Variety rules when it comes to this year’s spring audio releases. From serious nonfiction and literary fiction to history, humor, and lighter genre titles, the breadth of titles coming to store shelves and digital retailers is impressive. New entries from beloved power-hitters abound, including works by Joyce Carol Oates, Jim Harrison, Carl Hiaasen, Neil Gaiman, Maya Angelou, Stephen King, and Lemony Snicket. But, happily, there is no shortage of debut authors either, especially in adult fiction. And the children’s and YA category is home to several new series and trilogies this season, including a Family Tree series by Ann M. Martin, and the action-adventure Seven Wonders series from Peter Lerangis. The slate of biographies and memoirs for the coming months features a jolt of girl power with offerings from current and former Supreme Court justices Sonia Sotomayor and Sandra Day O’Connor, respectively, and popular artists/performers Valerie Harper, Carol Burnett, Rita Moreno, and Eve Ensler. Read on to discover more highlights from the spring lists.
Fiction
Love Saves the Day: A Novel by Gwen Cooper, read by Cris Dukehart. A tale about the ups and downs of a mother-daughter relationship—as told by the family cat. (Tantor, Jan.)
Little Wolves by Thomas Maltman, read by Hillary Huber. The prairies of Minnesota in 1987 is the setting for this story with two narrators: a father in search of answers after his son commits murder, and a pastor’s wife who has come back to town under a cloud of mystery. (AudioGO, Jan.)
The River Swimmer: Novellas by Jim Harrison, read by Trabar Burns. Harrison’s collection focuses on two men striving to find their way in the world. (Blackstone Audio, Jan.)
The History of Us by Leah Stewart, read by Cassandra Campbell. Three adult siblings must face a family secret that call into question their relationship to each other and to the aunt who raised them. (Dreamscape Audio, Jan.)
The Perfect Marriage by Kimerla Lawson Roby, read by Shay Moore. Though the Shaws look like the perfect couple—successful careers, a lovely home, and a wonderful daughter—they are keeping a dark secret: a dangerous addiction to drugs. (Hachette Audio, Jan.)
Habits of the House by Fay Weldon, read by Katherine Kellgren. Weldon, who wrote the pilot for British television series Upstairs, Downstairs, continues to weave stories of what life was like for masters and servants in a new trilogy that begins at the end of the “Season of 1899.” (Macmillan Audio, Jan.)
The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier, read by Kate Reading. Chevalier’s historical saga stars Honor, an English Quaker newly living in 1850 Ohio who finds herself drawn to those aiding escaped slaves the Underground Railroad. (Penguin Audio, Jan.)
The Last Girlfriend on Earth by Simon Rich, read by the author. Rich, who has earned accolades as for penning comic essays and as a comedy writer for television, offers a collection of stories about the many complications of love. (Hachette Audio, Jan.)
The Girls’ Guide to Love and Supper Clubs by Dana Bate, read by Meredith Mitchell. Though Hannah has a great job, a high-achieving boyfriend and is ready to go to graduate school and embark on an academic career like her famous parents, what she really wants to do is cook. (AudioGO, Feb.)
Bear Is Broken by Lachlan Smith, read by R.C. Bray. A debut legal thriller in which a young lawyer tries to track down the shooter who put his brother in a coma. (HighBridge Audio, Feb.)
A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea by Dina Nayeri, read by Sneha Mathan. When 11-year-old Saba is abandoned by her family in 1980s Iran, she is certain that her mother and twin sister have gone to the America they’ve dreamed of without her. Saba spends the next years imagining her sister’s free Western life as she struggles with oppression. (Blackstone Audio, Feb.)
See Now Then by Jamaica Kincaid, read by the author. Marriage and family are at the core of this novel by the author of Mr. Potter. (Macmillan Audio, Feb.)
Farewell, Dorothy Parker by Ellen Meister, read by Angela Brazil. Movie critic Violet has a chance encounter at the Algonquin Hotel that unleashes the spirit of Dorothy Parker, the long-dead, famous literary critic of the 1920s. (AudioGo, Feb.)
Dancing to the Flute by Manisha Jolie Amin, read by Paul English. Making her debut, Amin’s novel follows a boy whose life is changed when he is sent to live with a reclusive but renowned musician. (Bolinda Audio, Feb.)
House of Earth by Woody Guthrie, read by Will Patton. The legendary American folk music icon’s 1947 tale of two hardscrabble farmers during the Dust Bowl is available for the first time. Features an introduction by Douglas Brinkley and Johnny Depp. (HarperAudio, Mar..)
