Tag Archive | teens

Ah, France as you’ve never seen it before – journey there with free audiobooks!

Jun3

This week’s free audiobooks from SYNC take us to an alternate City of Lights, then south to the wonderful tastes of Lyon – read with your ears and dream of travel…

Get your Sora app set up (FAQs here) and download either or both of these complete audiobooks FREE before Wednesday June 9, 2021. Then you can listen anytime you like as long as you keep them on your Sora shelf.

CD cover of audiobook Rook, by Sharon Cameron | Read by Caroline Feraday. Published by Scholastic Audiobooks | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Rook (download free 3-9 June 2021 on Sora)
by Sharon Cameron
Read by Caroline Feraday
published by Scholastic Audiobooks

After the earth’s magnetic poles shift, technology is useless and the world is in turmoil. Among the power struggles of ruined Paris, 18-year-old Sophie works in the shadows to save the helpless from the Razor’s terrors, leaving behind a red-tipped rook feather as her calling card

But can she save herself from a loveless marriage arranged to keep her family from financial ruin?

audiobook cover of by Mayra Cuevas | Read by Jennifer Jill Araya. Published by Blink | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Salty, Bitter, Sweet (download free 3-9 June 2021 on Sora)
by Mayra Cuevas
Read by Jennifer Jill Araya
Published by Blink

From her Cuban grandmother’s kitchen in Kansas to staying with her father’s new family in southern France for an elite cooking school challenge, Isa finds herself balancing old hurts and new feelings.

I recommended Salty, Bitter, Sweet earlier on BooksYALove – read more here!

What other books set in France would you recommend?
**kmm

Stories of humanity & facing change – read with your ears

May20

Time to read these explosive stories with your ears – after you download this week’s free audiobooks from SYNC!

Grab these audiobooks free during their Thursday through Wednesday run, and you have free use of them on your device as long as you keep them on Sora shelf (up to 99 years)- bookmark the FAQs here.

CD cover of audiobook Alive: Generations Trilogy, book 1, by Scott Sigler, Read by Colleen Delaney and a Full Cast. Published by GraphicAudio | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Alive: Generations Trilogy, book 1 (download free – May 20-26, 2021)
by Scott Sigler | Read by Colleen Delaney and a Full Cast
Published by GraphicAudio

Young people awaken from long-sleep in space – alone in a metallic world with dangers around every corner.

With no memories to rely on, the group must work together to survive in this sci-fi thriller.

CD cover of audiobook What Makes Us, by Rafi Mittlefehldt. Read by Graham Halstead. Published by Brilliance Audio/Candlewick | recommended on BooksYALove.com

What Makes Us (download free May 20-26, 2021)
by Rafi Mittlefehldt | Read by Graham Halstead
Published by Brilliance Audio/Candlewick

Eran’s passion for social justice leads him to protest increased police traffic stops in Houston – and brings his long-gone father’s alleged terrorist activities into the public spotlight.

How can Eran reconcile his father’s choices with the ways that society is now treating the Jewish teen?

When the future is a blank slate, how do you choose the right path?
**kmm

New heart, new dreams, EVERYTHING I THOUGHT I KNEW is upended, by Shannon Takaoka (YA book review)

May19
book cover of Everything I Thought I Knew, by Shannon Takaoka, published by Candlewick Press | recommended on BooksYALove.com

A better race time,
better grades for better college,
a better heart?

Chloe’s plans shatter when she’s suddenly sidelined from cross-country running to wait for a heart transplant, missing so much of her senior year that she’ll have to attend summer school with the slackers so she can graduate.

The 17 year old’s new heart came from a young donor within 30 miles of her California home, that’s all the hospital can say. Now everyday life is lots of anti-rejection pills and checkups and nightmares she never had before and avoiding her classmates’ graduation celebrations.

On a sudden whim, she decides to take surfing lessons to get away from her parents’ constant hovering and her unusual boredom with school subjects that plan-everything Chloe used to enjoy.

Kai teaches more by example than words, but every week’s lessons with the cute teen guy give her a focus beyond the yawning boredom of summer school.

Her new pal Jane is fine with Chloe’s out-of-character ideas, like getting a tattoo and trying to find out about her heart donor despite the other family’s wish not to be contacted.

If she gets better at surfing, will Kai stop giving her lessons?
Where did this sudden passion for music come from?
Who had the motorcycle crash in her recurring nightmare?

As Chloe’s dreams unspool incidents related to the crash, she’s compelled to follow those clues around the Bay Area like her life now is a mystical puzzle.

When have you felt an unexplainable connection to someone?
**kmm

Book info: Everything I Thought I Knew / Shannon Takaoka. Candlewick Press, 2020. (author site) (publisher site) Review copy & cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Historical tales with Chinese roots – read with your ears this week! (audiobooks)

May13

Time to download this week’s free audiobooks from SYNC so you can read with your ears!

Remember that although these complete audiobooks are only available from Thursday through Wednesday, you have free use of them on your device as long as you keep them on Sora shelf – more info here.

CD cover of audiobook Descendant of the Crane, by Joan He. Read by Nancy Wu, published by Dreamscape | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Descendant of the Crane (download free – May 13-19, 2021)
by Joan He | Read by Nancy Wu
Published by Dreamscape

Suddenly ascending to the throne when her father dies, Princess Hesina’s search for his murderer puts the young woman in contact with her soon-to-be subjects outside the palace walls.

Is the soothsayer’s forbidden magic telling the truth? Will the secrets of investigator Akira endanger them both?

CD cover of audiobook Monkey, by Wu Ch'eng-en, translated by Arthur Waley. Read by Kenneth Williams | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Monkey (download free May 13-19, 2021)
by Wu Ch’êng-ên, Arthur Waley [Trans.] | Read by Kenneth Williams
Published by Naxos Audiobooks

This 16th century Chinese classic includes demons, gods, and spirits who stand in the way of a priest traveling West to acquire sacred Buddhist texts for his emperor.

Su Wukong, the Monkey King himself, accompanies the priest on his long journey in this abridged version translated into English in 1942 and recently recorded.

What tales reflecting China are your favorites?
**kmm

Z for ZARA HOSSAIN IS HERE, so deal with it! by Sabina Khan (YA book review)

Apr30
book cover of Zara Hossain is Here, by Sabina Khan, Published by Scholastic Press | recommended on BooksYALove.com

The only home she’s ever known,
her city, her beach, her neighborhood,
now a threat, hostility around each corner…

Zara’s college plans are in limbo as the high school senior impatiently waits for her family’s green card status to be approved in Corpus Christi where her father’s medical practice has thrived for years.

The devout Muslims here say her Pakistani family is too secular, while white bullies at school are ratcheting up their harassment of brown people.

Meeting Chloe is like a beautiful seabreeze, and the two young women begin a relationship, despite the disapproval of Chloe’s conservative religious parents.

When her gentle father angrily reacts to a hate crime against their family, Zara’s life shatters into disarray.

What’s their green card application status now?
Why are immigrants hated here so much?
What’s next?

Living next door to the Garcias since she and best friend Nick were toddlers, Zara knows only Texas as home, but maybe this land of opportunity doesn’t want to know her.

New this month and a fitting AtoZ Challenge finale on the 25th anniversary of Dia de los ninos/Children’s Book Day which celebrates connecting the deep, wide, and wonderful range of books to all kids of all backgrounds.

When to stand firm and when to bend?
**kmm

Book Info: Zara Hossain Is Here / Sabina Khan. Scholastic Press, 2021. (author site) (publisher site) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

X is excitement & mystery of THE INKBERG ENIGMA, by Jonathan King (Graphic novel review)

Apr28
book cover of The Inkberg Enigma, by Jonathan King. Published by Gecko Press | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Strange activity in the bay,
the Castle looms above town,
so many secrets and so much danger!

