Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults

About the Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults
To select, annotate, and present for publication an annual list of notable audio recordings significant to young adults from those released in the past two years. Full list can be found here.

Administered by:

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) logo

Fiction

2018 Selection(s)

A Million Junes

by Emily Henry, read by Julia Whelan. Listening Library, 2017. 10 hours, 31 minutes

When Jack “June” O’Donnell strikes up a friendship with the one person her parents have always told her to stay away from, she sets into motion a set of events that could change everything she knows about herself, her past, and her future. Julia Whelan’s nuanced narration fills this poignant and magical story with emotion.


Ball Don’t Lie

by Matt de la Peña, read by Dion Graham. Listening Library, 2017. 6 hours, 58 minutes.

Seventeen-year-old Sticky has bounced from one foster home to another but basketball will always be his refuge. Graham’s smooth narration plays up Sticky’s passion and potential for the sport while also hinting at his personal demons.


Benjamin Franklin You’ve Got Mail

by Adam Mansbach and Alan Zweibel, read by Nick Podehl, Tom Parks, and Lauren Ezzo. Brilliance Audio, 2017. 4 hours

Time travel and America’s founding fathers get a hilarious skewering as seventh-grader Ike Saturday vows to save America. Podehl, Parks and Ezzo perform this caper with youthful humor and lively snark, appealing to young teens who relish broad comedy.


Dear Martin

by Nic Stone, read by Dion Graham. Listening Library, 2017. 4 hours, 34 minutes

Justyce McAllister is a high school senior whose best friend is killed in a senseless crime. After the incident, Justyce is under trial in the eyes of the public. Graham invokes the different personalities of high school students flawlessly.


Denton Little’s Still Not Dead

by Lance Rubin, read by Lance Rubin. Listening Library, 2017. 9 hours, 3 minutes

Denton Little is on the run from the DIA (Death Investigation Agency) who want to know why he lived past his death date, but it doesn’t stop him from figuring out family secrets, cracking jokes, and trying to hook up with his best friend’s sister. The author’s knowledge of the text makes his narration shine, and the sci-fi premise doesn’t stop this audio from being laugh-out-loud funny.


Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

by J.K. Rowling and Newt Scamander, read by Eddie Redmayne. Bloomsbury Children’s, 2017. 1 hours, 55 minutes

Not just an encyclopedic listing for the students at Hogwarts, but a real listening treat as Redmayne describes the history of each beast and provides Notes in a slightly different voice.


Flying Lessons and Other Stories

edited by Ellen Oh, read by various authors. Listening Library, 2017. 4 hours, 30 minutes

This audio brings to life a funny, colorful, unique and introspective anthology, written by some of the best YA and children’s authors and read by authors and great narrators. Selections from these diverse storytellers are great introductions to their work.


Genuine Fraud

by E. Lockhart, read by Rebecca Soler. Listening Library, 2017. 6 hours, 43 minutes

Imogen and Jule are the best of friends, but soon, mystery, murder, and lies lead to an exciting, unforgettable ending.  Soler added to the suspense with her pacing, and she deftly narrates various characters.


Goodbye Days

by Jeff Zentner, read by Michael Crouch. Listening Library, 2017. 10 hours, 44 minutes

Carver Briggs has to deal not only with the grief of losing his three best friends, but the legal ramifications and emotional distress of how a text message he sent may have resulted in their deaths.  Crouch handles this novel full of emotional intensity with care.


Non-Fiction

2018 Selection(s)

Girls Who Code

by Reshma Saujani, read by Reshma Saujani. Listening Library, 2017. 2 hours, 56 minutes

The cover of this audiobook promises you can learn to code and change the world – and it lives up to this lofty promise. Narrated by the author, who founded the Girls Who Code movement, this audiobook will leave you inspired and informed.


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