Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2022) Nominations Round-Up, Spring

Each quarter, the Selected Lists teams compile the titles that have been officially nominated to date. These books have been suggested by the team or through the title suggestion form, read by multiple members of the team, and received approval to be designated an official nomination. At the end of the year, the final list of nominations and each Selected List’s Top Ten will be chosen from these titles.


*Prices shown are for Library Digital Download.

Admission. By Julie Buxbaum. Read by Julia Whelan. 2020. Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group/Listening Library, $63 (9780593216996).

Chloe, privileged daughter of a beloved celebrity, watches helplessly as her mother is caught up in a college admission scandal benefiting her. Julia Whelan skillfully unpacks the emotions that go with Chloe’s questioning whether her parents believe she is enough. 

Amari and the Night Brothers. By B. B. Alston. Read by Imani Parks. Harper Collins/Balzer + Bray, $64.99 (9780063057968).

Amari believes her missing brother is alive. When a mysterious suitcase appears in her closest, she is whisked away to a land of magic. To find her brother, Amari must pass a series of tests in order to enter the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Strong narration supports this fantastical adventure.

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Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2022) Featured Review of Class Act by Jerry Craft

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Class Act by Jerry Craft; narrated by Nile Bullock, Jesus del Orden, Guy Lockard, Marc Thompson, Peyton Lusk, Rebecca Soler, Dan Bittner, January LaVoy, Phoebe Strole, Jordan Cobb, A.J. Beckles, Robin Miles, Ron Butler, Miles Harvey, Kim Mai Guest, Kyla Garcia & Soneela Nankani
HarperAudio
Publication Date: January 5, 2021
ISBN: 9780063032057 

Drew Ellis, Jordan Banks and Liam Landers are back at Riverdale Academy Day School for their eighth grade year, where they have to navigate microaggressions, colorism and class differences.  The focus of this book is Drew and his home life with his grandmother, his longing to join the basketball team without becoming a stereotype, and his growing resentment towards Liam, the wealthiest of his friends.

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Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2021) Nominees Round Up, December 7 Edition

Click here to see all of the current Amazing Audiobooks nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

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A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow; Narrated by Andrea Laing and Jennifer Haralson
Macmillan Audio
Publication Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-1250755018

Tavia and Effie are best friends living their lives and trying to survive their junior year of high school. Set in a current-day Portland where magic and fantastic creatures are part of the norm, the girls each have secrets that could destroy their families and communities. Effie is running from literal demons in her past, finding solace in her seasonal Renaissance Fair performances as a mermaid. Tavia is hiding her powers as a siren, one of the most feared magical creatures, after a recent siren murder trial becomes national news. When Tavia lets her powers escape during a traffic stop, the girls’ carefully balanced lives begin to tumble. This book is part contemporary fiction, part black fantasy and part social justice. 

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Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2021) Nominees Round Up, December 2 Edition

Click here to see all of the current Amazing Audiobooks nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

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Early Departures by Justin A. Reynolds; Narrated by A.J. Beckles, Preston Butler III
HarperAudio
Publication Date: September 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-0062748409

Jamal is still reeling from his parents’ deaths two years ago, and it is affecting all of his relationships. It has been causing friction with his girlfriend Autumn, but more importantly, it has broken his relationship with his best friend and comedic partner, Quincy. Jamal even blames Quincy for his parents’ death, something that Quincy is unaware of. During a party on the beach, Jamal witnesses Quincy save a drowning girl’s life, only to lose his own. When a mysterious man offers Quincy’s mother a chance to bring him back through experimental technology, Jamal takes this as a second chance for him to heal his relationship with Quincy before it’s too late. 

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Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2021) Nominees Round Up, November 18 Edition

Click here to see all of the current Amazing Audiobooks nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

Sanctuary Audiobook By Paola Mendoza,
    
        
            
            
                
            
        
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Sanctuary by Paola Mendoza and Abby Sher; Narrated by Paola Mendoza
Listening Library
Publication Date: September 1, 2020
ISBN: 9780593341018

In the year 2032, all American citizens are chipped and every movement is tracked, making it near impossible for the undocumented to survive.  Somehow, Valentina “Vali” Gonzalez Rameriz, her mother and her younger brother manage to eke out an existence in small-town Vermont using counterfeit chips.  When Vali’s mother’s chip malfunctions, the three of them make a harrowing journey across the country to her Tia Luna’s in California, the sanctuary state that is being walled off and forcefully seceded from the rest of the country.

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Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2021) Nominees Round Up, July 8 Edition

Click here to see all of the current Amazing Audiobooks nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

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From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks; narrated by Bahni Turpin
HarperAudio / Katherine Tegen Books 
Publication Date: January 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-0062969279 

Aspiring baker Zoe Washington is looking forward to spending her summer working at her family friend’s bakery, and then auditioning to be on a kid’s baking show. On her 12th birthday, Zoe receives a letter from her biological father who has been in prison on a murder charge her entire life. Zoe, who hasn’t heard from Marcus before now, begins writing back, only to find that he has been writing to her all along, and that he claims he is innocent of the charge. In wanting to be able to trust and believe her father, and while keeping the correspondence secret from her mother, Zoe and her best friend try to find her father’s alibi witness.

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Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2021) Nominees Round Up, May 27 Edition

Click here to see all of the current Amazing Audiobooks nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

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The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky (Montague Siblings, Book 1.5) by Mackenzi Lee; narrated by Christian Coulson
HarperAudio
Release date: 11-26-19
ISBN: 9780062968883 

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Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2021) Nominees Round Up, April 22 Edition

Click here to see all of the current Amazing Audiobooks nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson; narrated by Bailey Carr, Marisa Calin, Michael Crouch, Gopal Divan, Robert Fass, Kevin R. Free, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Carol Monda, Patricia Santomasso, Shezi Sardar, and Amanda Thickpenny
Listening Library
Publication date: February 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1984896360

Pippa has never felt settled about a murder in her town that happened 5 years ago.  A girl went missing, and the prime suspect died from apparent suicide before a trial was held. 

As part of a school project she takes on trying to find out what really happened. She ends up working alongside the younger brother of the accused murderer and they uncover a twisting tale finding many people in unfavorable light. Through Pippa’s notebook entries, interviews, and more we hear the story unfold.  

Continue reading Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2021) Nominees Round Up, April 22 Edition

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2021) Nominees Round Up, March 11 Edition

Click here to see all of the current Amazing Audiobooks nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

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Light It Up by Kekla Magoon; Narrated by Landon Woodson, Karen Chilton, Cherise Booth, Eevin Hartsough, Christopher Carley, Peter Jay Fernandez, T.Ryder Smith, Julian Thomas, Kevin R. Free, and Korey Jackson
Recorded Books
Publication Date: October 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1250128898
Shae Tatum hurries home from school one night. She has her earphones on, tuning out the world around her. Shae is tall and looks much older than her thirteen years. A case of mistaken identity leads to tragedy.

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