Tag Archive | love

Victory over violence? Stunning stories to read with your ears!

Our final pair of free audiobooks for 2020 take us back and back in history as young women of color fight the odds to live and move on.

Have the Sora app ready on your phone or tablet, then use the download links to grab these titles for your shelf.

Thanks again to the AudioSYNC program and all the publishers for sharing 26 professionally produced audiobooks this summer so we can read with our ears all year.

CD cover of Burn, Baby, Burn, by Meg Medina. Read by Marisol Ramirez.
Published by Candlewick on Brilliance Audio | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Burn Baby Burn (download free 23-29 July 2020)

by Meg Medina.Read by Marisol Ramirez. Published by Candlewick on Brilliance Audio

During the sweltering summer of 1977, a massive blackout, arson, and the Son of Sam’s murder spree put New York City on edge, especially in Nora’s neighborhood.

The Cuban-American teen wants to get away from her bullying brother, but their mother can’t navigate life without her help. As Hector’s violence grows, Nora wonders if she’ll make it to 18 or not.

CD cover of Kindred by Octavia Butler, read by Kim Staunton. Published by Recorded Books | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Kindred (download free 23-29 July 2020)

by Octavia E. Butler. Read by Kim Staunton. Published by Recorded Books

Transported from 1976 California to antebellum Maryland, 26 year old Dana saves a white boy from drowning and suddenly is returned to the present before being shot.

As the young Black woman gets pulled back and forth in time, always encountering the same white man, she begins to realize that she must keep him alive so the family line continues down to her!

How can you stand strong against changes that threaten your very existence?
**kmm

Father has PROMISED her to him?! by Leah Garriott (book review)

book cover of Promised, by Leah Garriott. Published by Shadow Mountain | recommended on BooksYALove.com

For her brother’s happiness,
for her family’s future,
she must marry… but to him?

Duped by her former fiance, Margaret hates being the subject of gossip in the small English town near both their families’ estates in 1812.

She decides to marry for convenience and quickly so her brother can officially become engaged, but her efforts at a matchmaking party are thwarted by Lord Williams – why can’t he mind his own business?

When Margaret and Daniel return from the expensive week-long party, the young lady finds that her father has made a match for her… Lord Williams!

Not to the Lord’s cousin Mr. Northam, who would let her stay home in the country while he caroused in London.
Not to local fop Mr. Lundall, who keeps wooing her despite all her refusals.

A terrible illness, a secret wager, another local family trying to entice Lord Williams to marry their daughter – how many more complications must Margaret endure?

Margaret doesn’t want her heart broken again, but can she guard it as the rest of her family becomes so fond of the young baron?

Readers can enjoy knowing the exact rules that both Margaret and Lord Williams must follow within the strictures of Regency England’s upper class society while cheering on the couple’s oh-so-cautious steps toward happiness with one another.

Could you be happy if the matchmaking was out of your hands?
**kmm

Book info: Promised (Proper Romance series) / Leah Garriott. Shadow Mountain, 2020. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Listen to classic tales – with a twist!

Cool down this week with two winter-season tales free from AudioSYNC – Scrooge’s Christmas story gender-flipped and Shakespeare’s “which twin is which” masquerade of Twelfth Night.

Be sure you have the Sora app on your phone or tablet, then download your choice(s) before the stated deadline. As long as you set your Sora shelf as directed, you can listen to these professionally produced audiobooks any time.

CD cover of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens; freely adapted & read by Alison Larkin. Published by Alison Larkin Presents | recommended on BooksYALove.com

A Christmas Carol (download free 9-15 July 2020)

by Charles Dickens, Alison Larkin. Read by Alison Larkin. Published by Alison Larkin Presents

If Scrooge were a woman, well-educated and her own boss in the 1840s … how would she react to Tiny Tim’s plight?

Choosing money over the woman she loves, meeting the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future – Miss Scrooge has many life-changing decisions to make!

CD cover of Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare. Read by Stella Gonet, Gerard Murphy, Jonathan Keeble, Daniel Philpott, Nick Fletcher, Peter Yapp, Jane Whittenshaw, Malcolm Sinclair, David Timson, Lucy Whybrow, Christopher Godwin, Brian Parr, Adam Kotz, Benjamin Soames.
Published by Naxos AudioBooks | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Twelfth Night (download free 9-15 July 2020)

by William Shakespeare. Read by Stella Gonet, Gerard Murphy, Jonathan Keeble, Daniel Philpott, Nick Fletcher, Peter Yapp, Jane Whittenshaw, Malcolm Sinclair, David Timson, Lucy Whybrow, Christopher Godwin, Brian Parr, Adam Kotz, Benjamin Soames. Published by Naxos AudioBooks

Duke Orsino believes that shipwrecked Viola is a boy and sends her to Olivia with messages of adoration.

Of course, Viola falls in love with the Duke, wonders about the fate of her long-lost twin Sebastian, and encounters courtiers staid and silly during holiday celebrations in this full-cast Shakespeare comedy.

