YALSA names 2017 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults

CHICAGO – The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), announced its 2017 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults list.

The list, aimed towards young adults aged 12-18, is drawn from the previous two years of spoken-word releases and presented annually at the ALA Midwinter Meeting. The full list can be viewed at http://www.ala.org/yalsa/amazing-audiobooks.

The 2017 Amazing Audiobooks list, comprised of 28 fiction titles and 2 nonfiction titles, features recordings that cover a wide range of interests for young adults from historical fiction, to sci-fi, to realistic fiction.

In addition to the full list, the committee chose the following recordings as its top ten:

• “Anna and the Swallow Man” by Gavriel Savit, read by Allan Corduner. Listening Library, 2016.
• “Beast” by Brie Spangler, read by Andrew Eiden. Blackstone Audio, 2016.
• “Gemina” by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, read by Carla Corvo, MacLeod Andrews, Steve West, and a full cast. Listening Library, 2016.
• “Kill the Boy Band” by Goldy Moldavsky, read by Barrett Wilbert Weed.  Scholastic Audio, 2016.
• “Nimona” by Noelle Stevenson, read by Marc Thompson, Rebecca Soler, January LaVoy, Peter Bradbury, Jonathan Davis, David Pittu, and Natalie Gold. HarperAudio, 2016.
• “Orbiting Jupiter” by Gary D. Schmidt, read by Christopher Gebauer. Recorded Books, 2015.
• “Salt to the Sea” by Ruta Sepetys, read by Jorjeana Marie, Will Damron, Cassandra Morris, and
  Michael Crouch. Listening Library, 2016.
• “Star Wars Ahsoka” by E.K. Johnston, read by Ashley Eckstein. Listening Library, 2016.
• “Traffick” by Ellen Hopkins, read by Kirby Heyborne, Julia Whelan, Madeleine Maby, Rebekkah Ross, and Jacques Roy. Simon & Schuster, 2015.  
• “Wink Poppy Midnight” by April Genevieve Tucholke, read by Michael Crouch, Alicyn Packard, and Caitlin Davies. Listening Library, 2016.

“After carefully inspecting hundreds of quality audiobook productions, we are excited to present our top picks from this year,” said Chair Emily Farmer. “The list includes a variety of genres and an impressive group of narrators who have a talent for excellent storytelling.”

Members of the 2017 Amazing Audiobooks Committee are: Chair Emily Farmer, Nashville Public Library, Nashville, TN; Claire Covington, Broadway High School Library, Broadway, VA; Janis Fox, Guilford County Schools, High Point, NC; Yolanda Hood, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL; Sara Ray, Simsbury Public Library, Simsbury, CT; Debi Shultz, Centralia School District, Centralia, WA; Melanie Wachsmann, Lone Star College - Cyfair Branch, Cypress, TX; Leah Weyand, Tulsa City-County Library, Tulsa, OK; Bobbie Xuereb, San Diego Public Library, San Diego, CA; and administrative assistant Daniel Tackett, Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest, Vestavia Hills, AL.

YALSA’s portfolio of book and media awards helps strengthen library services for and with teens by identifying quality, age appropriate resources for librarians and library workers to share with the teens in their communities. Learn more about YALSA’s other book and media lists here.

The mission of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is to support library staff in alleviating the challenges teens face, and in putting all teens ‒ especially those with the greatest needs ‒ on the path to successful and fulfilling lives. For more information about YALSA or to access national guidelines and other resources go to www.ala.org/yalsa, or contact the YALSA office by phone, 800-545-2433, ext. 4390; or e-mail: yalsa@ala.org.