Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • The Lifters

  • By: Dave Eggers
  • Narrated by: Dion Graham
  • Length: 5 hrs and 18 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (7 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Lifters cover art

The Lifters

By: Dave Eggers
Narrated by: Dion Graham
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £13.00

Buy Now for £13.00

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Boy Who Couldn't Fly Straight cover art
Floors cover art
Wizard for Hire cover art
Mrs. Saint and the Defectives cover art
Walking Alone cover art
The Matchstick Castle cover art
The Wright Three cover art
The Forgetting Place cover art
Nebulous cover art
Three Days Breathing cover art
The Memory of Light cover art
Powerless cover art
Harrison Squared cover art
Hangman's Curse cover art
The Silent History cover art
The Hidden World cover art

Summary

Discover an underground world full of tunnels and mystery in this middle grade adventure from the best-selling, Pulitzer-nominated author of Heroes of the Frontier and What Is the What?

What if nothing was as it seemed? What if the ground beneath your feet was not made of solid earth and stone but had been hollowed into hundreds of tunnels and passageways? What if there were mysterious forces in these tunnels, mere inches below you as you sit in class or eat a banana?

What if it were up to just two kids to stop these forces? What would it feel like to know the fate of an entire town rested on your shoulders?

Twelve-year-old Gran Flowerpetal is about to find out.

When Gran's friend, the difficult-to-impress Catalina Catalan, presses a silver handle into a hillside and opens a doorway to underground, he knows that she is extraordinary and brave and that he will have no choice but to follow her and help her save the town (and the known world). With luck on their side and some discarded hockey sticks for good measure, they might just emerge as heroes.

In The Lifters, critically acclaimed author Dave Eggers establishes himself as a storyteller who can entertain and inspire listeners of any age. This middle grade adventure has all the makings of a classic.

©2018 Dave Eggers (P)2018 Listening Library

Critic reviews

“This book is a ripper, full of all the good stuff: adventure, mystery, and lots of great jokes.” (Mac Barnett, Caldecott Honor–winning author of Extra Yarn)

"A heart-gladdening work of allegorical genius...brilliantly rendering the bewildering stupidity of the adult world as seen by children." (The Guardian)

"Eggers performs a marvelous sleight of hand, producing a first-rate middle grade adventure that doubles as a political parable for our times." (The Buffalo News)

What listeners say about The Lifters

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Funny, and a beautiful metaphor. My 8 and 11 year olds loved it. They say they enjoyed the humour and their favourite character was the Duke. And that Catalina Catalan is a superhero name.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

'New town' mystery and adventure

Any additional comments?

Many children's stories show the protagonist moving to a new town and finding things aren't as you'd expect. Here we have a great example, with a rather intriguing concept and some memorable characters.

Gran (full name Granite Flowerpetal, I kid you not) moves 1000 miles with his family after his father cannot find work. With a mother wheelchair-bound and a father travelling far and wide to find jobs, he and his sister start at a new school in Carousel and begin to notice buildings... sinking.

There is an underground world that Gran discovers, alongside a new friend, the also interestingly-named Catalina Catalan. My favourite part of the book though, was the battle between citizens of the town, fighting over Propositions P and S, and M and H (supporting Parks and Schools or providing funds to stop Moose via a Helicopter warning system). Brilliant.

An enjoyable story for young readers, an exciting concept from an author known for his adult novels. The narrator of the Audible copy I listened to brought the story to life and it's a voice that worked well for both genders.

I wanted more about the Propositions, but overall I liked this fairly brief story.

One for ages 9-12.

With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample reading copy via Audible.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!