In a new town for dad’s museum job, Miro satisfies his old book habit by selling old diving gear and things that he finds in the attic.

Glimpsing a deep-sea fisherman wrapped by a giant tentacle puts Miro and schoolmate Zia at odds with the Works fish-processing plant manager who threatens to tell Miss Danforth, owner of their town… and employer of their parents.

Digging into the town’s history reveals a tragic last-century Antarctic expedition, eerie creatures discovered on that voyage, and enduring links that may endanger their New Zealand coastal town even now!

What really happens inside the Works?
Will Zia’s photos expose dire secrets?
Would reclusive Miss Danforth help the teens?

A pitch-black iceberg and a perilous journey – the expedition journal is a book of secrets within this graphic novel of mystery and discovery!

What local historical fact has taken you by surprise?
**kmm

Book info: The Inkberg Enigma / Jonathan King. Gecko Press, 2020. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

T is 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT PINKY, sort of, maybe… by Sandhya Menon (YA book review)

Apr23
book cover of 10 Things I Hate About Pinky, by Sandhya Menon, Published by Simon Pulse | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Rebel-activist free spirit,
SAT ace in starched shirts –
all summer together?

She supports social causes of all types, he charts out his future law career list by list- Pinky and Samir are nothing alike. But when she’s accused of repeating rebellious behavior and his DC internship is cancelled, maybe he could pose as her new super-responsible boyfriend for the summer… if they don’t bite off each other’s heads!

Pinky’s mom and aunt co-own the lovely summer home on Cape Cod, with a lake that she and cousin Dolly-the-perfect have enjoyed for years with the other summer kids and the butterfly sanctuary that always gives Pinky peace.

Being Pinky’s summer boyfriend gets Samir closer to interning with her mom’s Bay Area corporate law firm and tests his planning-ahead nature every day… walking a rescued fainting opossum on a leash….

Acting like Samir is really her boyfriend strains Pinky’s impetuous nature, but if they can fool her family so she’s not grounded for life, it’ll be worth it… if he can get past planning every moment like his mom was still fighting cancer.

When big-money threatens to bulldoze the butterfly sanctuary for condos, Pinky and Samir pitch in to rally the community against the developers – the clock is ticking!

Mom insists that the ‘summer kids’ have no place in town meetings, some year-rounders say the Indian-American teens aren’t welcome anywhere, but Pinky says they should keep fighting… right, Samir?

Told in alternating voices by Pinky and Samir, this frenemies-to-something-more story is a companion book to When Dimple Met Rishi (I recommend here) and There’s Something About Sweetie (reviewed here).

What’s the cause you’ll stand up for, time after time?
**kmm

Book Info: 10 Things I Hate About Pinky / Sandhya Menon. Simon Pulse, 2020. (author site) (publisher site) Review copy & cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Q for a queer COMPLICATED LOVE STORY SET IN SPACE aboard Qriosity, by Shaun David Hutchinson (YA book review)

Apr20
book cover of A Complicated Love Story Set in Space, by Shaun David Hutchinson. Published by Simon Schuster BFYR | recommended on BooksYALove.com

A message he can trust,
new friends in this adventure,
why can’t they remember how they got here?

It’s disorienting to wake up in a spacesuit floating outside a spaceship amid flashing warnings of imminent explosion – and to have another 16 year old inside Qirosity trying to shut down the faulty reactor and help Noa get to the airlock at the same time!

Noa stumbles out of the resuscitator (first death is the hardest), meeting Jenny on his way to find DJ – who abducted them from all over the US?

Just the three teens on this spaceship… and a grown-up kid actor’s hologram with unhelpful messages, and a murdered girl, and the kid actor’s entire mystery series to watch, and more than a lifetime supply of Nutreesh bars in the galley.

DJ and Noa are falling for each other, Jenny is plotting revenge on the aliens/kidnappers, and strange events keep them hopping as one day seems to repeat itself, repeat itself.

