YALSA names 2020 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults

The 2020 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults list has been announced.

The list consists of 35 titles; with 30 fiction and 5 nonfiction audiobooks, selected from 63 official nominations, which were posted and discussed in blog posts on The Hub.

The list is aimed towards young adults aged 12-18 and is drawn from the previous year of spoken-word releases. The committee listened to over 300 titles this year in their quest to choose a myriad of audiobooks that would appeal to all subsects of the teen audience.

In addition to the full list, the blogging team chose the following titles as its top ten:

  • Becoming by Michelle Obama, read byMichelle Obama. Random House Audio, 2018. 19 hours; 16 discs. 978-0-5256-3367-9.
  • Dig by A.S. King, read byA.S. King, Mike Chamberlain, Tonya Cornelisse and Kirby Heyborne. Listening Library, 2019. 10 hours, 22 minutes; 9 discs. 978-1-9848-3817-9.
  • The Fountain of Silence by Ruta Sepetys, read by Maite Jáuregui, with Richard Ferrone, Neil Hellegers, Joshua Kane, Liza Kaplan, and Oliver Wyman. HarperAudio, 2018. 12 hours, 30 minutes; 10 discs. 978-0-5931-0566-5.
  • Heroine by Mindy McGinnis, read byBrittany Pressley. HarperCollins Audio, 2019. 8 hours, 30 minutes; 7 discs. 978-0-0628-8681-1.
  • Hey Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, read byJarrett J. Krosoczka, Jeanne Birdsall, Richard Ferrone, and Jenna Lamia. Scholastic Audio, 2019. 2 hours, 51 minutes; 3 discs. 978-1-3386-0454-2.
  • Internment by Samira Ahmed, read bySoneela Nankani. Hachette Audio, 2019. 11 hours; 11 discs. 978-1-5491-4876-7.
  • Let me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson, read by Adenrele Ojo, Korey Jackson, Adam Lazarre-White, and Nile Bullock. HarperCollins Audio, 2019. 9 hours, 30 minutes; 8 discs. 978-0-0629-1433-0.
  • On the Come Up by Angie Thomas, read byBahni Turpin. HarperCollins Audio, 2019. 11 hours 45 minutes; 10 discs. 978-0-0628-4069-1.
  • Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson, read byLaurie Halse Anderson. Listening Library, 2019. 4 hours; 3 discs. 978-1-9848-8239-4.
  • With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo, read byElizabeth Acevedo. HarperAudio, 2019. 7 hours, 30 minutes; 6 discs. 978-0-0628-8679-8.

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.

A huge thank you goes out to the members of the 2020 Amazing Audiobooks Blogging Team for all the long hours and great work they put into selecting the 2020 list. Thank you for all your time and effort!

Members of the blogging team are: Coordinator Samantha Neiman, Sun Prairie Public Library, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin; Coordinator Brittany Marie Garcia, Rancho Cucamonga Public Library, Rancho Cucamonga, California; Kit Ballenger, KitonLit, Chevy Chase, Maryland; Dawn Zimmerer Collins, Madison County Library System, Canton, Mississippi; Cyndi Hamann, Arlington Heights Memorial Library, Arlington Heights, Illinois; Danielle Jones, Multnomah County Library, Portland, Oregon; Christie Kimsey, Los Angeles Public Library, Pasadena, California; Teka McCabe, Briarcliff High School & Briarcliff Middle School, Manor, New York; Erin Phemester, Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County, Youngstown, Ohio; Dr. Wendy Stephens, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama; Sarah Ressler Wright, RB Hayes High School, Delaware, Ohio; Kiera Vargas, Tennessee State University: Language, Literature, Philosophy Department, Nashville, Tennessee.

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2020) Nominees Round Up, December 4 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 Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée; Narrated by Imani Parks
Balzer + Bray / HarperAudio
Publication Date: March 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1982641580

Shayla is “allergic” to trouble and wants to avoid it at all costs as she starts seventh grade with her two best friends from elementary school, Julia and Isabella. But in junior high, the rules have changed, her friendships are changing and some classmates don’t think Shayla is “black enough.” Shayla’s sister, Hana, is involved in Black Lives Matter, but Shayla decides to stick with the track team instead of joining that movement. But after experiencing a powerful protest with her family, Shayla decides that sometimes you can’t avoid trouble and choosing “trouble” may be the right choice after all.

Continue reading Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2020) Nominees Round Up, December 4 Edition

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2020) Nominees Round Up, November 27 Edition

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

Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton; Narrated by Robert Petkoff
Grand Central Publishing / Hachette Audio
Publication Date: August 6, 2019
ISBN: 978-1549182099

Salty and potty-mouthed, this hilarious apocalyptic tale is narrated by S.T., a domesticated crow whose understanding of the human world comes from watching television with his “MoFo” human companion, Big Jim. Set in Seattle, Washington, S.T. watches as a sickness is coming over the humans turning them into zombies, and it falls on this unlikely chosen one to save the world for all animal kind.

