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Best Fiction for Young Adults (#BFYA2022) Featured Review of When We Were Infinite by Kelly Loy Gilbert

When We Were Infinite by Kelly Loy Gilbert
Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 9, 2021
ISBN: 9781534468214

This is it. Senior year. And all Beth wants is to be with her friends as much as possible. Bonded long ago through their shared orchestra experience, Sunny, Jason, Brandon, and Grace are all the family Beth needs. She’s determined to keep them all together and connected, this year and beyond, even if it means losing herself. And she’s also secretly harboring a major crush on Jason.

When Beth and Brandon accidentally witness Jason’s father assault him, Beth is heartbroken that none of them had any idea what he was going through. As Jason spirals into anger and depression, she anxiously tries to both fix him and hold the whole group together. As often happens in senior year though, each friend must choose their own adventure and find a way to hold on to each other as they go forward.

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

Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults 2022 nominees cover art — Due to the large number of nominees, not all titles are shown here. See full list below.

Each quarter, the Selected Lists teams compile the titles that have been officially nominated to date. These are titles that 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.

Between Perfect and Real. By Ray Stoeve. Read by MW Cartozian Wilson. Recorded Books, LLC/Recorded Books, Inc., $70 (9781705028339).

Dean is a trans guy struggling with coming out to his friends and family. Exploring the internet and joining community groups allows him to more clearly define himself while acting as Romeo in a play helps his self discovery. Wilson’s voice is well matched and he skillfully narrates this emotional story.

Black Girl, Call Home. By Jasmine Mans. Read by Jasmine Mans. Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group/Penguin Audio, $22.80 (9780593346884).

Mans calls herself and other Black girls home in this love letter and essential companion to girls and women on a journey to find truth, belonging, and healing. Mans narrates this powerful and painful collection with many poems read and produced in unique ways.

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.

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2022) Featured Review of Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

Kingdom of the Wicked Audiobook By Kerri Maniscalco cover art

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco; Narrated by Marisa Calin
Jimmy Patterson Books / Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date: October 27, 2020
ISBN: 9780316428460

Twins Emilia and Vittoria are part of a long line of witches, which they keep secret to avoid persecution. One evening, Vittoria goes missing. When Emilia finds Vittoria’s body, her heart missing, she vows vengeance and will do anything to find her sister’s killer even if it means using dark magic and joining forces with the Wicked, princes of Hell that have their own nefarious agendas. If Emilia doesn’t keep her wits about her, the price of vengeance just might be too high.

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2021) Nominees Round Up, July 15 Edition

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

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson; narrated by Marin Ireland
HarperAudio / Ecco
Publication Date: October 29, 2019
ISBN: 978-0062957863

Lillian, a scholarship student, and Madison, a debutante, were unlikely roommates at their elite boarding school. But ever since Lillian covered for Madison, getting Lillian expelled from the school, she has been drifting from one dead end job to the next. Now, years later, Lillian gets a call from Madison, seeing if she can come and nanny her twin step-children, whose mother has just died, and are now in Madison and her politico husband’s care. However, the twins are a special case, they burst into flame when upset. It doesn’t hurt them, but certainly causes destruction around them.

#QP2019 Nominees Round Up, May 3 Edition

Your Robot Dog Will Die by Arin Greenwood
Soho Press / Soho Teen
Publication Date: April 17, 2018
ISBN: 978-1616958398

After a viral outbreak that turns all “organic” (i.e. real) dogs into vicious, hyper-intelligent creatures, robotics company Mechanical Tail creates robot dogs for families. Nano Miller’s family lives on Dog Island, where the robot dogs are made and home to the last remaining living dogs. While helping with her mother’s work, Nano finds an organic puppy that doesn’t seem to be hostile to humans, and in trying to save its life she sets off a chain reaction that leads to her FINALLY discovering what happened to her missing brother and the truth about Mechanical Tail, Dog Island, and everything she has been taught to believe is true.

Continue reading #QP2019 Nominees Round Up, May 3 Edition

#BFYA2019 Nominees Round Up, April 20 Edition

American Panda by Gloria Chao
Simon Pulse / Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: February 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1481499101

Pushed into early graduation, Mei Lu is an uncertain freshman at MIT. Her unyielding Taiwanese immigrant parents’ plans for her are clear: medical school followed by marriage to a fellow Taiwanese doctor. Unfortunately, Mei is a germaphobe whose passion is dance, and she does the unthinkable by falling for an unacceptable Japanese boy.

Continue reading #BFYA2019 Nominees Round Up, April 20 Edition

#AA2019 Nominees Round Up, March 28 Edition

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert, narrated by Rebecca Soler
Audio Published by Macmillan Audio
Publication Date: January 30, 2018
ISBN: 978-1427293534

Alice Crewe and her mother Ella have moved all her life, and Alice has never been sure what exactly her mother is searching for–or running from. All she knows is that no matter what happens, her mother won’t let them return to the Hazel Wood, Alice’s grandmother’s vast estate. Alice has never met her grandmother, the infamous recluse Althea Proserpine, whose one book of fairy tales, Tales from the Hinterland, is an out-of-print cult classic–a classic Alice has never read, having her copy stolen. All she has is the table of contents, which includes “Alice Three Times,” a story she is certain she has a connection to. When Ella disappears, Alice’s classmate Ellery Finch, an Althea Prosperpine fanboy, teams up with Alice to find her, his ability to retell the stories from Althea’s book crucial to their search. Alice soon realizes that the Hinterland is real–and it’s after her.

Continue reading #AA2019 Nominees Round Up, March 28 Edition