A Cold and Lonely Place by Sara J. Henry. In Henry’s follow-up to Learning to Swim, set in the Adirondacks during winter, intrepid freelance writer Troy Chance stumbles upon a murder mystery that could be her career-changing story. (Dreamscape Audio, Feb.)
The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout, read by the author. In Pulitzer Prize–winning Strout’s novel, two brothers living in Brooklyn are called back to rural Maine to help their 19-year-old nephew who’s become embroiled in a scandal. (Random House Audio, Mar.)
The Sunshine When She’s Gone by Thea Goodman, read by Susan Ericksen and David Colacci. Goodman’s debut observes a marriage—and what is at its core—when a husband takes the baby on a very unusual outing. (Brilliance Audio, Mar.)
The Accursed by Joyce Carol Oates, read by Grover Gardner, a historical novel set in early 20th-century Princeton, N.J. (HarperAudio, Mar., download only)
How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid, read by the author. Hamid narrated his tale about an impoverished boy’s quest to find love and great wealth from a studio in Lahore, Pakistan. (Penguin Audio, Mar., download only)
Demonologist by Andrew Pyper. A professor whose expertise is literature of the demonic accepts an unusual and lucrative invitation to travel to Venice, Italy to witness a “phenomenon” and offer his professional opinion about it. (Simon & Schuster Audio, Mar.)
Vanity Fair by William M. Thackeray, read by Georgina Sutton. “The sheer size of the work made it seem a huge challenge at the start, but the characters, their natures and their predicaments are so real—and so contemporary!—that, in the studio, I found myself carried away by the sheer momentum,” says Sutton. “Nine days seemed to pass like a flash. I couldn’t wait to get back in each day.” (Naxos AudioBooks, Mar.)
Manuscript Found in Accra by Paulo Coehlo. Coehlo’s latest novel is structured as a series of philosophical parables set in Jerusalem during the time of the Crusades. (Random House Audio, Apr.)
The Old Turk’s Load by Gregory Gibson, read by R.C. Bray. Bookseller Gibson’s fiction debut is a noir crime novel set amid the 1967 Newark riots. (HighBridge Audio, Apr.)
Prophet of Bones by Ted Kosmatka. Questions raised by the findings at an archaeological dig cast doubt on the foundations of modern science and put in motion the investigation of a dangerous mystery. (Macmillan Audio, Apr.)
The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud. Elementary school teacher and stifled artist Nora finds herself awakened and giving into passions when she becomes enchanted by a new student in her class and his exotic, glamorous parents. (Random House Audio, May)
The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell. In Rindell’s debut, which has been described as Notes on a Scandal meets The Talented Mr. Ripley, a female typist at a NYPD station in 1923 is obsessed with the new woman who joins the typing pool. (Penguin Audio, May)
Paris: The Novel by Edward Rutherfurd. The City of Light comes to life in a novel featuring tales of characters both fictional and true experiencing the richness of their surroundings. (Random House Audio, May)
And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini. A multigenerational story that explores how siblings love, honor, betray, and sacrifice for each other. (Penguin Audio, May)
Silver Star by Jeannette Walls. In 1970, 12-year-old Bean and her 15-year-old sister board a bus and travel cross-country to the home of a widowed uncle after their mother abandons them. (Simon & Schuster Audio, June)
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. Gaiman delivers a tale of mystery and magic in which the impossible is made frighteningly real. (HarperAudio, June)
Transatlantic by Colum McCann. National Book Award-winning novelist McCann’s latest interweaves narratives from 1845 Dublin, 1918 Newfoundland, and 1998 New York City. (Random House Audio, June)
Joyland by Stephen King. A college student must confront the legacy of a murder and the fate of a dying child in King’s new novel set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973. (Simon & Schuster Audio, June)
The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton DiSclafani. DiSclafani’s debut, set in the 1930s South, is filled with family secrets and girls’ school rituals. (Penguin Audio, June, download only.)
Other Notable Fiction
The Round House by Louise Erdrich, read by Gary Farmer (HarperAudio, Jan.)
Daddy Love by Joyce Carol Oates, read by Christine Williams (HighBridge Audio, Feb.)
The Obituary Writer by Ann Hood (Blackstone Audio, Mar.)
Hellhole: Awakening by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson, read by Scott Brick (Macmillan Audio, Mar.)
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki, read by the author (Penguin Audio, Mar., download only)
The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne, read by Stefan Rudnicki (Blackstone Audio, Apr.)
Maya’s Notebook by Isabel Allende (HarperAudio, Apr.)
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson (Hachette Audio, Apr.)
The Redeemer by Jo Nesbø (Random House Audio, May)
Screwed by Eoin Colfer (AudioGO, May, download only)
Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen (Random House Audio, June)
Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand (Hachette Audio, June)
Choke Point by Ridley Pearson (Brilliance Audio, June).
Nonfiction
Going Clear by Lawrence Wright, read by Morton Sellers. Wright, a Pulitzer Prize-winner, uncovers the inner workings of the Church of Scientology via more than 200 personal interviews with current and former Scientologists—both famous and less well known—and years of archival research. (Random House Audio, Jan.)
Salt and Light: The Commandments, the Beatitudes, and a Joyful Life by Mark P. Shea, read by the author. Shea offers his perspective on the two pillars of Christian moral teaching, the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes. (Franciscan Media, Jan.)
My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor, read by Rita Moreno. An inspirational memoir from the first Hispanic to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. (Random House Audio, Jan.)
I, Rhoda by Valerie Harper, read by the author. A memoir from the award-winning television actress beloved for her roles on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off, Rhoda. (Simon & Schuster Audio, Jan.)
A Story of God and All of Us by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, read by Downey and Keith David. This title is a companion to the 10-hour History Channel miniseries, The Bible, which dramatizes key events and characters from the holy book. (Hachette Audio, Feb.)
Ike and Dick: Portrait of a Strange Political Marriage by Jeffrey Frank, read by Arthur Morey. Frank explores the relationship between former presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon, from their very different politics, to the marriage that brought their families together. (Tantor, Feb.)
Top Dog by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman, read by the authors. The authors of NurtureShock return with this look at the science of competition. (Hachette Audio, Feb.)
Soundtrack Life by Clive Davis, read by Dennis Boutsikaris with an introduction by the author. Music industry mogul Davis delivers a warts-and-all memoir. (Simon & Schuster Audio, Feb.)
Why Priests? A Failed Tradition by Garry Wills, read by Michael Prichard. Pulitzer Prize–winning author Wills asks the radical, provocative question: Why do we need priests? Actor/narrator Prichard has recorded more than 500 books. (Tantor, Feb.)
Brothers Emanuel by Ezekiel Emanuel, read by the author. A look at the source of ambition that drives powerful, super-achieving siblings Rahm, Ari, and Zeke. (Random House Audio, Mar.)
Out of Order by Sandra Day O’Connor, read by the author. The first woman Supreme Court Justice shares stories about the history and evolution of the Supreme Court over time. (Random House Audio, Mar.)
Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Joshua Berger. Using his own research, Wharton professor Berger explains why and how certain products and ideas go viral. (Simon & Schuster Audio, Mar.)
Her by Christa Parravani. Photographer Parravani’s memoir describes the struggle to survive after her cherished identical twin sister dies, having been haunted by various traumas earlier in her life. (HighBridge Audio, Mar.)
The Secret History of Vladimir Nabokov by Andrea Pitzer. According to Pitzer’s research, Nabokov did not turn a blind eye to those who were suffering around him in Revolutionary Russia or Germany under Hitler, but, but rather he hid disturbing elements of history in his fiction. (AudioGO, Mar., download only)
Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou, read by the author. The celebrated writer shares the very personal story of her relationship with her mother. (Random House Audio, Apr.)
Dirty Wars by Jeremy Scahill. Schahill reports from the frontlines of dangerous battlefields in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and more in his investigation of the heart of the U.S. War on Terror. A documentary film based on the book competed at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival last month. (Blackstone Audio, Apr.)
Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris, read by the author. A new collection of humorous essays that takes listeners on an unusual world tour of adventures. (Hachette Audio, Apr.)
Seeds of Hope by Jane Goodall. Goodall shares her enthusiasm for botany and her devotion to sustainable foods and gardening and offers simple steps listeners can take to appreciate and protect the plants around them. (Hachette Audio, Apr.)
