Z for Zachariah Audiobook By Robert C. O'Brien cover art

Z for Zachariah

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

Z for Zachariah

By: Robert C. O'Brien
Narrated by: Christina Moore
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.19

Buy for $17.19

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

Something terrible has finally happened. A nuclear holocaust has destroyed civilization. For one whole year, 16-year-old Ann Burden has lived alone on her family’s farm, somehow sheltered from the radiation in the valley. As she hears the final radio station going off the air, she believes she is the only person left alive. But when Ann sees smoke from a faraway campfire, she knows there is at least one other survivor. Soon an incredible figure wearing a green suit and carrying an oxygen tank appears on the road. With the intruder in her valley, she makes a chilling discovery: There are worse things than being alone.

Newbery Award-winning author Robert C. O’Brien won an Edgar Award for this suspense-filled science fiction tale of a young woman determined to survive on her own terms. Narrator Christina Moore places you on the scene with Ann in a strange world with an unknown future.

©1974 Sally Conly (P)1999 Recorded Books, LLC Action & Adventure Dystopian Fantasy Literature & Fiction Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Science Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy Thrillers & Suspense
Engaging Survival Story • Interesting Post-apocalyptic Setting • Excellent Narration • Amazing Heroine • Hopeful Ending
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
This is an interesting though somewhat depressing story, though it tries to end on a hopeful note. The main character is very compelling, and easy to care for. But the scenario is strangely bleak and the situations she finds herself in are painful to experience. It is a survival story, a story of perserverance despite miserable, hopeless situation, and a strange comment on human nature in some ways.

It is odd to class this as a kid story. I think older teens might be appropriate but I don't know if I would say it is right for anyone 13 or under. It deals with some troubling stuff - attempted rape of a young teen, a murder attempt on the same teen by an older man, etc. Not to say that kids can't take it, but it just seems a bit mature in some of its material for children, in my opinion, so parents are warned and may want to listen first.

THe main character feels very real and human and well developed and it is easy to care about her. That said, the other main character, the man who comes into her valley is a bit dispicable and frustrating and her reaction to him is at times frustrating. She has more patience and goodness and strength in her than many would, I think, though it is hard to say as we don't live in a post apocolyptic world where almost no people are left.

Overall, it was a sad but interesting story, and her plight was engaging and she was very likable so easy to follow... But as I said, the material is too mature for kids I think, some of the relationship is odd and frustrating and hard to understand and despite its hopeful note at the end, overall it is a bleak and sad story... Still it was entertaining and I think worth a listen.

Interesting but a bit troubling

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is a great story on how to survive off the grid. I love how the author includes so much detail on how Ann made life work so well. I've always wished there was a second book.

We love this book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I read this book in high school, and liked it. I watched the movie and felt they had changed almost all of it. After reading it again I see for sure they changed too much for the movie. I still thoroughly enjoyed the beginning, but became rather frustrated towards the end. It ended up being fairly poetic, but I struggle to imagine that I would have handled the situation in the same way.

Very Interesting

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Even with difficult subject matter this books heroine is inspiring. She never loses her integrity. She inspires with hard work, ingenuity, determination, humility, kindness, mercy in the face of injustice.

Fantastic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I highly recommend this book as the narrator guides you through her point of view on a series of events. The novel takes place during post apocalyptic times. A harrowing tale of loneliness and desperation. Diary style reading is amazing, really good story.

Diary format reading just like The Martian.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A classic post apocalyptic story, published in the 1970s. Teenager Ann survives a nuclear winter living in a valley that shielded her and the family farm from radioactive waves. The last one alive, her world turns into a nightmare when Dr. Loomis arrives in a protective suit. Driven by power, a cat and mouse game erupts as Loomis tries to capture Ann, who evades him. YA fiction with a chilling sense of realism and potential horror of humanity.

powerful Story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I very much enjoyed the audible version of this story. The performance was spot on.

Very well done

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It's a lot different than the movie! It's better. The plot differences may be spoilers. The narration's great too, and you actually learn the reason for the title. Check it out!

Well Done!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have read this book at least 3 times. It had been years since the last time. I still enjoyed it. And it even hit a little different this time. Several tears were shed.

One of my favorite books

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I first listened to this book in 6th grade. It may not be appropriate for all adolescents with out parental guidance.

As an adult experiencing this story with many more years of perspective. I admire this well crafted story, excellent writing, and the hope evoked with the words of this book.

A great dark book with an optimistic protagonist

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews