Tag Archive | sports

Sports, school, and living Pride with this week’s free audiobook selections!

Jun24

Your Sora shelf (setup info here) has room for lots of audiobooks, including this week’s Pride stories.

Download either or both of these professionally produced audiobooks – free! – by Wednesday 6/29/22, and they’re yours to listen to as long as you can access your Sora shelf online!

Remember to check your local public library or independent bookstore for any AudioSYNC titles that you may have missed – you’ll be amazed at their selections!

CD cover of Fence: Striking Distance, by Sarah Rees Brennan, Johanna the Mad, C. S. Pacat | Read by Will Collyer. Published by Hachette Audio | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Fence: Striking Distance (free Sora download 6/23-6/29/2022)
by Sarah Rees Brennan, Johanna the Mad, C. S. Pacat | Read by Will Collyer
Published by Hachette Audio

Illegitimate son of an Olympic fencer barely qualifies for the fencing team at his elite high school – how can Nick fit in with his rich classmates?

Team-building exercises bring Nick, Seiji, Aiden, and Harvard closer together… how much closer? This audiobook is based on a graphic novel!

https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/185517/fence-striking-distance-by-sarah-rees-brennan-johanna-the-mad-c-s-pacat-read-by-will-collyer/

swirling lines divider clipart http://www.clipartpanda.com/clipart_images/mondays-throughout-the-day-17164159
CD cover of Honestly Ben - Openly Straight, by Bill Konigsberg | Read by Dan Bittner. Published by Scholastic Audiobooks | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Honestly Ben – Openly Straight, book 2 (free Sora download 6/23-6/29/2022)
by Bill Konigsberg | Read by Dan Bittner
Published by Scholastic Audiobooks

Sensitive 17 year old Ben pushed away his best friend Rafe when like became maybe-love. Now he’s dealing with his grumpy dad, a new school, and super-macho baseball teammates.

Add to this his search to figure out whether he’s straight, gay, or gay-for-Rafe…

https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/128289/honestly-ben-by-bill-konigsberg-read-by-dan-bittner/

What other Pride stories would you like to read with your ears?
**kmm

divider clipart http://www.clipartpanda.com/clipart_images/mondays-throughout-the-day-17164159

American experiences you may have missed – time to read with your ears!

Jun2

“The American story” has millions of chapters, each unique. This week (2-8 June 2022), the AudioSYNC program brings us a baseball life you may have missed and a glimpse of America itself gripped by Red scares during the Cold War.

Be sure you’ve registered here so your Sora shelf is ready to download either or both of these professionally produced audiobooks – free! Listen anytime and anywhere over the next 99 years, as long you can access your Sora shelf online.

If you miss any of the featured audiobooks during their free download time, check for them at your local public library or independent bookstore.

Remember – download these fascinating chapters of American history by Wednesday, 8 June 2022!

CD cover of Singled Out: The True Story of Glenn Burke, by Andrew Maraniss, Read by Kevin R. Free. Published by Listening Library | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Singled Out: The True Story of Glenn Burke (free Sora download 6/2-6/8/22)
by Andrew Maraniss | Read by Kevin R. Free
Published by Listening Library

Baseball fans saw Glenn Burke invent the high-five in 1977, but only those close to the LA Dodgers’ outfielder knew he was gay.

From the World Series to his post-baseball life fighting addiction during the AIDS epidemic, Burke’s life and legacy influenced the athletic and LGBTQIA+ community.

https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/194493/singled-out-by-andrew-maraniss-read-by-kevin-r-free/

divider clipart http://www.clipartpanda.com/clipart_images/mondays-throughout-the-day-17164159
CD cover of A Time of Fear: America in the Era of Red Scares and Cold War, by Albert Marrin. Read by Jason Culp. Published by Listening Library | recommended on BooksYALove.com

A Time of Fear: America in the Era of Red Scares and Cold War (free Sora download 6/2-6/8/22)
by Albert Marrin | Read by Jason Culp
Published by Listening Library

During the Cold War, some Americans thought Communist ideals could erase the nation’s deepening economic and social divides. Others saw Communism as an enormous threat to our democracy and would do anything to stop it – including blacklisting, lying, and trying to erase free speech.

This look at the McCarthy era’s strident bellowing against those who thought differently asks us to consider what’s worth fighting for and how far we each would go to protect our freedoms.

https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/196649/a-time-of-fear-by-albert-marrin-read-by-jason-culp/

What other American life stories would you like to see featured on AudioSYNC?
**kmm

divider clipart http://www.clipartpanda.com/clipart_images/mondays-throughout-the-day-17164159

Z is for ZERO O’CLOCK in Covid-19’s early days, by C. J. Farley (YA book review) #A2Z

Apr30
book cover of Zero O'Clock, by C. J. Farley. Published by Black Sheep/ Akashic | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Mysterious plague,
not fiction, not science fiction,
how will it end?

Geth’s hometown, New Rochelle, New York, is ground-zero for the Covid-19 pandemic in USA, as the entire world hits the pause button in March 2020.

The sixteen year old and her best friends are unhappier to miss next weekend’s Broadway show than about school being closed for two weeks (more teleteaching, more homework… ugh). Diego is the star quarterback, so that’s his ticket to college. Tovah is tiny and mighty and a math genius; Geth is sure that they’ll both be accepted to Columbia soon.

Two weeks’ closure keeps stretching out, stores in ‘the containment zone’ are running out of essentials, and the neighborhood foxes are scavenging boldly as trash pickup is delayed and delayed again. After each face-touch, the Black teen washes her hands for safety (her OCD compulsions are getting companions now).

Worrying about her mom working at the hospital, the Native American teen who’ll be isolating with them in their little house (Mom’s boyfriend’s stepson?), whether prom will be cancelled – Geth gets more stressed by the day, clinging to her friends’ text messages and BTS songs as a lifeline.

Neighbors dying of Covid at home, friends hospitalized on ventilators, the President saying there’s nothing to be concerned about… .

Why are they still reading The Plague for English class?
Who’s trying to sabotage Diego’s football scholarship?
What advice would her late father have?

Three months, a million emotions, thousands upon thousands of deaths – then 8 minutes 32 seconds of video that sparked a movement.

How do you look back on the early days of the pandemic?
**kmm

Book info: Zero O’Clock / C. J. Farley. Black Sheep/ Akashic, 2021. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Helping others find love, where’s her MATCH MADE IN MEHENDI? by Nandini Bajpai (YA book review)

Mar17
paperback book cover of A Match Made in Mehendi, by Nandini Bajpai. Little Brown Books for Young Readers | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Henna or paint?
Matchmaking or the magic of art?
Family expectations or her own dreams?

Simi wants a future in art, not becoming a traditional matchmaker like her mom and aunt and grandmother, nor excelling in STEM like her Indian-American parents expect – let big brother Navdeep please them with his amazing computer skills.

Sophomore year is their turn to get out of the shadows where the popular crowd shoves everyone, Simi and best friend Noah decide, just like the transfer students who don’t know that Amanda tries to run everything at their New Jersey high school.

Hmm… incorporating her mehendi henna designs into a large-scale artwork could be perfect for Simi’s signature project.

Maybe stand out by matchmaking! Using Navdeep’s stalled app (Mom insists on talking in person), Noah’s clever quiz questions, and Simi’s charming icons, they create Matched! limited to students at their school.

At first, Simi and Noah stay quiet about Matched! but when more and more students take the quiz, their secret is out – and kids are excited to see who their top Matches will be.

Ohh… soccer stars Ethan and Tea are perfectly Matched even as Amanda keeps saying she’s getting Ethan back.

Umm… maybe Simi’s Matches include long-time crush Aiden from art or Suraj who transferred here for robotics.

Eek… Noah won’t tell Simi if cute new guy Connor from California is one of his matches – surely they’re compatible!

As Matches begin to meet in person and decide whether to go out or not, Amanda’s demands to be Matched with Ethan grow more frenzied – yikes!

Enjoy this debut novel to see which Matches flare brightly!

Have you ever tried a matching app?
**kmm

Book info: A Match Made in Mehendi / Nandini Bajpai. Little Brown Books for Young Readers, hardcover 2019, paperback 2020. [author site] [publisher site] Personal collection; cover image courtesy of the publisher.

SOMEBODY GIVE THIS HEART A PEN, a poet speaks up, shouts out – by Sophia Thakur (YA book review)

Mar15
book cover of Somebody Give This Heart a Pen, by Sophia Thakur. Published by Candlewick Press | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Being seen,
seeing others truly,
acknowledging support and pain.

In her poetry, Sophia Thakur captures life-moments low and high, reveals bone-deep concerns, speaks of youth, for youth, to youth.

“To you, the silence in this stillness is to be endured
not experienced.
It scratches at every anxious bone that you own…”
begins the poem “Fidgeting” (pg. 66), one of several whose unflinching observations resolve with grace and advice.

Section headers composed of proverbs and sayings – Grow, Wait, Speak, Grow Again – present themselves as concrete poems of wisdom, slashed white against a dark page.

Honed through her performance poetry and TED talks (like this one), the Black British poet’s style radiates on the page, like the opening lines of “When to Write”:

“When your fists are ready to paint faces
When there is nowhere to confide
When your skin lingers high above your bones
and you’re so out of touch with self.
Write…” (pg. 98)

Check out her first volume of powerful and empathetic poems today at your local library or independent bookstore, and be inspired to let your heart speak.

“…I swore to my lips
never to send up anything that would compromise
anyone’s perception of me.
I have a vision of how I wish to be seen
and I fear that that image will be challenged
if ever they know more of me.” –from “Secrets” (pg. 57)

Your favorite contemporary poem?
**kmm

Book info: Somebody Give This Heart a Pen / Sophia Thakur. Candlewick Press, 2020. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Uh oh… THE MEET-CUTE PROJECT when she hates rom-coms? by Rhiannon Richardson (YA book review)

Feb17
book cover of The Meet-Cute Project / Rhiannon Richardson. Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Big sister back home to wedding-plan,
School stress, swim team stress,
Now this!?

Preparing for the championship swim meet is grueling, but it’s much, much easier for Mia than finding a date for her sister Sam’s wedding will be!

For the Black teen, fact is better than fiction, and the rom-coms that her friends love are just ridiculous.

But just maybe they have the right idea – analyzing the best meet-cutes in rom-com movies can help the high school junior find the right guy. If she fails, Mia will be stuck with the groom’s spoiled 12-year-old brother for the rehearsal dinner and wedding and reception… ick.

So the math team whiz gets to work, listing eligible guys at school, arranging meet-cute opportunities, and even getting outside her comfort zone by volunteering at the community garden with Mom (gotta have all the accomplishments if she wants to be elected NHS president next year like Mom and Sam were…sigh).

How can the days be passing so fast?
Can she find a nice guy that Sam will approve of?
Does she really want the future that her family has scripted?

Sam becomes more like Bridezilla as her wedding approaches, while Mia keeps trying to meet the right guy amid all her school responsibilities.

What’s your favorite meet-cute scenario?
**kmm

Book info: The Meet-Cute Project / Rhiannon Richardson. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2021. [about the author] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

She stays BRUISED to mask her bone-deep anguish, by Tanya Boteju (YA book review)

Sep28
book cover of Bruised, by Tanya Boteju. Published by Simon Schuster BFYR | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Block the mental pain
with physical pain,
repeat, repeat, repeat…

Daya bruises herself to keep from feeling the guilt and sorrow of surviving the car crash that killed her parents. Keeps her distance from everyone at school, from the well-meaning artsy aunt and uncle she lives with now, from the therapist trying to coax out feelings that must stay boxed in.

But the Sri Lankan-Canadian teen finds a better escape when skateboarding pal Fee introduces her to roller derby. Strong women, sweating and pushing and falling and getting up to skate and hit some more!

Can Daya up her skating skills enough to get onto the rink where the bashing starts?
Was Fee right when they said she could really do this?
Is Daya willing to let veteran skaters help her improve?

When she starts falling for Shanti, the derby team captain says Daya’s interest in her sister shows weakness, threatens to bench the former youth boxing champ for not being tough enough…

Stellar complex story from the author of Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens (recommended here).

Ever try the right thing for the wrong reasons?
**kmm

Book Info: Bruised / Tanya Boteju. Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2021. (author site) (publisher site) Review copy & cover image courtesy of the publisher.

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.

W is for THE WILLIAM HOY STORY: How a Deaf Baseball Player Changed the Game, by Nancy Churnin (Picture book review)

Apr27
book cover of The William Hoy Story, by Nancy Churnin, art by Jez Tuya. Published by Albert Whitman & Co. | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Umpires, coaches, players –
so many hand signals in baseball!
Why do they do that?

Have you watched a baseball game and wondered what story the coach is signalling with their hands touching shoulder, nose, ear, ear, nose?

Each combination tells their players what the pitcher should throw to this batter or whether a runner should steal or stay on base.

Who started this no-words communication on the baseball diamond? It was William Hoy, a Deaf player in the early 1900s who practiced hard so he could run faster and hit harder to play in the Major Leagues!

He couldn’t hear the umpires say ‘ball’ or ‘strike’ at the plate or read the lips of players who hid their mouths behind their mitts – but when the umpires used American Sign Language to signal their calls as William suggested, he could steal bases better than anyone!

His teammates learned signs so they could talk strategy without the other team hearing it. too. Even the fans started waving their hands high in the air as Deaf applause after William’s great plays as an outfielder and base-runner.

Learn more about this game changer and the early days of baseball in this picture book for everyone.

What obstacles have you overcome to do something you loved?
**kmm

Book info: The William Hoy Story: How a Deaf Baseball Player Changed the Game / Nancy Churnin, art by Jez Tuya. Albert Whitmas & Company, 2016. (author site) (artist site) (publisher site) Personal collection; cover art courtesy of the publisher.

A is for ANA ON THE EDGE, by A.J. Sass (MG book review)

Apr1
book cover of Ana on the Edge, by A. J. Sass. Published by Little, Brown | BooksYALove.com

Figure skating competition = rules and regimens.
Chinese-American home = expectations and routine roles.
Can time on the ice become Ana’s freedom and focus?

Age 12 means moving up to the next figure skating competition level for Ana and also following her coach to a new Bay Area rink, with new choreography and music and routine.

Ana likes her short hair, sleek skating leggings, and bold Juvenile national championship choreography. But Intermediate ladies will be skating to a princess theme, and Ana doesn’t like the quiet music or boring moves that famous Miss Lydia has chosen or having to wear a skirt to practice or the huge bill that her single mom must pay!

As a skating rink assistant this summer, Ana can earn free practice hours – too bad she has to miss being with her best friend at her old rink and at their synagogue. Awesome that she meets new student Hayden, who just moved here and is now publicly identifying as a boy.

Hayden assumed Ana was a boy too, and she didn’t correct him. Will he get mad when he finds out?

Ana feels very in-between about girl or boy – what does that all mean?

And this new choreography and music… how can Ana make it more Ana?

Discovering who you are takes time and work – Ana may have the people nearby who will help!
**kmm

Book info: Ana On the Edge / A. J. Sass. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2020. [author site] [author interview] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.