Much like the Tuck’s, Natalie Babbitt’s book has remained evergreen as the decades have passed. Although I’ve certainly aged, I was quickly wrapped up in the story and sad when it ended.

Alexis Bledel was a natural choice due to her part in the film version years ago. She did an amazing job bringing the book to life. Her gentle narration was filled with wonder and sincerity, making this audio version superb.

I enjoy recommending audiobooks to families taking car trips for summer vacations or holidays. This will be a staple recommendation. The story combined with stellar narration will be enjoyed by numerous patrons- I can’t wait to hear what they think!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing a digital preview in response to my request!

"Don't be afraid of death; be afraid of an unlived life.
You don't have to live forever, you just have to live."

Tuck Everlasting might be small in length but it is sure to leave its readers with big thoughts. This classic tale is one that will stay in my head and heart for years to come.

Author Natalie Babbitt poses the question “If you could choose immortality over certain death, what would your choice be?” At first glance, the choice seems like an easy one to make, but could what first seems like a blessing actually end up being a curse?

Alexis Bledel did a fantastic job at bringing Winnie Foster and this classic story to life. Her soothing voice made this audiobook extra cozy making it an audiobook that you can easily cuddle up with and finish in one sitting. The added sound effects through the story made it that much more of a magical experience. The 50th Anniversary Edition audiobook has given new life to this timeless story and is a great way to introduce your children to this classic book. Highly recommend grabbing a copy for your family.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Pub Date (for the 50th anniversary edition audio): September 2, 2025

4.5 stars
I read this book back in middle school and I think it was one of the books that really got me into reading fantasy. There are so many good lessons in here too and it is just a lovely book no matter the format.

The narrator did a great job bringing this amazing story to life.

ALC REVIEW:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Natalie Babbit’s Tuck Everlasting, Macmillan Audio is releasing a brand new audiobook.

While Tuck Everlasting is considered a classic, it is no stranger to backlash. The audiobook begins with a forward from none other than Gabrielle Zevin. As a distinguished author in her own right, most notably for her book, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Zevin breaks down how the middle grade book has been challenged for its content. This thought provoking beginning serves as the perfect introduction to new and returning readers.

After hearing from Zevin, the audiobook goes directly into the story narrated by Alexis Bledel. Bledel was most likely chosen to narrate the audiobook due to her being the actress who portrayed Winnie Foster in the 2002 movie adaptation. Lending her voice and talent, Bledel breathes new life into Babbit’s words. Utilizing her soft spoken nature, soothing tones, and childlike wonder, she was the perfect choice for this project.

It was so fun revisiting Tuck Everlasting for its 50th anniversary celebration. I highly encourage readers of all ages to check this project out when it releases later this year (September 2nd)!

Special thanks to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio/ Macmillan Youth Listeners, and all involved for allowing me to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

"Tuck Everlasting" has been a staple on the shelves of elementary and middle-grade schools since 1975 but reads as fresh and poignant as ever. A young girl, Winnie Foster, frustrated with the summer heat and an overbearing family, ventures in the woods. There she encounters a young man drinking from a spring and here begins her adventure with the Tuck family, their secret, the dangers of discovery, and the question: Would immortality be a blessing or a curse and what would you do if faced with that choice?

This short book is perfect for ages 9 and up, and reads like an allegory. The writing is respectful of children's emotional intelligence, exploring the concepts of life and death, love, friendship and promises without overwhelming or underestimating. This may very well be the best middle-grade book ever written.

Alexis Bledel , of Gilmore Girls fame, strikes a perfect balance as the audio book's narrator. Her tone is warm with subtlety that showcases her real understanding of the text, the characters and the drama as the story unfolds without ever rushing the story. The 2025 new forward read by Gabrielle Zevin ("Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow"), although well done, is somewhat unnecessary and may bore young Readers who don't want to be told what they are about to read or how they may feel about it.

Brilliant writing, excellent narration, and a smattering of well-timed quiet music all add up to a highly recommendable experience.

This was such a lovely rendition of a beloved classic. I read Tuck Everlasting as a child and was curious how the story would hold up as an adult. I can only say that it still had incredible power and moved me deeply. The story is charming and heartwarming, with a bittersweet gravity tying it all together.

Tuck Everlasting stands out as novel written for children which strongly affirms their emotional and physical autonomy and takes seriously their ability to understand complex topics-- whether they be moral, existential, or conceptual. Perfect for anyone looking for a cozy, thoughtful read reflecting on death in a hopeful way.

