I feel so lucky to have been able to listen to so many great young adult contemporary audiobooks. As per usual, below are my thoughts on five YA audiobooks that I’ve recently listened to and would certainly recommend for a variety of reasons.
Man O’War by Cory McCarthy
I am not sure why I started listening to Man O’War by Cory McCarthy, except that the storyline intrigued me. However, I finished this book coincidentally during the Trans Rights Readathon and I am so glad I did! It was such a good audiobook. Man O’War follows River McIntyre, a trans swimmer who lives in Ohio in a town next to Sea Planet. While on a class trip, River runs into a former classmate, Indy who is living her life as a happy queer person. This is like a revelation to River who is questioning. Anyways, the book takes place over years as River learns about identity and queerness as well a gender — going from high school to college.
River has such a strong character arc. I think if you want to read a book where a character goes through a lot of changes and comes of age, you should pick up Man O’War. I learned about microaggressions LGBTQ people hear frequently while reading this book. Also learned things I maybe didn’t know before about the trans experience — granted I believe it is different for everyone, but this was a new perspective for me. River really was someone I completely rooted for and wanted everything to go in his favor by the end. Part of that is also due to the fantastic narration by ER Fightmaster who essentially becomes River via narration. The audiobook is 10 hours and 17 minutes — I didn’t speed this up too fast because it was just so good as is.
@aprilbooksandwine Wrapping up my #transrightsreadathon books read. I loved them all for various reasons. #aprilbooksandwine #teadragonsociety #graphicnovels ♬ original sound – April Books & Wine
The Life And Crimes Of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum
Isaac Blum’s The Life And Crimes Of Hoodie Rosen was excellent. This young adult contemporary book follows a boy named Hoodie Rosen who moves with his family to a new town along with several other Jewish families. The residents of the town are not happy about this and act in anti semitic ways. Hoodie happens upon a girl at the graveyard and she turns out to be the most unlikely friend. Anna-Marie Diaz-O’Leary is the daughter of the town mayor. The mayor isn’t thrilled about the new residents either. However, a friendship flourishes between Hoodie and Anna-Marie, but it is not without challenges. Eventually the anti semitic crimes rise to the level of violence that causes death, and well things come to a climactic moment.
I really found this book to be thoughtful and insightful. It adds a perspective I hadn’t considered. You see, I read this book knowing about the controversy in Muncie and East Ramapo. So I assumed the controversy in this book would be the same. It is not. However, it did give me a whole new perspective. Hoodie Rosen’s character is very well written and well rounded. He felt like a real person. The romance wasn’t really amazing or anything, but I did find the overall storyline to be engaging. The audiobook narration — by Josh Bloomberg — was satisfying. This book is a quick listen. The Life And Crimes Of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum is 5 hours and 57 minutes unabridged and absolutely worth a commute listen.
@aprilbooksandwine Weekly Reading Wrap Up Just three YA books this week. #aprilbooksandwine #booktokover30 #momsofbooktok #weeklyreadingwrapup
♬ original sound – April Books & Wine
Kings Of B’more by R. Eric Thomas
I randomly listened to Kings Of B’More by R. Eric Thomas because I liked the colorful cover and because I wanted to prioritize reading more books about BIPOC LGBTQ characters. This book is about two queer Black boys who live in Baltimore. It is one of those books that takes place over a day. You see, Linus is going to be moving to Charleston and this is devastating to Harrison as Linus is his best friend and truly gets him. So, Harrison decides to send his friend off in fashion – taking Linus through the sites of Baltimore on a Ferris day inspired by watching Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The two end up going to a museum, their first Pride and a rooftop party while giving their parents’ tracking app the slip.
Kings Of B’More alternates between serious and fun. I LOVED this book. I loved the shoutout to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off which is one of my favorite movies. Also, loved how one of the Aparnas in this book is known as Cool Aparna, but the other Aparna is actually a really good friend. Additionally, I was so into the lessons both boys learned about themselves and their friendship and identities in this book. It’s just an excellent read. The audiobook is narrated by Torian Brackett who was new to me, but I’d listen to more from. It is 9 hours and 59 minutes, but. listened to it sped up. Absolutely would recommend this young adult contemporary book.
Who We Were In The Dark by Jessica Taylor
Jessica Taylor’s Who We Were In The Dark is a sort of coming of age mystery story about Nora who grows up poor. She lives with her brother Wesley and her single mother. Her mother struggles with addiction. She also told the kids that their father was dead. Well, come to find out, their dad is alive and lives at Donner Lake. So, Nora and Wesley go to visit him. And so, over the summer they become friends with Grace and Rand. Grace is THAT girl. They end up going on different adventures and living extravagantly – funded by Grace. But, it turns out maybe things are not quite what they appear to be. Two summers later and Grace has gone missing.
I thought Who We Were In The Dark was an okay listen. It didn’t completely grab me. BUT, I did like that the characters weren’t from wealthy backgrounds and that they struggled. Grace is quite the manic pixie dream girl — wild that this trope is still a thing. Ultimately I just didn’t care a TON but this helped to pass the time driving. The audiobook is narrated by Jeremy Carlisle Parker who is easy to listen to. It is 11 hours 38 minutes and honestly is one you can speed up a little with no issues.
A Heavy Dose Of Allison Tandy by Jeff Bishop
I really genuinely enjoyed A Heavy Dose Of Allison Tandy by Jeff Bishop. This story follows Cameron who tears his ACL playing basketball. At around this time, his ex-girlfriend Ally ends up in a car accident that leaves her in a coma. Cam begins taking medication to deal with the pain after his knee surgery and he starts seeing Allie — who is also comatose at this time. Meanwhile, Cam’s best friend Chevy and Chevy’s girlfriend are trying to help Cam move on and come up with a list of girls who could be good possibilities for Cam to date and may be compatible. But, the Ally that Cam sees sure does have a lot of opinions. Oh, and this whole time, Cam doesn’t go to visit Ally in the hospital. But we also see why exactly the relationship between Cam and Allison Tandy ended.
One of the best parts of A Heavy Dose Of Allison Tandy was the friendship between Cam and Chevy. While Cam is dealing with his visions, Chevy is trying to navigate an open relationship with his girlfriend for their first year of college and having regrets. Cam helps Chevy through this situation though. I also liked the different events that happen in the book – like the Senior Skip Day Olympics. The pacing is really well done too. Yeah it’s an audiobook and I didn’t get to read super fast or anything, but I just mean the story kept me interested and invested. I did see on goodreads that there may be a sequel? If so, I am totally onboard to read. The audiobook is narrated by Robbie Daymond and is 9 hours and 55 minutes unabridged. I loved it.
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