loneliness
- Essays and Stories
- By: Marina Keegan
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Marina Keegan's star was on the rise when she graduated magna cum laude from Yale in May 2012. She had a play that was to be produced at the New York International Fringe Festival and a job waiting for her at the New Yorker. Tragically, five days after graduation, Marina died in a car crash. Even though she was just 22 when she died, Marina left behind a rich, expansive trove of prose that, like her title essay, captures the hope, uncertainty, and possibility of her generation.
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Probably buy the book too.
- By Soupergirl on 09-14-15
By: Marina Keegan
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Dumplin'
- By: Julie Murphy
- Narrated by: Eileen Stevens
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Dubbed "Dumplin'" by her former beauty queen mom, Willowdean has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American-beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked...until Will takes a job at Harpy's, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn't surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.
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Enjoyable heartwarming story
- By Jenjer on 08-26-16
By: Julie Murphy
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The Rest of Her Life
- By: Laura Moriarty
- Narrated by: Julia Gibson
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Leigh is the mother of high-achieving, popular high school senior Kara. Their relationship is already strained for reasons Leigh does not fully understand when, in a moment of carelessness, Kara makes a mistake that ends in tragedy, the effects of which not only divide Leigh's family, but polarize the entire community.
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Obnoxious musical interludes ruin the story
- By Joan on 12-25-11
By: Laura Moriarty
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No Hiding in Boise
- By: Kim Hooper
- Narrated by: Devon Sorvari, Stephanie Willing, Hillary Huber, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Angie is awakened by a midnight call from an officer with the Boise Police Department and thinks there must be a misunderstanding. The officer tells her that her husband was involved in a shooting at a local bar, but how can that be when her husband is sleeping right next to her? But when she turns to wake him, he isn’t there. Tessa is the 23-year-old bartender who escapes to a backroom storage closet during the shooting. When it comes to light that five people were killed, she is burdened with the question of why she survived.
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fantastic audio involving contemporary issues
- By Barbara S on 07-07-21
By: Kim Hooper
What listeners say about Central Places
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Arwen
- 05-06-24
slow
Struggled to finish. A slow story lacking in depth. The ending was weak and needed more substance.
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- rosalinda lam
- 07-09-24
The struggle of the immigrant’s child
I loved this book. I am an immigrant myself and I have a daughter who I’m sure feels like Audrey sometimes. Audrey is not particularly likable but she is very human and real. Her parents’ cruel behaviors (by cultural standards) are described with compassion and the clueless all American boyfriend is given the benefit of the doubt. A great book about the immigrant and assimilation experience
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- Anonymous User
- 10-27-23
Easy story to follow along
The narrator does well to distinguish between characters. I appreciate that. The story does reference some racism and an intimate scene. overall, it is a good story about growth and reflection on one's life.
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- evelyn whitten
- 05-10-23
Struggled through this one
This book started out okay until all the racial and political rhetoric. The mother was not that bad just being a mother. Audrey thought a lot of herself just because of her heritage. All people are special, not just Asian and immigrants. I got really fed up with the references to white people. I would not recommend this book to anyone, far to racial.
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- Alliecat
- 12-04-23
Judgment meets Judgment
While the main character has struggled with being the a victim of discrimination, she is constantly doing to others the very thing she has spent her life fighting. When did equality become putting others down and preemptively making them the lesser person? I could not finish the book.
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