Continue reading Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2020) Nominees Round Up, November 27 Edition

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2020) Nominees Round Up, November 20 Edition

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

Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins, narrated by Karissa Vacker
Audio Published by Listening Library
Publication Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN:978-1984885784

Millie Quint is heartbroken when she discovers that her official best friend but unofficial girlfriend has been avoiding her for weeks all to reunite with her ex-boyfriend. Millie decides to make a change and apply for a scholarship to an exclusive boarding school far from Houston in the highlands of Scotland. The change in scenery and prestigiousness of the school prove to be positive experiences, but then Millie meets her roommate – Flora. Flora has a taste for trouble, a chip on her shoulder, and acts like she’s royalty and everyone else is beneath her. All of these annoy and irritate Millie until she discovers more about Flora’s history until the girls start to be friends and maybe something more than friends.

Continue reading Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2020) Nominees Round Up, November 20 Edition

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2020) Nominees Round Up, November 13 Edition

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The Virtue of Sin by Shannon Schuren; Narrated by Erin Spencer and Kirby Heybourne
Audio Published by Listening Library
Publication Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1984890665

The Virtue of Sin by Shannon Schuren tells the story of 16-year-old Miriam and Caleb who live in a place called New Jerusalem, a haven in the desert far away from the sins and depravity of the outside world led by its founder and leader: Daniel. The events revolve around the Matrimony ceremony in which each 16-year-old boy will say the name of their wife as God has told them. But the Matrimony ceremony goes wrong, the aftermath will shake the foundations of New Jerusalem. The story follows Miriam and Caleb as they discover more about New Jerusalem, Daniel, and the truth of their world.

Continue reading Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2020) Nominees Round Up, November 13 Edition

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2020) Nominees Round Up, November 6 Edition

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Pet by Akwaeke Emezi; Narrated by Christopher Myers
Listening Library / Random House Children’s Books
Publication Date: May 21, 2019
ISBN: 978-0593153994 

The residents of Lucille claim they’ve eradicated the monsters.  Angels of a generation past ensured the safety of all, Jam was taught that in school.  Statues honor the children whose names had been hashtagged battle cries, those who had died at the hands of the everyday monsters in a time of great violence and cruelty, back before the revolution.  But then Pet appears, clawing forth from Jam’s mother’s painting, a hulking and feathered creature born of Jam’s blood, a hunter in search of a monster in Jam’s plain sight.  Can Jam protect her best friend when joining Pet’s hunt means confronting a truth that others would rather stay buried?

Continue reading Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2020) Nominees Round Up, November 6 Edition

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2020) Nominees Round Up, October 31 Edition

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

Screen Queens by Lori Goldstein; Narrated by Jorjeana Marie
Razorbill/Penguin Random House
Publication Date: June 11, 2019
ISBN: 9780593103531

The incredibly competitive tech incubator competition this summer has the first all-female team, comprised of organizer Lucy Katz, designer Maddie Li, and coder Delia Meyer. From diverse backgrounds, each has different goals for themselves and their team. Throughout the five-week project, they must overcome stereotypes of each other and their competitors to see if they can hack it.

Continue reading Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2020) Nominees Round Up, October 31 Edition

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2020) Nominees Round Up, October 23 Edition

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

Frankly in Love, by David Yoon; Narrated by Raymond J. Lee
Listening Library / Penguin Audio
Publication Date: September 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-0593105603 

Frank Li can’t shake his hyphen — despite being born in SoCal and barely speaking Korean, he and his “Limbo” friends straddle two worlds as the children of immigrants, forever Korean-American and not just American.  Filial duty dictates Frank fall in love with a nice Korean girl, but the heart wants what it wants and Frank falls hard for Brit, a brilliant, quirky and, well — white — classmate.  Staging an elaborate fake-dating ruse with fellow dating-outside-their-culture Limbo, Joy buys both Frank and Joy some freedom from their parents’ scrutiny.  As the lies — and his life — grow increasingly complicated, Frank confronts the complexities of his family, identity, and relationships, as each, in turn, crumbles.  An immersive coming-of-age story with tender romance, loyal friendships, and a willingness to tackle tough questions about race and identity.

Continue reading Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2020) Nominees Round Up, October 23 Edition

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2020) Nominees Round Up, October 16 Edition

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

Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon by Mary Fan; narrated by Emily Woo Zeller
Tantor Audio / Page Street Kids
Publication Date: June 11, 2019
ISBN: 978-1624147333

Though she longs to be a warrior, Liang Anlei has been chosen to marry a wealthy viceroy in exchange for protection for her village. The night before she is to marry she meets a thief named Tai that also wants to save his people. Both Anlei and Tai need the same magical artifact to achieve their goals and soon embark on a magical quest to discover the secrets of the shadow spirits that terrorize their kingdom.

Continue reading Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2020) Nominees Round Up, October 16 Edition

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2020) Nominees Round Up, October 9 Edition

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Pan’s Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun by Guillermo del Toro and Cornelia Funke; narrated by Thom Rivera
HarperAudio / HarperCollins
Publication Date: July 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1982660741  

Spanish filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and German author Cornelia Funke join forces to adapt del Toro’s 2006 fairytale horror movie into novel form. Set in Spain at the end of the Spanish Civil War, Ofelia, a young girl moves with her pregnant mother to live with her new step-father. Ofelia’s step-father, a military captain nicknamed “The Wolf,” puts Ofelia on edge. Shortly after arriving at his forested estate in northern Spain, Ofelia enters a labyrinth where she meets creatures both strange and menacing, and finds herself bridging two worlds that are both battling between the forces of good and evil.

Continue reading Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2020) Nominees Round Up, October 9 Edition