Steered automatically to a high school on an asteroid, they find cliques and yucky PE class and teachers who stop all the fun and the murdered girl from Qriosity who doesn’t remember being on the spaceship at all…

Why is there a high school in space?
Why does Jenny prefer Nutreesh to what Noa cooks?
Is DJ and Noa’s love real?

The three teens must rely on each other to survive months in space, a monster or two, crisis after crisis, and a school dance as they keep trying hack into Qriosity’s navigation system and get back to Earth.

Another tale of strange happenings and learning to love from the author of The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza (I recommended here) and At the Edge of the Universe (more here).

Aliens – yes or no?
**kmm

Book Info: A Complicated Love Story Set in Space / Shaun David Hutchinson. Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2021. [author site] [publisher site]

P is PREPPED to survive any disaster…almost, by Bethany Mangle (YA book review)

Apr19
book cover of Prepped, by Bethany Mangle. Published by Margaret K. McElderry/Simon Schuster | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Ready for fire, falling into icy waters,
nuclear fallout, kidnap attempts,
but not real-life like other families…

Growing up with doomsday preppers means constant vigilance and training – high school senior Becca has the scars to prove it. Both sets of grandparents established this Ohio neighborhood of survivalists, hidden bunkers in their backyards and all.

Everyone else in town thinks they’re an end-times cult, but there’s no religion here, just paranoia and preparation and more paranoid preparation.

When Roy Kang’s family joined the group, “genetic diversity” was her parents’ first thought, so he and Becca are paired for marriage soon and will learn trades that’ll benefit the group, no matter what they want.

Becca believes in science, her physics teacher believes she can get a full scholarship far away from here, and somehow dumb-as-a-rock Roy turns out to be much smarter than their parents think.

“Always be ready for the worst day of your life,” but improbably her Dad wasn’t, so now Mom’s in charge and pushing younger kids into hazardous training early.

How can she and Roy leave without tripping the perimeter alarms?
Could their new non-prepper friend really help them escape?
How can Becca leave her 10-year-old sister Katie here?

Love could make them a family, but bone-deep fear of everything makes life unbearable in this debut novel of surviving more than just improbable disasters.

Where would a full-ride scholarship take you?
**kmm

Book info: Prepped / Bethany Mangle. Margaret K. McElderry Books/ Simon Schuster, 2021. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

L is for LOVE & OLIVES, by Jenna Evans Welch (YA book review)

Apr14
book cover of Love & Olives, by Jenna Evans Welch. Published by Simon Schuster BFYR | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Ten days away from Seattle, that’s all,
her artist’s eyes setting up camera angles,
heart breaking because her dad will leave again…

White buildings reflecting sunlight, the sparkling blue Aegean Sea – the Greek island of Santorini has captivated visitors for centuries, but sixteen year old Liv doesn’t want to be impressed by its beauty.

Neither does she intend to quickly forgive her long-estranged father for suddenly interrupting her summer plans by bringing her here for a filming project about their mutual fascination – the lost city of Atlantis.

On a tight schedule, she and dad’s young cameraman Theo crisscross the island to filming locations – why is Dad sometimes a no-show?

Dad is utterly convinced that he can prove the site of Atlantis to the scientific community – what exactly is he trying to prove to Liv?

Sleeping in a hidden nook of Theo’s family bookstore, glorious sunsets, more questions than answers in the village her dad returned to after emigrating to America – how much can 10 days change?

Each chapter is headed by an item from Liv’s list of 26 things left behind by her dad, a list kept close at hand as she and Mom moved often, struggling until meeting now-stepdad James.

A story of journeying from home to learn about love, from the author of Love & Gelato (my review) and Love & Luck (review here).

Where do you need to go to make an old story into a new truth?
**kmm

Book Info: Love & Olives / Jenna Evans Welch. Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2020. (author site) (publisher site) Review copy & cover image courtesy of the publisher.