Audio Books for Teens

Historical Fiction. Death first encounters nine year old Leisel Memminger when he comes to claim the soul of her younger brother at a train station in Germany.  With undeviating emotion, Death narrates the story of the young German girl who steals a book she cannot read while in route to live with her foster parents. Leisel’s gift for reading and storytelling brings joy to the people living amongst the horrors and hardships of World War II Germany. Markus Zusak is the author of this award-wnning book.  Recommended for ages 14-18. (Listening Library, 2006. ISBN: 9780739337271)

Historical Fiction/Odyssey Award Winner.  Andi’s depression over her brother’s death and her addiction to antidepressants leads to her expulsion from school. Her father, a Nobel-prizing winning scientist, decides to take her to Paris to finish her senior project. While there she finds a two hundred year old diary from a girl named Alex who lived during the French Revolution. Reading the diary transports Andi into another time and by completing some of Alex’s unfinished tasks, she begins to find new meaning in her own life. Jennifer Donnelly is the author of Revolution.  Recommended for ages 14-18. (Listening Library, 2010. ISBN: 9780307746214)

Contemporary Romance.  Sleeping is overrated in this sweet romance about two insomniacs by Sarah Dessen. Auden and Eli both have trouble sleeping. She’s dealing with a divorced family, and he’s grieving the death of his best friend. Over the short summer they form a friendship and discover that accepting change and moving on is healing for both of them. Recommended for ages 14-18. (Penguin Group, 2009. ISBN: 9780143144663)

Historical Fiction/Odyssey Award Winner. A giant tidal wave brings together two teenagers from very different worlds: Mau, a young islander journeying back to his village, and Daphne, a young English girl of nobility traveling by ship meet her father.  Amidst great destruction and loss, the teens grapple with traditional beliefs in order to survive and to take care of the many others who find their way to the island. Terry Prachett is the author of Nation. Recommended for ages 16-18. (HarperCollins Childrens, 2008. ISBN: 9780061658211)

Historical Fiction/Odyssey Award Winner. This beloved classic by Robert Louis Stevenson is the story of young Jim Hawkins and the pirate Long John Silver sailing the high seas and searching for buried treasure.  Included in the audio is an essay on pirates by David Cordingly, renowned maritime curator and author of the book Under the Black Flag. Recommended for ages 12-18. (Listening Library, 2007. ISBN: 9780739350461)

Adventure/Odyssey Award Winner.  When Mary Faber loses her family to the plague she is left to run the streets and learn survival skills with a gang of orphans.  When the gang’s leader is killed, Mary sheds her girlish clothes, cuts her hair, and joins the HMS Dolphin as “Jack“ Faber.  L.M. Meyer is the author of this high seas adventure tale with a strong female character who is not afraid to fight with pirates. Recommended for ages 14-18. (Listen and Live Audio, 2007. ISBN: 9781593160944)

Historical Fiction/Odyssey Award Winner. Thirteen year old Meggy Swann is crippled, but she doesn’t lack courage. The young girl hobbles about the streets of 16^th century London aiding her alchemist father in his determination to turn base metal into gold.  Treated unkindly by the townspeople and her father, Meggy turns to Roger, her father’s former apprentice, for help when she overhears a plot to murder the king. Recommended for ages 12-14. The author of the book is Karen Cushman. (Listening Library, 2010. ISBN: 9780307710222)

Fairytale Retelling. Little Red Riding Hood is revisited in this story of two sisters who unite with a woodcutter’s son to fight the wolves that are stalking their woods. Scarlett and Rosie March lived with their Grandmother until the night a wolf broke into their home killing their beloved Oma and leaving hideous scars along Scarlett’s face.  Revenge, romance, and reconnection are the themes in this wonderful retelling by Jackson Pearce. Recommended for ages 14-18. (Hatchette Audio, 2010. ISBN: 9781607883012)

Fantasy. When her baby sister is stolen by fairies and replaced with a changeling, Poison sets off on a journey to meet the Fairy Lord and demand the return of her sister. Along the way she encounters a cast of otherworldly creatures who help her quest. Full of danger, intrigue and a battle of wits, this is the story of a girl who becomes the hero of her own adventure. The author of Poison is Chris Wooding. Recommended for ages 14-18. (Recorded Books, 2006. ISBN: 9781419399114).

Science Fiction/Odessey Award Winner.  “The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don’t got nothing much to say.”  So begins the first line in this futuristic dystopian book about a New World planet where everyone’s thoughts are known and man and animal can communicate.  When Todd Hewitt turns thirteen he learns that there are secrets in his settlement, secrets he wasn’t meant to know. With the help of his adoptive parents, Todd and his dog Manchee escape Prentisstown and run for their lives.  Original and complex, this must read story is the first book in the Chaos Walking trilogy by British journalist Patrick Ness. Recommended for ages 16-18. (Brilliance Audio, 2010. ISBN: 9781441889010)