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SYNC returns April 27, 2023

2023 Week 1, April 27 - May 3, 2023: Freedom to Know

TOP SECRET The Battle for the Pentagon Papers

Earphones Award Winner

by Geoffrey Cowan, Leroy Aarons | Read by John Heard, Susan Sullivan, James Gleason, and a Full Cast

L.A. Theatre Works
Poetry & Drama

History as melodrama. This exciting production, recorded before a live audience, dramatizes the WASHINGTON POST's struggle with the Nixon administration over the publication of the... Read More

YOU CAN'T SAY THAT! Writers for Young People Talk about Censorship, Free Expression, and the Stories They Have to Tell

by Leonard S. Marcus [Ed.] | Read by Tom Parks, Roxanne Hernandez, Arthur Morey, Janet Metzger, Thom Rivera, Susan Dalian

Brilliance Audio/ Candlewick
Children

Multiple narrators reenact interviews with authors on censorship and free expression. The discussions are between editor Leonard S. Marcus and 13 authors of controversial books for... Read More

2023 Week 2, May 4 - 10, 2023: Classics Reimagined for Our Time

THE FAMILY CHAO

by Lan Samantha Chang | Read by Brian Nishii

Recorded Books
Fiction

Narrator Brian Nishii showcases his versatility with a lively and entertaining performance of this contemporary retelling of THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV. For 35 years, the Chao family... Read More

2023 Week 3, May 11 - 17, 2023: Life Lessons

THE REPUBLIC

by Plato, Benjamin Jowett [Trans.] | Read by Leighton Pugh

Naxos AudioBooks
Classics

Narrator Leighton Pugh gives all the interlocutors in Plato’s most important dialogue their own voices. But only Socrates, who does almost all the talking, comes across as a full... Read More

THE SCHOOL THAT ESCAPED THE NAZIS The True Story of the Schoolteacher Who Defied Hitler

by Deborah Cadbury | Read by Julie Teal

Hachette Audio
History

Julie Teal carefully narrates the story of principal Anna Essinger, a woman of unflinching spirit who was determined to save the children in her school in Nazi Germany. With... Read More

2023 Week 4, May 18 - 24, 2023: Magical Creatures

THE KEEPER OF NIGHT The Keeper of Night, Book 1

by Kylie Lee Baker | Read by Rebecca Yeo

Dreamscape
Young Adult

Narrator Rebecca Yeo brings this YA fantasy to life with deft characterizations. Ren is a near-immortal being who collects the souls of the dead and walks among the living and the... Read More

OUT OF THE BLUE

by Jason June | Read by André Santana, Neo Cihi

Harper Audio
Young Adult

André Santana and Neo Cihi narrate this dual-perspective queer fantasy romance. Crest is a “mer” who is heading off on their month-long journey. The purpose is to experience life... Read More

2023 Week 5, May 25 - 31, 2023: Thieves' Tales

ARSENE LUPIN VERSUS HERLOCK SHOLMES Arsène Lupin, Book 2

by Maurice Leblanc | Read by David Timson

Naxos AudioBooks
Classics

David Timson masterfully narrates this entertaining mystery in which two formidable opponents match wits. Famed English detective Herlock Sholmes is initially called to Paris to... Read More

MASK OF SHADOWS

by Linsey Miller | Read by Deryn Edwards

Dreamscape
Young Adult

Sallot Leon, a thief, steals a poster announcing open auditions for the Left Hand—the volunteers who function as the queen’s assassins. Sal goes to the auditions, hoping to be able... Read More

2023 Week 6, June 1 - 7, 2023: Remaking Ourselves

POOR MATZA Selected Stories of Avrom Reisen

by Avrom Reisen, Harvey Fink [Trans.] | Read by David Skulski

Post Hypnotic Press
Fiction

Thirty-eight stories of life in the Old Country and in the new are read in their newest translation into English. Born in Russia, Reisen wrote Yiddish tales of shtetl life in... Read More

THE TRUTH ABOUT WHITE LIES

by Olivia A Cole | Read by Mela Lee

Hachette Audio
Young Adult

Mela Lee’s narration shines as Cole’s realistic young adult story about fitting in at a new school illuminates our nation’s inability to face our history of white privilege. Lee... Read More

2023 Week 7, June 8 - 14, 2023: Dangerous Waters

FRACTURED TIDE

by Leslie Lutz | Read by Chloe Dolandis

Blink
Young Adult

Narrator Chloe Dolandis keeps the tension high in this creepy YA thriller. Sia Gianopoulos has diving in her blood. After a charter dive goes wrong and the boat is wrecked by a... Read More

HURRICANE SONG A Novel of New Orleans

by Paul Volponi | Read by Jacob Norman

Brilliance Audio
Young Adult

God slaps the New Orleans Superdome like a drum as he sings a hurricane song called Katrina in this riveting young adult novel. Between the authenticity of the writing and narrator... Read More

2023 Week 8, June 15 - 21, 2023: Weapons of War

SPEARHEAD (ADAPTED FOR YOUNG ADULTS) An American Tank Gunner, His Enemy, and a Collision of Lives in World War II

by Adam Makos | Read by Johnathan McClain

Listening Library
Young Adult

Narrator Johnathan McClain offers a propulsive reading of Adam Makos's true story of tank warfare during WWII. This young adult adaptation of Makos's bestselling work takes... Read More

