Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults
The American Library Association's Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults, formerly Selected Audiobooks for Young Adults, is a recommendation list of audiobooks presented yearly by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) division.
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) released the first list of Selected Audiobooks for Young Adults in 1999.[1] In 2009, the list was renamed as Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults.[1]
The list can be used to help young adult readers find suitable audiobooks, which "are an underused treasure in school libraries. Teacher librarians can use them to draw new readers into the library and find new ways to connect with teachers."[2] However, finding quality audiobooks can be difficult as one must consider the audiobook's sound quality, pacing, variety, cultural authenticity, narrators (professional versus volunteer; computer versus human), as well as matching readers' interests, reading ability, the audiobook's length, and more.[2] To help address these challenges, several librarians and organizations recommend parents and teachers use the Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults list to find audiobooks for young adults.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Criteria
To be eligible for the list, the audiobook "must have been produced or released within the 24 months previous to the list’s release."[7] The audiobooks cover a range of topics and are targeted toward individuals between the ages of 12 and 18.[7] To land a place on the list, audiobooks are judged on the following criteria:[7]
- The audiobooks must appeal to young adults age 12 to 18. This includes book whose text versions may not be suitable to this demographic.
- If the material is adapted, it "must remain true to, expand, or complement the original work"
- The audiobook must effectively use voice, music, sound effects, and/or language
- The audiobook must be appropriate for audio presentation
- The audiobook must have a suitable match between the performer and the text.
- The audiobook must be professionally produced.
- All words within the audiobook must be pronounced correctly.
- The audiobook must be clearly recorded.
- The audiobook must include informative packaging.
Honorees
After honoring all amazing audiobooks, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) selects ten books every year, which are "the best of the best."[8]
| Book Title | Author | Reader(s) | Genre | Award Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cemetery Boys | Aiden Thomas | Avi Roque | Fiction | 2021[9] |
| Clap When You Land | Elizabeth Acevedo | Melania-Luisa Marte and Elizabeth Acevedo | Fiction | |
| A Good Girl's Guide to Murder | Holly Jackson | Bailey Carr, Melissa Calin, Michael Crouch, Gopal Divan, Robert Fass, Kevin R. Free, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Carol Monda, Patricia Santomasso, Shezi Sardar and Amanda Thickpenny | Fiction | |
| Kent State | Deborah Wiles | Christopher Gebauer, Lauren Ezzo, Christina Delaine, Johnny Heller, Roger Wayne, Korey Jackson, and David de Vries | Nonfiction | |
| Legendborn | Tracy Deonn | Joniece Abbott-Pratt | Fantasy | |
| Raybearer | Jordan Ifueko | Joniece Abbott-Pratt | Fantasy | |
| The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep: Voices from the Donner Party | Allan Wolf | Bahni Turpin, Whitney Dykhouse, Teri Schnaubelt, Tim Gerard Reynolds, Lauren Ezzo, Eric G. Dove, Ramón de Ocampo, and Shaun Taylor-Corbett | Historical fiction | |
| Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You | Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi | Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi | Nonfiction | |
| We Are Not Free | Traci Chee | Scott Keiji Takeda, Dan Woren, Ryan Potter, Ali Fumiko, Sophie Oda, Andrew Kishino, Christopher Naoki Lee, Grace Rolek, Erika Aishii, Brittany Ishibashi, Kurt Sanchez Kanazawa and Terry Kitagawa | Historical fiction | |
| When Stars Are Scattered | Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed | Full Cast | Biography, Graphic Novel | |
| Becoming | Michelle Obama | Michelle Obama | Memoir | 2020[10] |
| Dig | A.S. King | A.S. King, Mike Chamberlain, Tonya Cornelisse and Kirby Heyborne | Fantasy | |
| The Fountains of Silence | Ruta Sepetys | Maite Jáuregui, with Richard Ferrone, Neil Hellegers, Joshua Kane, Liza Kaplan, and Oliver Wyman | Historical fiction | |
| Heroine | Mindy McGinnis | Brittany Pressley | Fiction | |
| Hey Kiddo | Jarrett J. Krosoczka | Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Jeanne Birdsall, Richard Ferrone, and Jenna Lamia | Memoir, Graphic novel | |
| Internment | Samira Ahmed | Soneela Nankani | Science Fiction | |
| Let Me Hear a Rhyme | Tiffany D. Jackson | Adenrele Ojo, Korey Jackson, Adam Lazarre-White, and Nile Bullock | Fiction | |
| On the Come Up | Angie Thomas | Bahni Turpin | Fiction | |
| Shout | Laurie Halse Anderson | Laurie Halse Anderson | Memoir, Poetry | |
| With the Fire on High | Elizabeth Acevedo | Elizabeth Acevedo | Fiction | |
| Akata Witch | Nnedi Okorafor | Yetide Badaki | Fantasy | 2019[11] |
| The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge | MT Anderson and Eugene Yelchin | Gildart Jackson | Fantasy | |
| Educated | Tara Westover | Julia Whelan | Memoir | |
| I Have Lost My Way | Gayle Forman | Nicole Lewis, Michael Crouch, and Sunil Malhotra | Fiction | |
| Lu | Jason Reynolds | Guy Lockard | Fiction | |
| The Poet X | Elizabeth Acevedo | Elizabeth Acevedo | Poetry, Fiction | |
| Quidditch Through the Ages | J.K. Rowling and Kennilworthy Whisp | Andrew Lincoln | Fantasy | |
| Sadie | Courtney Summers | Rebecca Soler, Fred Berman, Dan Bittner, Gabra Zackman, and a Full Cast | Fiction | |
| Sunny | Jason Reynolds | Guy Lockard | Fiction | |
| Thunderhead | Neal Shusterman | Greg Trembley | Fantasy | |
| Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them | J.K. Rowling and Newt Scamander | Eddie Redmayne | Fantasy | 2018[12] |
| Flying Lessons and Other Stories | Ellen Oh (editor) | Various | Fiction | |
| Honor Girl | Maggie Thrash | Ensemble Cast | Memoir, Graphic novel | |
| Scythe | Neal Shusterman | Greg Tremblay | Fantasy | |
| The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue | Mackenzi Lee | Christian Coulson | Historical fiction | |
| The Hate U Give | Angie Thomas | Bahni Turpin | Fiction | |
| The Inexplicable Logic of My Life | Benjamin Alire Sáenz | Robbie Daymond | Fiction | |
| The Pearl Thief | Elizabeth Wein | Maggie Service | Fiction | |
| The Sun is Also a Star | Nicola Yoon | Dominic Hoffman, Raymond Lee, and Bahni Turpin | Fiction | |
| Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March | Lynda Blackmon Lowery, as told to Elspeth Leacock and Susan Buckley | Damaras Obi | Memoir | |
| Anna and the Swallow Man | Gavriel Savit | Allan Corduner | Fiction | 2017[13] |
| Beast | Brie Spangler | Andrew Eiden | Fiction | |
| Gemina | Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff | Carla Corvo, MacLeod Andrews, Steve West, and a full cast | Fiction | |
| Kill the Boy Band | Goldy Moldavsky | Barrett Wilbert Weed | Fiction | |
| Nimona | Noelle Stevenson | Marc Thompson, Rebecca Soler, January LaVoy, Peter Bradbury, Jonathan Davis, David Pittu, and Natalie Gold | Fiction | |
| Orbiting Jupiter | Gary D. Schmidt | Christopher Gebauer | Fiction | |
| Salt to the Sea | Ruta Sepetys | Jorjeana Marie, Will Damron, Cassandra Morris, and Michael Crouch | Fiction | |
| Star Wars: Ahsoka | E.K. Johnston | Ashley Eckstein | Fiction | |
| Traffick | Ellen Hopkins | Kirby Heyborne, Julia Whelan, Madeleine Maby, Rebekkah Ross, and Jacques Roy | Fiction | |
| Wink Poppy Midnight | April Genevieve Tucholke | Michael Crouch, Alicyn Packard, and Caitlin Davies | Fiction | |
| Waistcoats & Weaponry | Gail Carriger | Moira Quick | Fiction | 2016[14] |
| What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions | Randall Munroe | Wil Wheaton | Nonfiction | |
