The Real Education of TJ Crowley by Grant Overstake audiobook

The Real Education of TJ Crowley: Coming of Age on the Redline: An Audio Drama

By Grant Overstake and May Wuthrich
Read by Dani Martineck, Dion Graham, Tavia Gilbert, Johnny Heller, Kevin R. Free, Nicole Small, Michael Crouch, Kirby Heyborne, Ari Fliakos, Graham Halstead, Thérèse Plummer, Brittany Pressley, Peter Berkrot, John Wright, Sheila Brown Kinnard, and a full cast

Grant Overstake 9781732304703

Audio Theater

Format : Library CD (In Stock)
  • 4 Formats: CD
  • 4 Formats: Library CD
  • 4 Formats: MP3 CD
  • 4 Formats: Playaway

  • ISBN: 9798874614430

  • ISBN: 9798874614423

  • ISBN: 9798874614447

  • ISBN: 9798228654624

Runtime: 9.25 Hours
Category: Fiction/Coming-of-Age
Audience: Young Adult (12–17)
Language: English
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Summary

Summary

Winner of the Audie Award for Best Narration in Young Adult Books 

Winner of the IPPY Award for Outstanding Audiobook of the Year

Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award

Winner of the J. Donald & Bertha Coffin Memorial Book Award

A BookClubz Book of the Month Selection

2025 Audie Award Winner — Best Young Adult Audiobook

AudioFile Earphones Award | IPPY Award

Wichita, summer 1968. The city’s redline still runs down the middle of TJ Crowley’s street. His father is gone. His brother is in Vietnam. His mother is unraveling. Then the Washingtons — a Black family with a daughter his age — move in next door.

TJ is thirteen, with a temper he can’t control and a man from his mother’s past who orders him to help build the fence between the two yards. “Stay away from them or you’re grounded for life,” his mother warns.

Then gospel music drifts through the fence. TJ has a choice to make.

A full-cast audio drama in three acts. Fifteen actors. Twenty-four roles. Original gospel music performed by the ARISE Ensemble. Co-produced by Audie Award-winning narrators Dion Graham and Tavia Gilbert.

“Performed by a gifted cast, this slice of our history stays with the listener.” — AudioFile Magazine

“Easy to see why this one was the winner.” — Audible

ADVISORY: Contains racist language and depictions of racial violence appropriate to its 1968 setting. Best suited for mature YA readers and adults.

Editorial Reviews

Editorial Reviews

“Will sweep you away to the turbulent times of the Civil Rights Movement…replete with a full cast and exceptional sound design.” —Audible.com (audio review)
“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.” —AudioFile
“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.” —Debby Irving, author of Waking Up White
“Puts the themes of To Kill a Mockingbird into overdrive…Unfinching…A novel for our times.” —BookClubz
“A deftly-crafted, thought-provoking, and solid work of YA historical fiction. Unreservedly recommended for both school and community library YA fiction collections.” —Midwest Book Review
“Historical fiction at its finest.” —Nancy Julien Kopp, contributor to A Children’s Book of Bedtime Verse
“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.” —Leslie M. Martino, educator, education consultant, adjunct professor, and author, audio review
“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.” —Maryrose Wood, award–winning author, audio review
“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.” — Dave McIntire, Kansas History Teacher of the Year, Pembroke Hill School
“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.” —Mark Potok, former senior fellow, Southern Poverty Law Center
“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.” —Jenna Chandler-Ward, co-founder, Teaching While White

Reviews

Reviews

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Author

Author Bio: Grant Overstake

Author Bio: Grant Overstake

Grant Overstake, author and former Miami Herald staff writer, has written two novels on important themes for young people. His premier novel, Maggie Vaults Over the Moon, received widespread critical acclaim for its focus on grief and recovery from loss. The Real Education of TJ Crowley explores the thorny issue of race and relationships between students during the Civil Rights era.

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Details

Details

Available Formats : CD, Library CD, MP3 CD, Playaway
Category: Fiction/Coming-of-Age
Runtime: 9.25
Audience: Young Adult (12–17)
Language: English

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