New Reviews: Young Adult

Myths come to life through Bahni Turpin and Robin Miles's stellar narration of this young adult fantasy. Marisol and her mother left their home in the Caribbean to live in Brooklyn. Marisol hopes to leave their island traditions and her family's magic behind. Genevieve grew up listening to her white father's mythical stories from her unknown mother's homeland. When the teens'... Read More

This gripping and thought-provoking audiobook will not only please fans of dystopian stories, especially the author's, but will also add new listeners to both groups. In a post-Covid world, Crown Royale, a new virus that is seen as life ending--whether or not the sick recover--is spreading rapidly. All those who do recover experience enlightenment, losing any negative feelings... Read More

The true story of the Fox Sisters, as delivered by Sophie Amoss, brings listeners to rural New York in 1848. This story is pieced together from surviving letters, news articles, and other accounts. As children, Kate and Maggie Fox were believed to communicate with the dead. The curiosity of their mother, then a neighbor, then their hometown, and then the world led to... Read More

Karen Murray's balanced narration fits this nonfiction account of Jim Jones and the tragedy at the Peoples Temple in Jonestown, Guyana, in 1978. Murray's tone reflects the author's research on the early religious zeal that fueled the imaginations of Jones's followers. Murray presents facts, people, and anecdotes, setting scenes as Jones nurtures followers' trust based on his... Read More

Em Grosland voices trans con artist Phyllis as he uses his magic to steal people's body parts and hold them for ransom--all to satisfy his partner in crime, Lucent. But when one target, Wycliff, can't pay for his stolen nose due to his sister, Adeline's, disappearance, Phyllis disguises himself as a duke and infiltrates the nobility to find her. Grosland smoothly portrays a... Read More

Joy McCullough's narration of her novel written in prose and verse revolves around 16-year-old Carmela Tofana, whose mother, Giulia, finally allows her to apprentice as an apothecary in 17th-century Rome. The story is full of drama as the women who run the apothecary deal with threats after Carmela gives a poison to a woman with an abusive husband. Giulia is blamed and has to... Read More

This audiobook is set in a dystopian future in which a powerful megacorporation enforces debt repayment through a brutal death match known as the Lamb's Gauntlet. The story revolves around Inesa, who is unwillingly offered as a sacrifice by her mother, and Melinoë, a cybernetically altered assassin who is sent to kill Inesa. As the two journey across a wasteland, something... Read More

Mia Hutchinson-Shaw and André Santana deliver alternating narratives of two unique teens--Viv, who fights for the environment, and Dex, who struggles with poverty. Hutchinson-Shaw's narration is tense and energetic as Viv confronts the people who support her town's economic base: fracking and its associated pipeline. She also captures Viv's quick mood changes and sensitive... Read More

Author and activist George M. Johnson skillfully narrates their audiobook about several Black queer artists and performers from the Harlem Renaissance. Their lively delivery keeps listeners interested as they share brief biographies of Langston Hughes, Josephine Baker, and other greats of the era. Each chapter is delightfully introduced with music from the period that... Read More

In Nell's family young women receive magic at the age of 15. Hayley Chewins narrates her novel in verse in quiet tones that make this remarkable story seem perfectly normal. Chewins's native South African accent helps listeners imagine the Cape Town setting where Nell's mother shifts her age from one day to the next and her sister is institutionalized for self-harm as she tries... Read More

Ivan Mok, Quyen Ngo, and a full cast narrate this award-winning 2020 graphic novel. Mok portrays 13-year-old English-speaking Tien, and Ngo portrays his mother, Helen, a Vietnamese refugee. Mok shows Tien's confusion as he crushes on a male classmate. Ngo conveys Helen's despair at losing her own mother and her longing for the past. Mother and son have always bridged language... Read More

Ariana Delawari reflects the uncomfortable mix of feelings of Cassie Perera, which began with her betrayal of her best friend, Ben, in sixth grade, when the two were caught swapping outfits. She denies her friendship to avoid revealing her same-sex attractions, hiding behind being perfect at school, church, and home. Delawari carries listeners forward into Cassie's junior... Read More

Four narrators authentically convey the emotional weight of teenagers thrust into a dangerous magical competition that is part of a murder mystery. When the Holtzfall heiress is murdered, a sometimes deadly contest to determine the next heir begins. Karissa Vacker voices Nora, daughter of the murdered heiress. She and journalist August, voiced by Colin White, work to uncover... Read More