| The Dead House | Dawn Kurtagich | Charlotte Parry and Christian Coulson | Fiction | |
| Echo | Pam Munoz Ryan | Mark Bramhall, David De Vries, Macleod Andrews, and Rebecca Soler | Fiction | |
| Gabi, A Girl in Pieces | Isabel Quintero | Kyla Garcia | Fiction | |
| Half Wild | Sally Green | Carl Prekopp and Kyla Garcia | Fiction | |
| lluminae: The Illuminae Files_01 | Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff | Olivia Taylor Dudley, Lincoln Hoppe, and Jonathan McClain | Fiction | |
| Lair of Dreams | Libba Bray | January LaVoy | Fiction | |
| Library of Souls | Ransom Riggs | Kirby Heyborne | Fiction | |
| Trollhunters | Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus | Kirby Heyborne | Fiction | |
| ACID | Emma Pass | Fiona Hardingham with Nicholas Guy Smith and Suzan Crowley | Fiction | 2015[15] |
| Curtsies and Conspiracies | Gail Carriger | Moira Quick | Fiction | |
| Define Normal | Julie Anne Peters | Christine Lakin | Fiction | |
| Fat Boy vs. the Cheerleaders | Geoff Herbach | Nick Podehl | Fiction | |
| Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future | A.S. King | Christine Lakin | Fiction | |
| Half Bad | Sally Green | Carl Prekopp | Fiction | |
| Love Letters to the Dead | Ava Dellaira | Julia Whelan | Fiction | |
| Revolution | Deborah Wiles | Stacey Aswad and Francois Battiste with J.D. Jackson and Robin Miles | Fiction | |
| Skink--No Surrender | Carl Hiaasen | Kirby Heyborne | Fiction | |
| William Shakespeare’s Star Wars Collection | Ian Doescher | Danny Davis, Jonathan Davis, Ian Doescher, Jeff Gurner, January LaVoy, and Marc Thompson | Fiction | |
| Zombie Baseball Beatdown | Paolo Bacigalupi | Sunil Malhotra | Horror, Fantasy | 2014[16] |
| Etiquette & Espionage | Gail Carriger | Moira Quirk | Fantasy | |
| William Shakespeare's Star Wars | Ian Doeschera | full cast | Science-Fiction | |
| If You Could Be Mine | Sara Farizan | Negin Farsad | Fiction | |
| Scowler | Daniel Kraus | Kirby Heyborne | Horror, Thriller | |
| The Boy on the Wooden Box | Leon Leyson | Danny Burstein | Biography | |
| Viva Jacquelina!: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Over the Hills and Far Away (A Bloody Jack Adventure) | L.A. Meyer | Katherine Kellgren | Historical Fiction | |
| Crap Kingdom | D.C. Pierson | D.C. Pierson | Fantasy | |
| Dodger | Terry Pratchett | Stephen Briggs | Fantasy | |
| Eleanor & Park | Rainbow Rowell | Rebecca Lowman and Sunil Malhotra | Fiction | |
| Code Name Verity | Elizabeth Wein | Morven Christie and Lucy Gaskell | Historical fiction | 2013[17] |
| Crusher | Niall Leonard | Daniel Weyman | Mystery, Thriller | |
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever | Jeff Kinney | Ramon de Ocampo | Fiction | |
| The Diviners | Libba Bray | January LaVoy | Fantasy | |
| Inheritance | Christopher Paolini | Gerard Doyle | Fantasy | |
| The Isle of Blood | Rick Yancey | Steven Boyer | Fantasy | |
| Personal Effects | E.M. Kokie | Nick Podehl | Fiction | |
| Warriors Don’t Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High | Melba Patillo Beals | Lisa Renee Pitts | Autobiography | |
| The Watch That Ends the Night | Allan Wolf | Michael Page, Phil Gigante, Christopher Lane, Laurel Merlington, and Angela Dawe | Historical fiction | |
| Wonder | R.J. Palacio | Diana Steele, Nick Podehl, and Kate Rudd | Fiction | |
| Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me? | Louise Rennison | Stina Nielson | Fiction | 2012[18] |
| Beauty Queens | Libba Bray | Libba Bray | Fiction | |
| Carter’s Big Break | Brent Crawford | Nick Podehl | Fiction | |
| Chime | Franny Billingsley | Susan Duerden | Historical fantasy | |
| Curse of the Wendigo | Rick Yancey | Steven Boyer | Fantasy | |
| Fever Crumb | Philip Reeve | Philip Reeve | Fantasy | |
| How They Croaked | Georgia Bragg | L.J. Ganser | Biography | |
| Marbury Lens | Andrew Smith | Mark Boyett | Fantasy | |
| Ring of Solomon | Jonathan Stroud | Simon Jones | Fantasy | |