The audiobook narrator was very good and I loved the whimsical music added to the background. It made you feel like you in the world. A very quick and cozy story about a young girl who is thinking of running away from home but she happens upon a boy in the woods on her family's land. The boy is drinking from a spring when she decides she wants to drink from the water too. It quickly turns into a story of a child learning about what death is in the circle of life. It was a deep and moving story for someone who is first learning about how death is normal even if the child or person is scared. I wish I would of read it as a child, I feel as if I might have understood more of the world than learning about hard things later in life.

A classic novel. Couldn’t think of a more perfect narrator than Alexis Bledel. It was as lovely as I hoped it would be.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 Stars (Outstanding)
Setting: Rural Treegap, an unnamed village in the United States, during the late 1800s or early 1900s, with most of the story taking place in the woods and surrounding countryside.
Genre: Fantasy, Classic Literature, Philosophical Fiction, Coming-of-Age

This book has stayed with me ever since I first turned the final page. Tuck Everlasting is the kind of story that sneaks up on you—it’s short, but it’s deep and thought-provoking in the best way. The writing is poetic and beautiful, and the questions it raises about life, death, and the meaning of eternity are ones I’m still thinking about.

Winnie Foster is such a relatable character, caught between childhood and growing up, and her encounter with the Tuck family completely changes how she sees the world. I especially loved how gently and wisely Babbitt explores the idea of living forever—it’s not romanticized, but instead shown through a thoughtful, emotional lens.

This is one of those books I think every reader should experience. It reads like a fairytale, but its message is real and lasting. I know I’ll be recommending this one again and again.

A quiet masterpiece. Honest, haunting, and unforgettable. #netgalley #tuckeverlasting #booked_this_weekend

This book will never get old, the story of Winnie and her adventures with the Tucks is one to remember. Friendship, struggles and talk of both life and death.

I loved this movie and a kid so it was fun hearing it read by Alexis Beldel.

Listening to the 50 year anniversary edition of Tuck Everlasting read by Alexis Bledel was pure nostalgia. It’s been a couple decades since I first read this book and it was so nice to return to it. Alexis Bledel really brought this classic back to life. So beautifully done.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook.

I have loved Tuck Everlasting since I read it for the first time in fifth grade. This is probably my fifth time reading this book and it never gets old. I loved that Alexis Bledel read this audiobook since she played Winnie in the movie :) Loved every minute of it!

Over the years, I have often said to people that “reading Romeo and Juliet ruined Romeo and Juliet for me.” It’s been over a decade since I delved into the story of Tuck Everlasting, a book I only read because the film made by Disney had come out and was an instant favorite of mine, but I feel rather similarly to how I have felt about Romeo and Juliet ever since the actual play crossed my desk in Freshman English.

I had always found the ending of Tuck Everlasting irritating in so many ways, despite understanding its purpose. Such as was the case with Peter Pan, my heart had always wanted to see Winnie choose the path that would allow her to be with Jesse. As an adult, now reading this book, I have a bit of a more realistic view than I had as a child. And the truth is that, with the ways of the world, it makes infinitely more sense—especially when pairing this with the overall theme and message of the story—that Winnie choose a lived life over immortality. It certainly makes the tale less romantic, but the realities of first loves and growing up very reasonably and, even more so, necessarily negate the idea of romance in the relationship between Winnie and Jesse.

Natalie Babbitt wrote Tuck Everlasting with a specific goal in mind—to explore the truth of death and introduce the concept of immortality as an experience to be abhorred rather than idolized. This theme, permeating every aspect of the book—coming to a head in Tuck’s jealousy over the man in the yellow suit’s ability to die—is integral and could not be achieved if young Winnie Foster retained Jesse Tuck’s immature outlook on the world and life. Of course, we cannot necessarily fault Jesse for having maintained this view, being stuck at the age of seventeen both in body and in mind. His growth as a person feels stymied in the book, perpetually frozen without the ability to develop. It is perhaps for this reason that when we meet him and he has spent some time with ten-year-old Winnie, he immaturely suggests to her that she should drink the water and retain her own immortality when she has reached the age of seventeen.

But a lot of growth can occur in seven years. And for Winnie, it did.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge this unfortunate piece of the story: that of Jesse Tuck, seventeen years old, suggesting to a ten-year-old Winnie Foster that she should not only wait for him but freeze her life once she has reached a similar age. Winnie’s crush on Jesse is perfectly fine, makes sense for a little girl. But the fact that he reciprocated, even mildly? The fact that he saw this ten-year-old girl knowing his family’s secret as an opportunity to have someone he could love? As someone who has come to this book long after loving the film adaptation, I hated this. And while I can mildly accept that Jesse Tuck is truly of and from a different time, one in which Winnie’s age probably did not matter much by way of planning marriages, it still feels inherently icky that he would make any such comments to a girl that young. I find myself no longer rooting for Winnie and Jesse when reading the book rather than watching the film. And I do think that is the point in the end.

