Free Audiobook Downloads from SYNC

Teens and other readers of Young Adult Literature will once again have the opportunity to download and listen to current bestselling titles and classics this summer. Each week from June 14 - August 22, 2012, SYNC will offer two FREE audiobook downloads.

June14 – June 20, 2012
The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch, Read by Dan Bittner
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Frank Galati [Adapt.], Read by Shirley Knight, Jeffrey Donovan, and a Full Cast

June 21 – June 27, 2012
Irises by Francisco X. Stork, Read by Carrington MacDuffie
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, Read by Wanda McCaddon

June 28 – July 4, 2012
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud, Read by Simon Jones
Tales from the Arabian Nights by Andrew Lang, Read by Toby Stephens

July 5 – July 11, 2012
Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, Read by August Ross
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, Read by Ian Holm

July 12 – July 18, 2012
Guys Read: Funny Business by Jon Scieszka [Ed.] et al., Read by Michael Boatman, Kate DiCamillo, John Keating, Jon Scieszka, Bronson Pinchot
The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Stories by Mark Twain, Read by Norman Dietz

July 19 – July 25, 2012
Cleopatra’s Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter, Read by Kirsten Potter
Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare, Read by a Full Cast

July 26 – August 1, 2012
Pinned by Alfred C. Martino, Read by Mark Shanahan
TBA
 
August 2 – August 8, 2012
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, Read by Khristine Hvam
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Read by Simon Prebble

August 9 – August 15, 2012
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy, Read by Rupert Degas
Dead Men Kill by L. Ron Hubbard, Read by Jennifer Aspen and a Full Cast
 
August 16 – August 22, 2012
The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera, Read by Jay Laga’aia
The Call of the Wild by Jack London, Read by William Roberts

A Fresh Baker's Dozen of New Audiobooks

Enhance your summer vacation with tales adventurous, sometimes humorous, tales of survival, autobiographical and historical, romantic, or gruesome. A dozen-plus new audiobooks are on the shelves in the Young Adult area. The following titles are audio award winners:  Beauty Queens, Dead End in Norvelt, Okay For Now, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Rotters.  (Descriptions below are from the EBSCO database, NoveList Plus.) 

Beauty Queens, by Libba Bray.  When a plane crash strands 13 teen beauty contestants on an island, they struggle to survive, to get along with one another, to combat the island's other diabolical occupants, and to learn their dance numbers in case they are rescued in time for the competition.
Genre: humorous, satire, action/adventure.

The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, & Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins.  In a future N. America, the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition that pits young people from each of twelve districts against one another, 16-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister's place.
Genre: science fiction, survival.

Dead End in Norvelt, by Jack Gantos.  In the historic town of Norvelt, PA, 12-year-old Jack spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore involving the newly dead, molten wax, twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies, underage driving, lessons from history, typewriting, and countless bloody noses.
Genre: autobiographical, humorous.

The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green.  Sixteen-year-old Hazel, a stage IV thyroid cancer patient, has accepted her terminal diagnosis until a chance meeting with a boy at cancer support group forces her to reexamine her perspective on love, loss, and life.
Genre: witty realism, romance, death/dying.

Rotters, by Daniel Kraus.  Sixteen-year-old Joey's life takes a very strange turn when his mother's tragic death forces him to move from Chicago to rural Iowa with the father he has never known, and who is the town pariah.
Genre: gruesome realism.

A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness, Inspired by an idea from Siobhan Down.  13-year-old Conor awakens one night to find a monster outside his bedroom window, but not the one from the recurring nightmare that began when his mother became ill --an ancient, wild creature that wants him to face truth and loss. (Includes 1 bonus disc with illustrations from the book with accompanying audio excerpts.)
Genre: horror, urban fantasy

Mastiff, by Tamora Pierce.  Book 3 in Beka Cooper series. Beka, having just lost her fiance in a slaver's raid, is able to distract herself by going with her team on an important hunt at the queen's request, unaware that the throne of Tortall depends on their success.
Genre: fantasy, adventure.

Okay For Now, by Gary D. Schmidt.  While Doug struggles to be more than the thug that his teachers and the police think him to be, he finds an unlikely ally in Lil Spicer, as they explore Audubon's art.
Genre: historical fiction, friendship.

The Ring of Solomon, by Jonathan Stroud.  Wise-cracking djinni Bartimaeus finds himself at the court of King Solomon with an unpleasant master, a sinister servant, and King Solomon's magic ring.
Genre: fantasy, adventure, magic.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor.  Seventeen-year-old Karou, a lovely, enigmatic art student in a Prague boarding school, carries a sketchbook of hideous, frightening monsters--the chimaerae who form the only family she has ever known.
Genre: urban fantasy, supernatural, romance.

The Name of the Star, by Maureen Johnson.  Rory, of Boueuxlieu, Louisiana, is spending a year at a London boarding school when she witnesses a murder by a Jack the Ripper copycat and becomes involved with the very unusual investigation.
Genre: mystery, paranormal.