What other familiar stories would you like to gender-switch?
**kmm

Short stories carry big meaning – read with your ears!

Personal vignettes, imagined occasions, inspiring moments, heart-rending choices – this week’s pair of free, professionally produced audiobooks brings us three dozen short stories by a wide array of YALit authors, courtesy of the publishers.

So easy to get these AudioSYNC selections – register free, have the free Sora app on your phone or tablet, then download either title (or both) using the links below, free through late night Wednesday, 8 July 2020.

CD cover of Fresh Ink,  by Lamar Giles [Ed.]. Read by Guy Lockard, Kim Mai Guest, Bahni Turpin. Published by Listening Library | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Fresh Ink (download free, 2-8 July 2020)

Edited by Lamar Giles. Read by Guy Lockard, Kim Mai Guest, Bahni Turpin. Published by Listening Library

These short stories from 13 well-known YA authors are ‘windows and mirrors’ into the lives of teens in cities, schools, neighborhoods, and their own thoughts.

Sponsored by We Need Diverse Books, Fresh Ink includes 10 short stories, a one-act play, and a graphic novel (complete with sound effects).

CD cover of Hope Nation, edited by Rose Brock.  Read by a Full Cast. Published by Listening Library | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Hope Nation (download free, 2-8 July 2020)

Edited by Rose Brock. Read by a Full Cast. Published by Listening Library

Cutting through today’s bleak news, 23 YA authors share moments and stories that have personally inspired them.

Uplifting messages and honest concern, dark times becoming better, true tales – all remind us that hope can be found and should be shared.

A well-crafted short story is a memorable gem – what’s your favorite?
**kmm

Secrets abound at A SCHOOL FOR UNUSUAL GIRLS! by Kathleen Baldwin (book review)

Book cover of A School for Unusual Girls, by Kathleen Baldwin. Published by Tor Teen | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Torture or merely draconian discipline?
Surely her parents won’t make her stay…

High society frowns on girls who prefer chemistry to needlepoint or whose frequent migraines are really visions of disaster – shutting them far, far away from the cotillions and balls of Regency London.

Yet the science experiment that burned down Father’s stable may be a blessing in disguise for Georgiana as the teen finds herself not in a reform school for rebellious girls, but a secret spy school!

Under the direction of Miss Stranje and Madame Cho, several young ladies with highly unusual talents are honing their skills in self-defense and espionage in the fight against Napoleon.

Georgie’s secret ink may give England the upper hand, if she can perfect its formula, if she can keep her heart safe from young Lord Wyatt, if they can keep French agents from stealing it!

Set in an alternate 1814 where Napoleon successfully returns from exile, this first book in the Stranje House series is followed by the equally adventurous and properly romantic Exile for Dreamers (centered on Tess), Refuge for Masterminds (Jane’s story), and Harbor for the Nightingale (Maya’s tale).

Where might your unusual talents take you?
**kmm

Book info: A School for Unusual Girls (Stranje House, book 1) / Kathleen Baldwin. Tor Teen, hardcover 2015, paperback 2016. [author site] [publisher site] Personal purchase; cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Different stories, different viewpoints? Audiobooks bring us both

It’s past time to pro-actively seek out viewpoints beyond our own, to strive to understand where others are placed in the world – let this week’s free audiobooks get you started on this journey!

First, grab the free Sora app on your phone or tablet. Next, register free at AudioSYNC, then use either or both of the links below to download this week’s audiobooks, free through Wed, July 1, 2020.

CD cover of Mexican Whiteboy, by Matt de la Peña | Read by Henry Leyva
Published by Brilliance Audio | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Mexican Whiteboy (download here free, 25 June -1 July 2020)

by Matt de la Peña. Read by Henry Leyva. Published by Brilliance Audio

Half-Mexican, half-White, all mixed up – Danny doesn’t fit in at his San Diego private school where his talented but erratic pitching can’t save him from being too brown.

He doesn’t speak Spanish, so it’s awkward staying with his dad’s family when his divorced mom goes north. Is he the reason Dad went back to Mexico?

The Silence Between Us (download here free, 25 June -1 July 2020)

Since becoming Deaf a few years ago, Maya has learned ASL at a special school. Then Mom’s job moves them across the country, and the teen must attend a hearing high school…

I recommended this #ownvoices story on BooksYALove earlier this year – no-spoiler details here.

How are you working to truly see and understand the culture of other people?
**kmm

Life beyond the cult for AGNES AT THE END OF THE WORLD? by Kelly McWilliams (book review)

book cover of Agnes at the End of the World, by Kelly McWilliams. Published by Little Brown | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Keeping her brother healthy is sin.
Thinking for herself is sin.
Is saving their lives sinful, too?

Suffering is God’s will says the Prophet, but Agnes refused to let Ben die like so many children here, sneaking away to get her little brother’s insulin from an outside nurse who warns of the new plague affecting people, birds, and animals.

