Audiobooks

Title: Thirteen Reasons Why 
Author: Jay Asher
Published: Oct. 23rd, 2007 by Listening Library
Read by: Debra Wiseman and Joel Johnstone
ISBN: 073935650x
Genre: realistic fiction
Author Info: Jay Asher was in born in 1975 in California and has spent most of his life there. He is married to JoanMarie and they have a son together. JoanMarie is a musician and her music is featured on Jay Asher's blog. Prior to becoming a writer Jay worked in different bookstores and even a few libraries. Now Jay writes full time and tours schools and libraries to talk about his books and writing. Jay has a Facebook and Twitter account and also keeps a blog, Jayasher.blogspot.com. He has also written "The Story of Us" with Carolyn Mackler in 2011.
Plot Summary: Clay Jensen is left with a series of audio cassette tapes by a fellow classmate, Hannah Baker. Hannah Baker recently committed suicide and left behind tapes that contain the 13 reasons why she killed herself. The 13 reasons are connected to 13 people and each person is suppose to listen to the tapes and pass them along to the next person on the list. Clay isn't really sure why he is on the list, since he doesn't know Hannah very well. They had worked together one summer at a movie theater and he even kissed Hannah once but things never went anywhere. Clay never got the chance to tell Hannah that he liked her and now he struggles with the fact that he is part of the reason Hannah killed herself. With the tapes is also a map that Hannah has placed stars on to mark different places where things took place. She instructors the listener to go to the places as she discusses her reasons why. As the tapes go along each person on the list is brought up, along with what they did to put them on the tapes. Clay listens to the tapes on a walkman as he travels around town reliving Hannahs life as she talks on the tapes.
Critical Review: The audiobook really brings the story to life. It features two separate voices; one for Clay and another for Hannah. The plot draws the reader in as Clay goes through tape after tape, trying to find out how he plays into Hannah's suicide. Jay Asher does a great job at giving a bit of incite into the mind of Hannah and of Clay. As a reader I wondered, why would a teenager want to kill themselves? While it seems that nothing truly horrible happens to Hannah the story shows how multiple issues combined lead to Hannah feeling depressed and hopeless. I think that the story provides the reader with some great talking points. A teen might not think their one act can impact a person but in the story the one act of many people lead to Hannah's suicide. This idea may prompt teens to think about their interactions with others and how their actions can impact another. I feel this story stands out from other stories on suicides because it feels real. Jay Asher does a great job of not coming across as an after school special or too preachy. The story seems very believable and natural. Also, the uniqueness of a dead character playing such a large role in the story through the tapes is something new and it adds to the realism factor. The reader is able to hear Hannah's voice and thoughts despite her being dead. However, there was times when I found myself frustrated with Hannah. I kept thinking that her suicide could have been prevented and that it was unneccesary, which I think was part of Jay Asher's messsage. All the things that happened to Hannah were things that I think she could have dealt with and moved on. As an adult it was frustrating to read, but I feel that a teen might relate to Hannah's feelings of hopelessness. Often times, teens can't always see that there is more to life than what happens in high school.
Reader's Annotation: Clay Jensen has a crush on his fellow freshman student Hannah Baker, problem is Hannah killed herself and soon after left Clay tapes which contain the 13 reasons why Hannah committed suicide. Why did Hannah send the tapes to Clay? And what secrets are hidden in these tapes?
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Awards: New York Times Bestseller, YALSA Best Book for Young Adults, Selected Audiobooks for Young Adults
Book Talking Ideas: A great book talk idea would be to give "13 reasons why you should read this book". The reasons would focus on the great story line, the mystery surrounding why Hannah killed herself and the great characters made by Jay Asher.
Reading Level/Interest Level: the reading level is about 8th grade but the interest level I would say is high school level, since it deals with high school students and some difficult subject matters.
Challenge Issues: The book deals with a teen suicide, drinking and sex which some may find to be too mature for teens.
Addressing Challenge Issues:
Why Include this book? The book deals with teen suicide which is the second leading cause of teens. Many teens can relate to Hannah's feelings and her issues with school.

Title: Please Ignore Vera Dietz 
Author: A.S. King
Published: April 26th, 2011 by Listening Library
Read by: Lynde Houck
ISBN: 0307942104
Genre: realistic fiction

Author Info: A.S King's real name is Amy. The A.S is just her first and middle initial. A.S has a degree in photography. She also has a blog that she talks about everything from her writing to things that bother her like internet spam. She also has a Twitter and Facebook account. Amy was born in Pennsylvania and spent a decade living in Ireland before returning to the United States. She now lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and children.

Plot Summary: Vera has always been in love her neighbor Charlie but now Charlie is dead and Vera is forced to deal with all her mixed feelings the surround Charlie and his death. Charlie and Vera had a falling out and were no longer on speaking terms before Charlie died. In fact Vera hates Charlie almost as much as she loves him due to something Charlie did to betray and hurt Vera. Vera lives with her father who despite his best efforts still struggles with being left by his wife and being left to raise Vera on his own. He knows part of Charlie's secrets but chooses to ignore it like Vera. But as Charlie's secrets start to eat away at Vera she realizes she can't ignore it any longer.
Critical Review: The story is mainly told from Vera's point of view but a few chapters are told by Vera's dad, the Pagoda that looks over the town and even from dead charlie himself. The story is heartbreaking and very raw and you find yourself wrapped up in the lives of Vera and Charlie.
Reader's Annotation: Vera is in love with her friend but Charlie died and Vera holds all his secrets. Vera has her own secrets, but will she come to terms with all her secrets and Charlie's secrets? Or will Vera just continue to ignore her problems and Charlie's secrets.
Awards: Printz Honor  (2011), YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults (2011)
Book Talking Ideas: I would perhaps do a book talk from the Pagoda's point of view, with it talking about all the things it sees.
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Challenge Issues: The book deals with abuse and a older male that is most likely a sex offender. Vera also drinks and engages in reckless behavior that some parents could find inappropriate.
Addressing Challenge Issues:
Why include this book? The book has received a lot of attention from all it's awards.