Bunker Hill: A City, A Siege, a Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick. A fresh look at the events in 1775 Boston that led to the Battle of Bunker Hill, the bloodiest of the Revolution. (Penguin Audio, May)
In the Body of the World by Eve Ensler. The author of The Vagina Monologues delivers a memoir with themes of separation and connection. (Macmillan Audio, May)
Here Is Where by Andrew Carroll, read by the author. Historian Carroll offers a cross-country tour that seeks out and promotes unmarked historic sites. (Random House Audio, May)
The Future of Truth by Charles Lewis. The founder of the Center for Public Integrity explores the consequences as powerful governments and corporations gain more control over information. (HighBridge Audio, May)
Brotherhood: Dharma, Destiny, and the American Dream by Deepak Chopra and Sanjiv Chopra, read by the authors. A memoir of the siblings who left a comfortable life in post-war India to achieve success in America as healers: Deepak as physician and author, Sanjiv as professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. (Brilliance Audio, May)
Untitled by Vince Flynn and Brian Haig. A collaboration from the bestselling authors about a New York City anti-terror operation. (Simon & Schuster Audio, May)
The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 by Rick Atkinson. Atkinson completes his acclaimed Liberation Trilogy about the Allied victory in Europe during WWII. (Simon & Schuster Audio, May)
The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. The story of how nine working class boys from the University of Washington beat the Germans and Italians for American Olympic gold in rowing. (Penguin Audio, June)
The Gifts of Imperfect Parenting: Raising Children with Courage, Compassion and Connection by Brené Brown. Brown adapts her teachings on vulnerability, courage, shame and worthiness to explore the power of wholehearted families. (Sounds True, May)
Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace by Scott Thorson, with Alex Thorleifson. This memoir from Liberace’s much-younger, live-in romantic partner from 1977-1982 has been adapted into an HBO TV film by Steven Soderbergh and starring Matt Damon and Michael Douglas, set to air this year. Includes a new introduction by the author. (Tantor Audio, May)
Other Notable Nonfiction
E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band by Clinton Heylin, read by Dan John Miller (Tantor, Jan.)
Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients by Ben Goldacre, read by Jonathan Cowley (Tantor, Feb.)
Reach for the Skies by Sir Richard Branson, read by Adrian Mulraney (Bolinda Audio, Feb.)
American Turnaround: Reinventing AT&T and GM and the Way We Do Business in the USA by Ed Whitacre with Leslie Cauley, read by the author (Hachette Audio, Feb.)
Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg (Random House Audio, Mar.)
Mythology by Edith Hamilton, read by Suzanne Toren (Hachette Audio, Mar.)
Rita Moreno, read by the author (Penguin Audio, Mar.)
Immigration Wars by Jeb Bush and Clint Bolick (Simon & Schuster Audio, Apr.)
The Girl with No Name: The Incredible Story of a Child Raised by Monkeys by Marina Chapman with Lynne Barrett-Lee, read by Pam Ward (HighBridge Audio, Apr.)
Flip: The Inside Story of TV’s First Black Superstar by Kevin Cook (Blackstone Audio, Apr.).
Children's and YA
Splintered by A.G. Howard, read by Rebecca Gibel. In Howard’s fantasy debut, Alyssa, a descendant of Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, learns that Carroll’s fiction was based on a terrifyingly real Wonderland. Alysssa must survive a series of tests in Wonderland to correct Alice’s mistakes and save her family. (AudioGO, Jan., download only)
The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd, read by Lucy Rayner. First in a gothic suspense trilogy inspired by H.G. Wells’s The Island of Dr. Moreau, in which Moreau’s daughter returns to her estranged father’s island. (HarperChildren’s Audio, Jan.)
Just One Day by Gayle Forman, read by Kathleen McInerney. Sheltered Lulu and laid-back actor Willem feel instant chemistry when the meet. They spend a passionate day in Paris and Lulu thinks it’s love, until she wakes up and finds that Willem has disappeared without a trace. (Penguin Audio, Jan., download only)
Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool, read by Robbie Daymond, Mark Bramhall, and Cassandra Campbell. Newbery-medalist Vanderpool’s tale of two boys’ odyssey-like quest on the Appalachian Trail includes pirates, buried secrets, and extraordinary encounters. (Listening Library, Jan.)
Birthmarked: Book One in the Birthmarked Trilogy by Caragh O’Brien, read by Carla Mercer-Meyer. First in a series of dystopian novels starring Gaia Stone, a young midwife who is forced to question her beliefs. (Tantor, Jan.)
Road Trip by Gary Paulsen and Jim Paulsen, read by Mike Chamberlain and John H. Mayer. Real-life father and son team up to write about a wild father-son cross-country trip to rescue a very special dog. (Listening Library, Jan.)
