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Upward Bound

The New York Times bestselling novel about friendship, connection and the dreams that shape us

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Upward Bound

Written by: Woody Brown
Narrated by: Alex Edelman, Brandon Flynn, Carlos Miranda, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Midori Francis, Nikki M. James, Pete Holmes, T.R. Knight
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

A vibrant, profoundly moving novel about friendship, connection and the dreams that shape us, set in an adult daycare centre in California.

Among the clients and staff are Carlos, a charismatic aide who lost his mother as a boy, and Jorge, who is gentle, nonspeaking and prone to escape despite Carlos’s best efforts. Tom, a beautiful young man with cerebral palsy, pines for Ann, the lifeguard for the summer who feels out of her depth. Then there’s Dave, the centre’s director. He wanted to be an actor, but finds himself on a very different path.

At the heart of Upward Bound is Walter, a recent college student returning to the company of his peers after a family tragedy. Around him, a story unfolds of friendships forged, connections missed and the dreams – some new, others almost forgotten – that shape us. With his wit, empathy and astonishing gifts as a storyteller, Woody Brown immerses us in life as we have never experienced it before.

‘Wonderfully inspirational’ PAUL BEATTY
‘Moving and funny and ringing with life’ GUARDIAN
‘A complicated joy’ RODDY DOYLE

(c) Woody Brown 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

 Coming of Age Friendship Genre Fiction Literary Fiction
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Critic Reviews

Implosive and wonderfully inspirational. Upward Bound is acutely aware that be it indigo, autism, social class, or the gamma ray, everything and everyone is on the spectrum (PAUL BEATTY, Booker Prize winner of The Sellout)
A fascinating insight into the mind of an autistic person and genuinely entertaining… Want to know what it’s like to be autistic? Read this novel
Great characters, great pace, great story – reading Upward Bound is a complicated joy (RODDY DOYLE, Booker Prize winner of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha)
Awe-inspiring . . . deeply funny and eye-opening. If the highest calling of art is to open the heart to the perspective of others, thereby creating a more compassionate world, Upward Bound is a lodestar. Reading it, I felt energised to be a better person (MARIA SEMPLE, author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette)
[A] revelation that forces you to ask: How much do we overlook in people – how many gifts do we fail to nurture – by making overly hasty judgments? (Frank Bruni)
Compassionate, insightful, funny – and at times quietly, righteously angry at the slights and prejudices the community faces. Just beautiful
A luminous, eye-opening novel of human connection and hope that will stay with me for a long time. Woody Brown’s writing is deeply moving, and filled with so much heart (CECILE PIN, author of Wandering Souls)
Upward Bound is a book that feels as if it was painted by David Hockney. This is a story of friendship, dreams, and rich inner worlds. Woody Brown writes with a levity that cuts to the heart, in a language that brims with light (SEÁN HEWITT, author of Open, Heaven)
Upward Bound gives us the world from the perspective of someone rarely noticed or understood . . . Wondrous and distinctly brilliant (RIVKA GALCHEN, author of Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch)
Reading Upward Bound reminded me why stories matter. Woody Brown’s writing carries an earned wisdom that remains with us long after the final page (JACQUELINE CROOKS, author of Fire Rush)
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