Leviathan, Behemoth, & Goliath, by Scott Westerfeld.  In an alternate 1914 Europe, fifteen-year-old Austrian Prince Alek, on the run from the Clanker Powers who are attempting to take over the globe using mechanical machinery, forms an uneasy alliance with Deryn who, disguised as a boy to join the British Air Service, is learning to fly genetically-engineered beasts.
Genre: science fiction, steampunk, adventure.

Blood Red Road, by Moira Young.  In a distant future, eighteen-year-old Lugh is kidnapped, and while his twin sister Saba and nine-year-old Emmi are trailing him across bleak Sandsea they are captured, too, and taken to brutal Hopetown, where Saba is forced to be a cage fighter until new friends help plan an escape.
Genre: science fiction, dystopia, adventure.

FREE Audiobook Downloads

SYNC offers FREE audiobook downloads of Young Adult audiobooks and Summer Reading Classics this summer.  Download for FREE (to keep) a new pair of audiobooks each week from June 23 to August 17.
  

Available June 23 - June 29
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare 

Available June 30 - July 6
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
The Trial by Franz Kafka 
 

Available July 7 - July 13
Where the Streets Had a Name by Randa Abdel-Fattah
A Passage to India by E. M. Forster 

Available July 14 - July 20
The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney
Beowulf by Francis B. Gummere [Trans.] 

Available July 21 - July 27
Chanda's Secrets by Allan Stratton
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy  

Available July 28 - August 3
Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari
Rescue: Stories of Survival From Land and Sea by Dorcas S. Miller [Ed.] 

Available August 4 - August 10
Immortal by Gillian Shields
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë  

Available August 11 - August 17
Storm Runners by Roland Smith
The Cay by Theodore Tay

NEW AUDIOBOOKS IN THE YOUNG ADULT COLLECTION

Here are 14 of 30 new audiobooks that were recently selected and purchased for the Young Adult collection.  They can be requested via the online catalog, though they are currently still in Technical Services (acquiring all their stamps and inoculations for travel:).  Click on the title, and request it now, to be first in line to listen to one of these stories.  You will need your library card barcode number and your PIN (the last 4 digits of your telephone number) to make a request.  (Don't miss The Call of Cthulhu and Other Stories, specially requested by a Teen Think Tank member during our December 2 meeting.)

After Tupac & D Foster, by Jacqueline Woodson, 2009. Realistic Fiction, Social Issues  Summary: In the New York City borough of Queens in 1996, three girls bond over their shared love of Tupac Shakur's music, as together they try to make sense of the unpredictable world in which they live.

Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver, 2010.  Personal Conduct Fiction  Summary: After she dies in a car crash, teenage Samantha relives the day of her death over and over again until, on the seventh day, she finally discovers a way to save herself.

The Call of Cthulhu and Other Stories, by H. P. Lovecraft, 2010.  Horror Fiction   Summary: A collection of creepy, gripping tales of madness & cosmic terror by one of America's finest horror authors. At the heart of these stories is the belief that the Earth was once inhabited by powerful & evil gods, just waiting for the chance to recolonise their planet.

Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins, 2009.  Science Fiction, Survival  (Hunger Games, Book 2)  Summary: By winning the annual Hunger Games, District 12 tributes Katniss & Peeta have secured a life of safety & plenty for themselves & their families, but because they won by defying the rules, they unwittingly become the faces of an impending rebellion.

Cupid: A Tale of Love and Desire, by Julius Lester, 2007.  Mythology, Romance  Summary: Cupid, the spoiled & mischievous god of love, is attracted to & marries the beautiful mortal, Psyche, & both learn many lessons about the nature of love.

Dairy Queen, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, 2006.  Realistic Fiction, Football  Summary: After spending her summer running the family farm & training the quarterback for her school's rival football team, 16 year old D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the reactions of those around her.

Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson, 2010.  Historical Fiction (Sequel to: Chains.)  Summary: Separated from his friend Isabel after their daring escape from slavery, 15 year old Curzon serves as a free man in the Continental Army at Valley Forge until he and Isabel are thrown together again, as slaves once more.

I Am The Messenger, by Markus Zusak, 2006. Realistic Fiction, Mystery, Heroes  Summary: After capturing a bank robber, 19 year old cab driver Ed Kennedy begins receiving mysterious messages that direct him to addresses where people need help, & he begins getting over his lifelong feeling of worthlessness. (author of The Book Thief)

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates, Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865.  Non-Fiction, Debates   Summary: Richard Dreyfuss & David Strathairn reenact the 7 debates of the 1858 Illinois senatorial race. The main theme was slavery. Douglas argued for popular sovereignty, with the people of each territory deciding the slavery question for themselves.  In Lincoln's view, this approach would nationalize & perpetuate slavery.

Milkweed, by Jerry Spinelli, 2003.  Historical Fiction   Summary: A tale of heartbreak, hope, and survival through the bright eyes of a young orphan in Nazi-occupied Warsaw during World War II.

Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins, 2010.  Science Fiction, Survival  (Hunger Games, Book 3)  Summary: Against all odds, Katniss has survived the Hunger Games twice. However, she is far from safe. With the Capitol & President Snow blaming her for the strife plaguing District 12, Katniss must sacrifice herself to protect her loved ones.

Three Rivers Rising: A Novel of the Johnstown Flood, by Jame Richards, 2010.  Historical Fiction   Summary: A novel that explores a cross-class romance amid a tragic event in U.S. history--the 1889 flood in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt, 2007.  Historical Fiction, Family Life  Summary: During 1967, on Wednesday afternoons Holling's 7th grade classmates, half of whom are Jewish, the other half Catholic, leave early to attend religious training.  As the sole Presbyterian, he finds himself stranded with his teacher, Mrs. Baker where they read the plays of William Shakespeare.

When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead, 2009.  Science Fiction, Space & Time  Summary: As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1980s television game show, "The $20,000 Pyramid," a 12 year old NYC girl tries to make sense of a series of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of time and space.

SYNC YA Literature into Your Earphones

2 FREE Audiobook Downloads Each Week

July 1 - September 1, 2010

Teens and other readers of Young Adult Literature have the opportunity to download and listen to bestselling titles and classics this summer.  Each week from July 1 - September 1, SYNC is offering two FREE audiobook downloads. The audiobook pairings will include a popular YA title and a classic that connects with the YA title's theme.  For example, Frank Beddor's The Looking Glass Wars, a popular series with strong allusions to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, will be paired with Lewis Carroll's classic.  There's no required sign-up, personal details, or credit card information required.

If you miss the week for an audiobook that you want you may also be able to borrow the audiobook through Merrimack Valley Library Consortium's (MVLC) Overdrive, using your library card barcode. 

SYNC will also invite listeners (13+) into online discussions with librarians, publishers, authors, narrators, and other listeners about the featured books.  Visit SYNC to download the following books to your player to take wherever summer might lead you.

Available July 1 - July 7
The Angel Experiment by James Patterson
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Available July 8 - July 14
Over the End Line by Alfred C. Martino
The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay

Available July 15 - July 21
Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Available July 22 - July 28
The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Available July 29 - August 4
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

Available August 5 - August 11
Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Available August 12 - August 18
Beastly by Alex Flinn
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Available August 19 - August 25
Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

Available August 26 - September 1
Handbook for Boys by Walter Dean Myers
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

A Slew of New Audiobooks for the Young Adult collection

The following new audio books are ready for check out :

  
An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green
(humorous, contemporary fiction)
Dumped for the 19th time by a girl named Katherine, recent high school graduate & former child prodigy Colin goes on a road trip to find some new direction in life while also trying to create a mathematical formula to explain his relationships.  (audiobook Parents Choice Award)
 
Another Faust, by Daniel and Dina Nayeri 
(dark, contemporary fantasy)
One night, in cities all across Europe, five children vanish, only to appear, 5 years later, with a strange & elegant governess.  Chilling, and wickedly satirical, this contemporary re-imagining of the Faustian bargain is a compelling tale of ambition, consequences, and ultimate redemption. 

 A Separate Peace, by John Knowles
(historical fiction)
Since its publication in 1960, A Separate Peace has been hailed as a modern classic. The story of two best friends attending an elite New Hampshire boarding school for boys during World War II.

A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, by Michael Dorris

(Native American, Montana, 1980s, family relationships)
Three generations of American Indian women successively tell their stories of hardships and angry secrets, while cognizant of family responsibilities, loyalty, and love.  (a Listen Up Editor's Choice award)

Black Like Me, by John Howard Griffin
(nonfiction, race relations)
In 1959, Griffin--a white man--headed to New Orleans, darkened his skin, and immersed himself in black society. He then traveled through several states to chronicle the racism, segregation, and degrading living conditions of the period.  (a Listen Up Editor's Choice award)
 
Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson
(slavery, historical fiction)
The story of Isabel, a 13 year old African-American girl, who is sold to a cruel, loyalist family living in New York City at the start of the Revolutionary War.

Everlost, by Neal Shusterman
(supernatural, fantasy, adventure)
When Nick & Allie are killed in a car crash, they end up in Everlost, or limbo for lost souls, where although Nick is satisfied, Allie will stop at nothing - even skinjacking - to break free.

Newes From the Dead, by Mary Hooper  (historical fiction)
Based on the true story of Anne Green, a servant who survived a hanging in 1650 England only to awaken on the dissection table.
 
Peter and the Starcatchers, by Dave Barry
(adventure, pirates, humorous, fantasy)
Soon after Peter, an orphan, sets sail from England on the ship Never Land, he befriends and assists Molly, a young Starcatcher, whose mission is to guard a trunk of magical stardust from a greedy pirate and the native inhabitants of a remote island.

The Three Documents that Made America, Read by Terry Bregy, Sam Fink. (nonfiction, politics & government)  Declaration of Independence -- The Constitution of the United States -- The Bill of Rights and Additional Amendments.

Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson

(anorexia, contemporary fiction)
Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest.


Hamilton-Wenham Public Library Complete Audiobooks List