As the Prophet orders everyone into the mountain bunker to wait out the Apocalypse, the 16 year old knows it’s time to run, to escape the Arizona mountain settlement with her siblings, to risk the Outside world’s depravity and oncoming pandemic…

It’s Beth who always wanted to leave – does she truly want to take her big sister’s place as a sixth wife?
The nurse’s son Danny is smart and kind – can she trust an outsider with their lives and her heart?
Agnes heard God’s voice as a child – will it lead them now to safety?

Red Creek’s menfolk and their multiple wives believe that the outside world is all sin, but this Arizona mountain settlement hides much wickedness, too.

Told in alternating chapters by Agnes and Beth, this tale of apocalypse, pandemic, and faith was just released in June 2020. Read the Prologue here on the author’s website to meet Agnes before…

What hope are you finding during pandemic times?
**kmm

Book info: Agnes at the End of the World / Kelly McWilliams. Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2020. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Secrets and more secrets – audiobook summer continues!

A journey across the Big Pond or summer job together with your crush? You can have both with this week’s free audiobooks from AudioSYNC!

After you’ve registered and gotten the Sora app on your phone or tablet, you can easily download either or both titles -free- using the links below.

CD cover of The Bronte Plot, by Katherine Reay. Read by Laura Kirman.
Published by Thomas Nelson | recommended on BooksYALove.com

The Bronte Plot (download free here, 18-24 June 2020)

by Katherine Reay. Read by Laura Kirma. Published by Thomas Nelson

Asked by her ex-sweetheart’s grandmother Helen to lead a literary excursion in Great Britain, Lucy leaps at the chance to leave Chicago and the bad choices she’s made at her job.

Helen is confronting ghosts from her past as they travel – perhaps Lucy can absorb some of her wise advice, become as strong as the Bronte sisters, and make amends for her past actions.

CD cover of The Music of What Happens,  by Bill Konigsberg. Read by Joel Froomkin & Anthony Rey Perez.  Published by Scholastic Audio | recommended on BooksYALove.com

The Music of What Happens (download free here 18-24 June 2020)

by Bill Konigsberg. Read by Joel Froomkin, Anthony Rey Perez. Published by Scholastic Audio

Relaxed jock Max and high-strung Jordan are determined to revive the vintage food truck business for Jordan’s mom to pay her mortgage.

As they work together that sweltering Arizona summer, the guys begin falling for each other – but will their secrets keep them apart?

More than halfway through our AudioSYNC summer of free audiobooks – thank you for sharing, publishers! Which title is your favorite, so far?
**kmm

Signs, connections, love – ALL THE THINGS WE NEVER KNEW, by Liara Tamani (book review)

book cover of All the Things We Never Knew, by Liara Tamani. Published by Greenwillow Books | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Ready for his free throw,
he blew a kiss –
straight to her heart, falling, falling…

Actually Rex blows a kiss to his late mother before every free throw, and Carli fell courtside before her game because of a gallbladder attack, but their hearts connect as social media helps the upper-class Black teens find each other across Houston.

Numbers record their basketball success, map out his geometry of perfect landscape design, show her patterns that reveal truths and paths in art.

But numbers don’t tell everything like Rex’s guilt because his birth caused mom’s death, Carli’s pain as a family truth is revealed to be a lie, or the cataclysmic ups and downs of first love.

Will Rex’s dad ever come to a game or keep ignoring his only child forever?
Will Daddy ever tell Carli and Cole why Mom is suddenly divorcing him?
How can Carli tell her championship teammates that she hates playing basketball?

Happy book birthday to this tale in two voices, showering sparks and raining tears as Rex and Carli try to find themselves and hopefully find each other, too. From the author of Calling My Name (recommended here).

When have you met someone and felt like you’ve known them forever?
**kmm

Book info: All the Things We Never Knew / Liara Tamani. Greenwillow Books, 2020. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Outward change or inner transformation? Audiobooks for our times!

Books can be timely, timeless, both.

When the weekly AudioSYNC pairings were decided many months ago, no one knew we’d be shouting about systemic racial inequalities during a pandemic, yet these stories to read with your ears really hit home right now.

Remember to download either or both by using the links with each title before late night Wednesday 10 June 2020.

The Sora app is your key for listening to these free audiobooks on your phone or tablet as long as you keep them on your Sora shelf – more details here.

CD cover of Into White, by Randi Pink. Read by Adenrele Ojo. 
Published by Listening Library | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Into White (download free 4-10 June 2020)

by Randi Pink. Read by Adenrele Ojo. Published by Listening Library

Bullied by other Black students at their mostly white high school in Alabama, LaToya prays to become white, pretty, and popular.

When her wish is granted, life changes for now-blonde and beautiful Toya in ways she couldn’t imagine…

Like No Other, by Una LaMarche. Read by Phoebe Strole, Leslie Odom, Jr. Published by Listening Library | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Like No Other (download free 4-10 June 2020)

A northeast hurricane traps a devout Hasidic Jewish girl Devorah and a nerdy West Indian guy Jaxon in an elevator for a long time – long enough for the teens to get to know each other, to really really like each other…

When the elevator doors finally open, what now?

How are you educating yourself in response to current events?
**kmm