The Best New Audiobooks for Teen Listeners
AudioFile for The Children’s Book Review
This month AudioFile Editors have five exciting and moving audiobooks for Young Adult listeners. Tyla Collier, the narrator of our first selected audiobook below, will be featured in AudioFile’s Jan. 25th webinar “Hearing History with Black Voices”—be sure and sign up! We are also featuring two swoon-worthy romances, a captivating memoir, and a journey of self-discovery. Read on to learn more about all of this month’s engaging audiobooks.
Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People
Story by Kekla Magoon
Read by Tyla Collier
Ages 12+ | Listening Library | 7.75 hrs. | Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award
Tyla Collier delivers the author’s narrative on how centuries of abuse to Black Americans led to deep unrest and the founding of the Black Panther Party. The Black Panthers’ “power to the people” was less about militancy and more about gaining equity in education, health care, justice, and politics. Both young adults and adults will be affected by this audiobook’s emotive tone, tragic events, and parallels to recent events. Review »
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For All Time
Story by Shanna Miles
Read by Joniece Abbott-Pratt and Landon Woodson
Ages 12+ | Simon & Schuster Audio | 10.5 hrs. | Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award
Narrators Joniece Abbott-Pratt and Landon Woodson’s transformative performances take listeners on a journey through time as two teenagers fall in love over multiple lifetimes. Woodson is upbeat as the free-spirited Fayard, while Abbott-Pratt gives a more reserved and subtle performance as Tamar. Both narrators play with nuance and cadence to evoke unique, ever-shifting settings and time periods in this genre-defying love story. Review »
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How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe
Story by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
Read by Kyla Garcia
Ages 14+ | Simon & Schuster Audio | 11.75 hrs. | Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award
Narrator Kyla Garcia’s light tone adds humor to the often sarcastic, sometimes self-deprecating Moon Fuentez. But lurking beneath are negative beliefs about her appearance and past actions that Garcia makes palpable. Moon has always lived in the shadow of her media-influencer twin sister, Star. The two start a cross-country tour, with Moon along to handle her sister’s merch, and the road trip turns into a journey of self-discovery. Themes of grief, trauma, abuse, and homophobia are balanced by lyrical prose, evocative sensory details, and bright bits of magical realism. Review »
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Punching Bag
Story by Rex Ogle
Read by Ramon de Ocampo
Ages 13+ | Recorded Books | 6.25 hrs. | Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award
Ramon de Ocampo, who vividly rendered Ogle’s first memoir, narrates the second with the same keenness. The author warns of his story’s intensity and the hope it can offer, and de Ocampo’s portrayals increase its rawness and promise. Rex is now entering high school; his poverty has abated as both of his parents are working. The domestic violence in his family, however, has reached new heights. De Ocampo’s characterizations are rounded and as complex as the people he is portraying. Most poignant are Rex’s dedication to his brother and his own growth. Review »
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What If It’s Us
Story by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
Read by Noah Galvin and Froy Gutierrez
Ages 14+ | Harper Audio | 10 hrs.
This sequel to WHAT IF IT’S US, told in two voices, is full of hope and heartbreak and moments that are both swoon-worthy and laugh-out-loud funny. Ben and Arthur’s romance sputtered out once they were no longer in the same city, but the universe is giving them a second chance. Narrators Noah Galvin and Froy Gutierrez are incredibly endearing as Arthur and Ben, who still have feelings for each other in spite of being in relationships with other people. Listeners will feel every intense emotion as the two try to determine what their futures hold. Review »
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Five Exciting and Moving Audiobooks for Teen Listeners was curated by AudioFile. AudioFile is an independent source of audiobook reviews and recommendations with a clear focus on the performance and listening experience. AudioFile Earphones Awards are given to exceptional audiobooks. To learn more, visit audiofilemagazine.com, Twitter @AudioFileMag, and Facebook @audiofilemagazine.
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