The Prey by Andrew Fukuda, read by Sean Runnette. Second installment in the post-apocalyptic trilogy begun with The Hunt. (Macmillan Young Listeners, Jan.)
The Kings and Queens of England by Jen Green, read by Benjamin Soames. This monarchical story of England, from King Ethelbert of Kent to Queen Elizabeth II, is aimed at 7-12 year olds and features an entertaining ditty that children can learn to remember the order of rulers from William the Conqueror on. (Naxos AudioBooks, Feb.)
Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95 by Phillip Hoose, read by the author. Hoose presents the true story of the Moonbird b95, a robin-sized shorebird that scientists have tracked during 18 years of migration and that has already traveled the distance to the moon and halfway back. (Brilliance Audio, Feb.)
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, read by Rebecca Soler. Second volume in The Lunar Chronicles, following Cinder. (Macmillan Young Listeners, Feb.)
Seven Wonders Book 1: The Colossus Rises by Peter Lerangis, read by Johnathan McClain. The kick-off of an adventure series starring Jack, a boy who must find seven magic loculi hidden in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, in order to save his life. (HarperChildren’s Audio, Feb., download only)
Hattie Ever After by Kirby Larson, read by Kristen Potter and Kirby Larson. Sequel to Newbery Honor book Hattie Big Sky, featuring orphan Hattie Brooks following her dream to be a newspaper reporter. (Listening Library, Feb.)
Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner. When a teenager and his friend escape to the other side of the wall, they discover the secret that the Motherland has been hiding: the truth about a heralded moon landing. (Brilliance Audio, Feb.)
Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger, read by Moira Quirk. First book in a steampunk YA adventure series. (Hachette Audio, Feb., download only)
Stranded by Jeff Probst and Chris Tebbetts, read by Charles Carroll. Four kids become shipwrecked on a rocky, jungle island in the South Pacific with no one to rely on but themselves. (AudioGO, Feb.)
Scowler by Daniel Kraus, read by Kirby Heyborne. Nineteen-year-old Ry tries to protect himself, his mother, and his sister from a homicidal man in this literary horror story. (Listening Library, Mar.)
When We Wake by Karen Healey. Tegan, a 16-year-old living in 2027, wakes up 100 years in the future locked in a government facility with no idea what happened. (Hachette Audio, Mar., download only)
Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys, read by Lauren Fortgang. 18-year-old Josie wants more from life than what the French Quarter in 1950 New Orleans can offer her, but she’s not sure if she can ever escape. (Penguin Audio, Mar., download only)
Ghoulish Song by William Alexander, read by the author. In this companion to the National Book Award–winning Goblin Secrets, a girl flees a ghoul while trying to save her town. (Simon & Schuster Audio, Mar.)
Requiem by Lauren Oliver, read by Sarah Drew. The conclusion of the Delirium trilogy finds Lena fighting for the resistance as open rebellion breaks out and making a decision between two loves. (HarperChildren’s Audio, Mar., download only)
Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare. Anger for the Shadowhunters intensifies in this volume that closes the Infernal Devices trilogy. (Simon & Schuster Audio, Mar.)
Escape Theory by Margaux Froley. When a popular student at school commits suicide, 16-year-old Devon hears evidence in her role as “peer counselor” that suggests the boy was murdered instead. (AudioGO, Mar.)
Mojo by Tim Tharp. A darkly humorous mystery thriller in which Dylan hopes to get the mojo he’s always wanted by helping with the investigation of a missing girl. (Listening Library, Apr.)
The Dark by Lemony Snicket, read by Neil Gaiman. The story of young Lazlo, who stops being afraid of the dark. Megan Fitzpatrick, associate director of marketing and publicity for Hachette Audio said: “On the morning of our recording session, Neil Gaiman (@NeilHimself) gave fans a fun riddle to puzzle out on Twitter: ‘Today I am going to do something that I have never done for anyone else. I have only done it for myself. What could it be? And for whom?’ His loyal and very clever followers quickly came to the conclusion that Neil would be reading the audiobook edition of the wonderful Lemony Snicket (and Jon Klassen in picturebook format) book The Dark.” (Hachette Audio, Apr., download only)
Hero on a Bicycle by Shirley Hughes. In her first book for older readers, Hughes serves up a story of siblings in 1944 Italy who find a unique way to help oppose German forces. (Brilliance Audio, Apr.)