| Wake of the Lorelei Lee | L.A. Meyer | Katherine Kellgren | Historical fiction | |
| The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had | Kristin Levine | Kirby Heyborne | Historical fiction | 2011[19] |
| Dreamdark Silksinger | Laini Taylor | Cassandra Campbell | Fantasy | |
| Finnikin of the Rock | Melina Marchetta | Jeffrey Cummings | Fantasy | |
| The Knife of Never Letting Go | Patrick Ness | Nick Podehl | Fantasy, Science-Fiction | |
| Muchacho | Louanne Johnson | Ozzie Rodriguez | Fiction | |
| One Crazy Summer | Rita Garcia Williams | Sisi Aisha Johnson | Historical fiction | |
| Precious | Sapphire | Bahni Turpin | Fiction | |
| Rapture of the Deep | L. A. Meyer | Katherine Kellgren | Historical fiction | |
| The Rock and the River | Kekla Magoon | Dion Graham | Historical fiction | |
| Will Grayson, Will Grayson | John Green and David Levithan | MacLeod Andrews and Nick Podehl | Fiction |
References
- ^ a b c Cahill, Maria; Moore, Jennifer (Spring 2017). "A Sound History: Audiobooks Are Music to Children's Ears". Children and Libraries. 15 (1): 22–29.
- ^ a b c Lamb, Annette (December 2017). "Listeners' Advisory Part 1". Teacher Librarian. 45: 2 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Young, Renee (2019-10-25). "The Alert Collector: Listen Up: Best Practices for Audiobooks in Libraries". Reference & User Services Quarterly. 58 (4): 210–214. doi:10.5860/rusq.58.4.7146. ISSN 1094-9054.
- ^ Reading by right : successful strategies to ensure every child can read to succeed. Chris Riddell, Joy Court. London. 2017. ISBN 978-1-78330-209-3. OCLC 968905071.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Lesesne, Teri S. (Summer 2016). "Benefits and Practical Applications of Audiobooks". The Alan Review. 43 (3): 107–109.
- ^ Wolfson, Gene (2008). "Using Audiobooks to Meet the Needs of Adolescent Readers". American Secondary Education. 36 (2): 105–114. ISSN 0003-1003.
- ^ a b c "Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". American Library Association. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "An Enthusiastic Earful". American Libraries Magazine. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
- ^ Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) (2021-01-04). "2021 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". American Library Association. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) (2020-01-06). "2020 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". American Library Association. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) (2019-01-10). "2019 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". American Library Association. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) (2018-01-09). "2018 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". American Library Association. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) (2017-01-25). "2017 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". American Library Association. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) (2016-01-11). "2016 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". American Library Association. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) (2015-02-03). "2015 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". American Library Association. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) (2014-01-30). "2014 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Top Ten". American Library Association. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) (2013-01-31). "2013 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Top Ten". American Library Association. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) (2012-01-24). "2012 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Top Ten". American Library Association. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) (2010-12-27). "2011 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". American Library Association. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)