TOMMY The Gun That Changed America

by Karen Blumenthal | Read by Maggi-Meg Reed

Listening Library
Young Adult

Maggi-Meg Reed flavors her nonfiction narration with lilts that lend drama to the story of the Thompson submachine gun (Tommy gun) in America in the 1920s and '30s. Reed first... Read More

2023 Week 9, June 22 - 28, 2023: Celebrate the Rainbow Spectrum

BEYOND MAGENTA Transgender Teens Speak Out

by Susan Kuklin | Read by Tanya Eby, Nick Podehl, Todd Haberkorn, Roxanne Hernandez, Janina Edwards, Nancy Wu, Marisol Ramirez

Brilliance Audio/ Candlewick
Young Adult

An ensemble of voices delivers this candid collection of interviews with gender-nonconforming teens who struggle to be accepted. The diverse compilation of narratives presents two... Read More

LOVELESS

by Alice Oseman | Read by Billie Fulford-Brown, Elizabeth Schenk, Imogen Church

Scholastic Audiobooks
Young Adult

Billie Fulford-Brown narrates this contemporary British coming-out story. Eighteen-year-old Georgia has never kissed anyone, much less dated, had sex, or fallen in love. In fact,... Read More

2023 Week 10, June 29 - July 5, 2023: Inventive People

BUMP

by Chiara Atik | Read by Ana Ortiz, Herbert Siguenza, Alma Martinez, and a Full Cast

L.A. Theatre Works
Poetry & Drama

Chiara Atik's play is performed with flair by a vivacious cast of talented actors. The play intertwines three subplots involving pregnancy and childbirth. One features hilarious... Read More

THE WOMAN WHO SPLIT THE ATOM The Life of Lise Meitner

Earphones Award Winner

by Marissa Moss | Read by Sandy Rustin

Recorded Books
Children

The life of groundbreaking nuclear physicist Lise Meitner (1878-1968) is given voice by narrator Sandy Rustin. Marginalized by sexism, Meitner, an Austrian Jew, struggled to pursue... Read More

2023 Week 11, July 6 - 12, 2023: Real Life, Phenomenal Fiction

THE BOY IN THE RED DRESS

by Kristin Lambert | Read by Sophie Amoss

Listening Library
Young Adult

Narrator Sophie Amoss gives voice to a headstrong amateur sleuth in this intriguing historical whodunit. On New Year’s Eve, 1929, a debutante is found murdered outside of the Cloak... Read More

THIS REBEL HEART

by Katherine Locke | Read by Kathleen Gati, Steven Jay Cohen

Listening Library
Young Adult

Narrator Kathleen Gati deftly captures the tensions of the harrowing 1956 Hungarian Revolution in this powerful audiobook. The murder of 18-year-old Csilla Tisza's parents weighs... Read More

2023 Week 12, July 13 - 19, 2023: Transformative Legends, Legends Transformed

THE LANTERN'S EMBER

by Colleen Houck | Read by Piper Goodeve

HighBridge Audio
Young Adult

Piper Goodeve's talents are showcased in this young adult fantasy. Charged with safeguarding a portal to the Otherworld, Jack has dutifully performed his job for hundreds of years.... Read More

RED HOOD

Earphones Award Winner

by Elana K. Arnold | Read by January LaVoy

Harper Audio
Young Adult

The second-person point of view can be distancing, but January LaVoy creates such a visceral world for 16-year-old Bisou that the space between listeners and characters fades. In... Read More

2023 Week 13, July 20 - 26, 2023: Caught in Another's Game

THE GETAWAY

by Lamar Giles | Read by Karl T. Wright, Imani Parks, P.J. Ochlan

Scholastic Audiobooks
Young Adult

Karl T. Wright takes the mic, supported by Imani Parks and P.J. Ochlan, in this tale of a haven turned hellscape. For teen protagonist Jay and the other resident workers—mostly... Read More

THE WONDERLAND COLLECTION

by Lewis Carroll | Read by Simon Bubb

Thomas Nelson
Classics

Simon Bubb's whimsical narration ideally sets the stage for three of Lewis Carroll's classic works. The collection includes ALICE IN WONDERLAND, ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS,... Read More

2023 Week 14, July 27 - August 2, 2023: Community Power Builds Our Future

FREEDOM! The Story of the Black Panther Party

by Jetta Grace Martin, Joshua Bloom, Waldo E. Martin Jr. | Read by Dion Graham

Recorded Books
Young Adult

Capably performed by the inimitable Dion Graham, this history of the Black Panther Party (BPP) opens with stories of its founders and the organization itself and closes with the... Read More

NOT WITHOUT LAUGHTER

by Langston Hughes | Read by Jaime Lincoln Smith

Tantor Media
Classics

This classic depiction of Black family life in Kansas in the 1930s is narrated with grace and skill by Jaime Lincoln Smith. The work brings the struggles and challenges of... Read More

Recent Tweets
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Plan Your SYNC Participation: SYNC 2023 Titles By Genre

With the SYNC season starting next month, now is a good time to prepare so you are able to collect the free audiobooks you want to add to your personal Sora shelf. While each of the 14 weeks of the season brings a pair of free audiobooks for you to keep indefinitely, consider which titles have the highest appeal to you, and make sure to note which weeks those audiobooks will be available.

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SYNC Fits into Your Summer Activity Planning

AudioFile created the SYNC program as an enhancement for teen learning experiences, including and reaching beyond literacy support. Each year the SYNC season’s list of titles, and how they will be paired for each weekly giveaway, is published months ahead so that families, teachers, librarians, and others can identify how specific audiobooks, or specific pairs of audiobooks, can benefit program planning from April into next autumn.

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