Watching the movie, I was on Jesse’s side in despair. Reading the book, I empathize more so with Tuck. This leaves me entirely incapable of feeling the emotions of the novel nearly as viscerally as I felt them with the film—I just can't get past how gross I feel to be able to cry about her decision in the end. I truly do wonder why Babbitt didn't decide to make Winnie a little bit older in order to justify Jesse's later behavior.

All of this to be said, I have every respect for the message of the novel and agree wholeheartedly with how Babbitt was able to portray it. Does this make me love the story as much as I used to? Absolutely not. I genuinely do retain my preference for the film adaptation, despite certain changes not exactly fitting in well with the established characters or plot. But, I am at heart the kind of person who prefers the love story. There’s so much merit in the book, but if given the choice I’ll probably decide to watch the film instead of rereading the book—which is not typically the case for me, but as a trend tends to happen when I dislike the manner in which the love story was handled.

I don’t know if, when I’m finally an adult with a child, I’ll read this book to them. The merits certainly make this a great book to read with your child in order to introduce the concept of death, even if the story as a whole isn’t one of my favorites. When I was young, my frustration with the love story and the degree to which I found this novel rather dull led me to rate it at three stars; as an adult who can now more readily appreciate the message about life and death, I’ve adjusted this to four.

There’s also something rather intriguing to me about having Alexis Bledel, the actress who played Winnie Foster in the film, narrate the 50th Anniversary Edition of the novel. It almost feels like blending two worlds that live adjacent to each other, but don’t quite fit into the same puzzle, especially for those of us who don’t want to be feeling icky about the love story. I enjoyed her narration overall, however. She has a lovely voice and is able to capture the emotion of the story at every beat, it’s just a little weird when knowing she is the narrator leaves the reader thinking near constantly of the film.

“Tuck Everlasting” by Natalie Babbitt is a poignant and thought-provoking tale that explores the consequences of immortality through the eyes of young Winnie Foster. I loved every minute of this classic on audiobook!

An amazing classic done even better with Alexis Bledel as narration. I could not love this more! She did a great job with breathing fresh air into the story. It made me want to re-watch the movie!

Sometimes kids books are for kids and that's alright
If I read this as a youth, would've probably enjoyed it

This book is as the Tuck family is. A stone, never changing. Always loved.

I was first introduced to Tuck Everlasting when the movie was coming out and it was on the summer reading list for my older brother. The joy I felt when summer ended and he still had not read it and I could sneak into his room and steal it for my own still lives with me.
I had watched the movie, loving Alexis Bledel as the choice of Winnie Foster.
The first time I read this book it became my favorite in an instant. And the movie has remained a favorite over the years as well.

Getting to listen to Alexis Bledel's voice during this audio is a sweet trip down memory lane. Thankfully, Alexis did not drink the water. And she has aged since originally being Winnie Foster, so when she reads it now, her voice has differed. Although it is the same voice we once had for Winnie, It is also a different voice. Almost unrecognizable softness adds to her reading of this.

Listening has made me realize the symbolism that I had overlooked in the past too. I enjoyed this so much. I finished my listen one night preparing to put my son to bed. Dad looked over and saw me crying not knowing why. The feeling of heartbreak during the tough conversations in this book hit me harder as a mother, and family has lost a young life since my first reading.

The idea of Miles outliving his children, his grandchildren, everyone who might come from his line is a torture I wish nobody ever felt.

I think that the narrator choice couldn't have been better. I will be recommending this audio as a teaching tool to all my friends who teach this book! Beautifully done.
I have already recommended this to school districts for a Tuck Unit.

I love, love, love this story, and I love it more with every read. I love the movie, I love the graphic novel, and now I love this audiobook. There is a reason this is a classic, and the story and dialogue hold up so well. The language is beautiful and the narration is perfect. Many thanks to NetGalley for an early eaudio.

I loved this book when I was a child and read it to my children when they were young. It’s a wonderful story that has stood the test of time. The narration by Alexis Bleidel is excellent and I enjoyed the audiobook very much.

So glad that a new generation of children will get to enjoy this timeless story.

This was my favorite book, growing up so I just knew I had to give it a listen for the 50th Anniversary. While much shorter than it seemed to me as a child, the emotional impact was the same! What a beautiful, timeless story!