House of Secrets by Chris Columbus. The beginning of a time-travel adventure series for middle schoolers that is a collaboration between film director Columbus and YA author Ned Vizzini. (HarperChildren’s Audio, Apr., download only)
Shadowlands by Kate Brian. In the first volume of a YA series, Rory has escaped the attack of a serial killer and is now living in witness protection with her family. (Brilliance Audio, Apr.)
Strangelets by Michelle Gagnon. Six teens from around the globe, all of whom should have died at the same moment, find themselves instead in an abandoned hospital in a bizarre and dangerous future world. (AudioGO, Apr.)
Doll Bones by Holly Black. A creepy but fun story that captures the time in your life when you realize you’ll have to stop playing pretend—just like everyone else has. (Listening Library, May)
Elvis and the Underdogs by Jenny Lee. This debut novel introduces a sickly boy whose life is turned upside down when he gets a therapy dog who can talk. (HarperChildren’s Audio, May, download only)
Family Tree #1 by Ann M. Martin. Set in 1930, this is the first title in a four-book series featuring four generations and four girls from one family. (Listening Library, May)
Loki’s Wolves by K. L. Armstrong and M. A. Marr. This volume kicks off the Blackwell Pages action-adventure series that blends Norse myth, fantasy and real-world settings such as Mt. Rushmore. (Hachette Audio, May, download only)
Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan. A magical romance between a boy who is invisible and the only girl who can see him. (Penguin Audio, May, download only)
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey. First in a new chilling and romantic YA dystopian series. (Penguin Audio, May, download only)
Sugar by Jewell Parker Rhodes, read by Bahni Turpin. 10-year-old Sugar, who lives and works on a Mississippi plantation post-slavery, becomes a cultural ambassador of sorts when Chinese workers arrive to help harvest the sugar cane. (Brilliance Audio, May)
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. Spanning the school year in 1986, Rowell introduces a realistic teen romance via misfits who find love. (Listening Library, May)
The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr. Zarr takes readers inside the world of privileged San Francisco families, top junior music competitions and intense mentorships. (Hachette Audio, May)
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, read by Adam Grupper. Ivan, an easygoing gorilla who lives at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, narrates this tale of art, friendship and hope. (HarperChildren’s Audio, May)
Stormbringers by Philippa Gregory. The second volume in a planned YA quartet features forbidden romance, mystery, an epic quest, and a 1453 Italy setting. (Simon & Schuster Audio, June)
Watcher in the Shadows by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, read by Jonathan Davis. When 14-year-old Irene moves to Normandy with her family, she meets and falls in love with local boy Ishmael. But they soon get swept up in a dark mystery involving a reclusive toymaker. (Hachette Audio, June)
A Trick of the Light by Lois Metzger. In Metzger’s first teen novel in 15 years, a boy tries to take control of his life as it falls apart around him—and inside of him. (HarperChildren’s Audio, June, download only)
The Apprentices by Maile Meloy, read by Cristin Milioti. In this sequel to The Apothecary, Benjamin experiments with a magical way to communicate with Janie from across the globe, and they both are swept up in a mysterious adventure as they try to find each other. (Penguin Audio, June, download only)
The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen. A story of summer love, self-discovery and saying goodbye, set in the beach town of Colby, where some of Dessen’s best-loved titles also take place. (Penguin Audio, June)
Proxy by Alex London. Action, suspense, and true friendship are at the heart of London’s tale described as part Alex Rider and part The Whipping Boy. (Penguin Audio, June, download only)
The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die by April Henry. Henry’s novel introduces a young woman who wakes up in a strange place surrounded by people she doesn’t know and is unable to remember her own name. (Brilliance Audio, June)
Other Notable Children’s Fiction and YA
The Jazz Kid by James Lincoln Collier, read by August Ross (AudioGO, Feb.)
Ivy Take Care by Rosemary Wells, read by Emily Beresford (Brilliance Audio, Feb.)
The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson, read by Nicola Barber (Brilliance Audio, Feb.)
Theodore Boone: The Activist by John Grisham, read by Richard Thomas (Penguin Audio, Mar.)
Middle School: My Brother Is a Big, Fat, Liar (Hachette Audio, Mar.)
The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken (Brilliance Audio, Apr.)
In Harm’s Way by Andrew Clements (Simon & Schuster Audio, May)
Vote by Gary Paulsen, read by Joshua Swanson (Brilliance Audio, May)
Mystic by Alyson Noel, read by Britanny Pressley (Macmillan Young Listeners, May)
Icons by Margaret Stohl (Hachette Audio, May, download only)
Tarnish by Katherine Longshore (Penguin Audio, June, download only).
