Audiobooks Like The Reformatory

Joniece Abbott-Pratt narrates The Reformatory with a precision that holds the horror and the tenderness in the same space — at 21 hours, the story has room to accumulate its dread slowly, and her performance gives the 12-year-old protagonist a specific, watchful quality that makes the supernatural elements feel earned rather than imposed. The recommendations here are highly rated and sit in similar runtime territory, drawn together by the same seriousness of purpose and emotional weight.

10 audiobooks for fans of The Reformatory

  1. 1
    Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 cover

    Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942

    The Pacific War Trilogy • Book 1

    by Ian W. Toll

    Narrated by Grover Gardner

    4.74 ABR Score (14.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.61 Goodreads (10.4K) ★ 4.82 Audible (4.2K)
    22h 6m listening time • Released 2011

    Grover Gardner's measured, authoritative narration transforms Toll's meticulous battle accounts into a gripping you-are-there experience—22 hours that feel essential, not exhausting.

  2. 2
    Code Name Hélène cover

    Code Name Hélène

    by Ariel Lawhon

    Narrated by Barrie Kreinik, Peter Ganim

    4.69 ABR Score (90.3K ratings)
    ★ 4.41 Goodreads (82.5K) ★ 4.76 Audible (7.8K)
    17h 17m listening time • Released 2020
  3. 3
    The Huntress cover

    The Huntress

    by Kate Quinn

    Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld

    4.60 ABR Score (231.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.3 Goodreads (217.5K) ★ 4.66 Audible (14.1K)
    19h 4m listening time • Released 2019
  4. 4
    Pachinko (National Book Award Finalist) cover

    Pachinko (National Book Award Finalist)

    by Min Jin Lee

    Narrated by Sandra Oh, Min Jin Lee

    4.51 ABR Score (642.9K ratings)
    ★ 4.34 Goodreads (641.5K) ★ 4.64 Audible (1.4K)
    17h 48m listening time • Released 2024
  5. 5
    Genghis: Birth of an Empire cover

    Genghis: Birth of an Empire

    Conqueror • Book 1

    by Conn Iggulden

    Narrated by Richard Ferrone

    4.46 ABR Score (39.1K ratings)
    ★ 4.39 Goodreads (38.2K) ★ 4.68 Audible (876)
    18h 14m listening time • Released 2011
  6. 6
    The Shadow of the Wind cover

    The Shadow of the Wind

    Cemetery of Forgotten Books • Book 1

    by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

    Narrated by Daniel Weyman

    4.31 ABR Score (727.9K ratings)
    ★ 4.31 Goodreads (727.6K) ★ 4.51 Audible (304)
    17h 13m listening time • Released 2011

    A love letter to books and Barcelona — a boy finds a novel by a forgotten author and uncovers a mystery that threatens his own life.

  7. 7
    The Nightingale cover

    The Nightingale

    by Kristin Hannah

    Narrated by Polly Stone

    5.00 ABR Score (2.3M ratings)
    ★ 4.65 Goodreads (2.2M) ★ 4.84 Audible (116.4K)
    17h 19m listening time • Released 2015

    Polly Stone's dual narration captures two sisters' raw defiance under Nazi occupation with such emotional precision that you'll forget you're listening rather than living it.

  8. 8
    The Help cover

    The Help

    by Kathryn Stockett

    Narrated by Cassandra Campbell, Jenna Lamia, Octavia Spencer, Bahni Turpin

    4.95 ABR Score (3.1M ratings)
    ★ 4.47 Goodreads (3.0M) ★ 4.81 Audible (46.3K)
    18h 6m listening time • Released 2009

    The four narrators each disappear into their characters so completely, you'll forget you're listening to a performance. This is how ensemble audiobooks should work.

  9. 9
    The Other Boleyn Girl cover

    The Other Boleyn Girl

    The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels • Book 9

    by Philippa Gregory

    Narrated by Vanessa Kirby

    4.52 ABR Score (517.3K ratings)
    ★ 4.09 Goodreads (515.4K) ★ 4.77 Audible (2.0K)
    22h 13m listening time • Released 2019
  10. 10
    Under Fire cover

    Under Fire

    The Corps • Book 9

    by W.E.B. Griffin

    Narrated by Dick Hill

    4.49 ABR Score (6.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.38 Goodreads (4.7K) ★ 4.78 Audible (1.4K)
    24h 48m listening time • Released 2013

    Dick Hill's narration transforms this Korean War epic into something you can't stop listening to—his ability to shift between dozens of military voices and personalities makes the sprawling cast feel like real men under impossible pressure.

How We Rank Audiobooks

Rankings are driven by listener ratings and review counts from Audible and Goodreads. Books with high ratings across a large number of listeners rank higher — a 4.5 with 50,000 ratings says more than a 4.8 with 200.

Unlike most book lists, we weight audiobook-specific factors: narrator performance, production quality, and how well a story translates to audio. A great book with a poor narration isn't a great audiobook.

We don't accept paid placements or prioritize new releases. These rankings reflect what listeners actually enjoy, not what's being promoted.

Rankings update periodically as new ratings come in and new titles are added to the collection.

Read our full ranking methodology →