Atkins's historical audiobook novel-in-verse shines a light on an important chapter of American history, beginning with the 1913 Women's March and ending with the 1920 ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. Chanté McCormick gives the historical, mostly forgotten, Matilda Young a compelling voice. Matilda's voice gains confidence and strength as she grows from a shy... Read More

With a gentle Southern accent, Michael Crouch narrates this story about figuring out who you are. When the Pride celebration in Zeke's small town of Beggs, Alabama, is abruptly canceled, he finds himself organizing underground speakeasies. But this puts him at odds with his friends in his high school's Queer Straight Alliance, who feel like he's taking too many risks, and with... Read More

Gary Tiedemann gives voice to "Rhino" Rhinehart, the featured character in Lipsyte's timely, troubling coming-of-age novel. Because of an impulsive punch, the junior captain of the football team finds himself keeping a journal as part of a school therapy group. Tiedemann delivers Rhino's words in the voice of a teen who is attempting honesty and beginning to question who he... Read More

Golden Voice Soneela Nankani projects the conviction of Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi in making a case for and following through on a world-changing march to demonstrate resistance to British colonial rule. Neal Bascomb provides a detailed and authentic narrative drawn from oral history, newspapers, and sources that allow listeners to understand the frustration felt by Indians,... Read More

Nene Nwoko narrates this story about a magical West African world where teens receive and navigate magical gifts and powers. Each teen generally gets one gift, and deviating from that norm frightens the village. Even being born a twin is considered outside acceptable norms. Listeners will be enchanted by Somadina as she searches for her missing twin, Jayaike, and learns to... Read More

Róisín Rankin narrates this action-packed story set at an elite Dublin school. Listeners meet a group of 16-year-olds who are hospitalized after a bomb blast in their chemistry lab. Was it an accident or a deliberate act? Each chapter presents a different viewpoint, as well as a mysterious countdown hinting at a more sinister event to come. Focusing on classmates Jess and... Read More

A full cast gives a wonderfully vibrant performance of Jason Reynolds's powerful story about found family and music. Nile Bullock heads up the ensemble as 18-year-old Stuyvesant (Stuy), an avid drummer. When he moves out because of his mom's new boyfriend, he meets Dunks, a genius on the guitar, and then Alexis (bass) and Keith (trumpet), all of whom love music just as much as... Read More

Melinda Sewak primarily narrates this horror audiobook about a Haitian American teen whose zombie abilities are grounded in Haitian folklore. Brielle's mother suffers from chronic pain, and despite working for the billionaire family whose company makes the pain medication she needs, her health insurance doesn't cover it. Brielle's new internship gives her access to ultra-rich... Read More

Selina Li Bi's debut YA audiobook tells the story of 15-year-old Chinese-Filipino teen Jasmine Cheng, who tries to uncover the answers to questions surrounding her personal history. Cindy Kay is the voice of Jasmine as she struggles to keep her homelife stable; get her troubled, free-spirited mother to share her truth; and find a way to navigate a world she sees as a threat.... Read More

Jefferson White shows remarkable skill balancing a youthful cast with the sobering reality they must face. Twenty-four years before Katniss's games, Haymitch, from District 12, must compete in the Hunger Games--with twice the tributes (competitors). White's perfect pacing adds intensity to the brutality of the games and lingering melancholy as Haymitch struggles to maintain his... Read More

Narrator Kevin R. Free's emotional connection to the dark, romantic audiobook tugs at listeners' heartstrings. Teenaged George, a vampire, is about to lose his life partner, James, to old age. Free's tone projects George's slowly breaking heart, even as a new opportunity for romance appears. Howard can't wait to finish high school, where he feels frustrated at the lack of... Read More

Golden Voice Ramón de Ocampo, who narrated each of the author's memoirs, delivers this hard-hitting YA novel in verse. De Ocampo guides listeners on its emotional journey, using the genre's rhythms to illuminate the relationship between high school seniors Diego and his best friend, Lawson. De Ocampo's poignant delivery highlights the contrast between anxious, rule-following,... Read More

Sophie Jo Wasson transports listeners to Ireland in 1847 with her poignant performance. Like many throughout the country, Nell's family's potato crop is infected with a black rot that makes the potatoes inedible. Farmers are forced to choose between paying their rent from the sale of their oat crops, or feeding their families and facing eviction. Amid those tragedies, Nell and... Read More