Title: Little Brother 
Author: Cory Doctorow
Read by: Kirby Heyborne
Genre: science fiction
Awards: Hugo Award for Best Novel, Nebula Award Nominee for Best Novel, Locus Award Nominee for Best Young Adult Book
Author Info: Cory Doctorow is a Canadian writer and blogger who also the co-editor of the blog BoingBoing. Cory is a believer in less restrictive copyright laws and many of his works are available for free through Creative Commons License. He is also active on Twitter and is a tech geek. He currently lives in London with his wife and daughter.
Plot Summary: Marcus is a 17 year old hacker who is trying to stay off his principal's radar. One day while out skipping school with his friends his hometown of San Francisco is attacked by terrorist and he and his friends are mistakenly taken in by the department of homeland security as suspected terrorists. Despite their pleas that they are innocent the government keeps them detained in a secret prison and interrogates them for days. When Marcus is finally released he finds out the his friend Daryl who was taken prisoner with them wasn't released and is missing. DHS tells Marcus that he can tell no one of the ordeal and that he will be under surveillance  Determined to get back at DHS Marcus helps form an underground movement to bring down the DHS, but can a group of teenagers really bring down a government agency?
Critical Review: Cory Doctorow has written a book full of technology terms and gadgets that is still easy to understand to those who aren't tech geeks. His book raises the question of how much should one sacrifice their freedom for the sake of security. For teens who may not realize the importance of their intellectual freedom the book could open their eyes to why their freedom and privacy should be protected.
Reader's Annotation: Marcus is just an average 17 year old tech geek until his hometown of San Francisco is attacked by terrorist and homeland security somehow thinks he and his friends were involved. Now Marcus has to rescue his friend who has been taken by DHS and get back his freedom that has been taken by the new police state he now lives in. But can a 17 year old take down the DHS?
Book Talk Ideas: Some of the themes that the book talk could cover would be protection of privacy vs safety, government overstepping it's reach and abusive government, terrorism, technology and how it is effecting privacy and safety.
Reading Level/Interest Level: high school
Challenge Issues: The book contains foul language, teen sex and drinking, disrespect for authority, terrorism and torture.
Why include this book? In a post 9-11 world this book is very relevant to the issues that face the world. The book while science fiction could easily become reality and I believe it talks about some very important issues of freedom and privacy and the role of the government in keeping people safe.

Title: Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls) 
Author: Maggie Stiefvator
Other books in the series: Linger and Forever
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Fantasy
Author Info: Maggie Stiefvater is a quirky writer who lives with her husband and two children in Virginia. Before becoming a fulltime write Maggie was a calligraphy artist, wedding musician, technical editor and equestrian artist. Maggie debuted with Lament and gained notoriety with her popular wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy. Her book the Scorpio Races gained critical acclaim, winning the Printz Honor award (2012). She recently release The Raven Boys which has already received praise for it's writing.
Plot Summary: Grace has always been fascinated with the wolves that live in the woods behind her house. Maybe it has to do with the fact that she once was attacked by one of the wolves as a child. One wolf in particular grabs her attention, the one with the yellow eyes. What Grace doesn't know is the the wolves are really humans that turn into wolves every winter and after a period of time they just remain wolves. Sam is the yellow eyed wolf that Grace can't stop looking at and Sam has noticed Grace too. When Grace and Sam finally meet in person the attraction is apparent but Sam can't seem to figure out a way to stay human and stay with Grace. And when the people of Mercy Falls start to talk about hunting down the wolves will Grace lose Sam forever?
Critical Review: The audiobook is done with two voice actors, one for Grace and one for Sam. This really helps connect the reader to the characters. The story is a new take on a love story and it's enjoyable to finally not have a love triangle in a paranormal romance. The story tries to still maintain some realism, despite the fact there is humans turning into wolves. I also liked that the when the humans turn into wolves they behave very much like real wolves not like a werewolf that you find in other fantasy stories.
Reader's Annotation: There is something strange about the wolves of Mercy Falls, Grace can't help but notice how human like their eyes are, especially the yellow eyed wolf that keeps showing up in her backyard. But when Grace runs into a boy named Sam at a bookstore she can't help but notice his hauntingly beautiful yellow eyes and she wonders why they seem so familiar.
Reading Level/interest Level: high school
Book Talking Ideas: The book talk could be done from two viewpoints, one from Grace and one from Sam to reflect the style in which the story is told.
Challenge Issues: I don't believe there is much that would warrant a challenge in the first book but the romance between Grace and Sam intensifies in the rest of the series. And the introduction of new characters brings in some other issues like drugs and violence.
Why Include this book? The series is very popular among teens. It is also a unique take on werewolves, it seems a bit more realistic and focuses a bit more on the love story of Sam and Grace then the fact that Sam turns into a wolf, which does still play a large role in the story.

Title: Black Cat (The Curse Workers) 
Author: Holly Black
Other books in the series: Red Glove and Black Heart
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Read by: Jesse Eisenberg
Author Info: Holly Black is the best selling fantasy author of both adult, teen and children's book. Her children series that she wrote with Toni DiTerlizzi, The Spiderwick Chronicles, was turned into a movie. Her books have also received critical acclaim, her book Tithe was named one of ALA's Best Books for Young Adults. She is actively writing books and she also maintains a livejournal and Twitter account. Currently Holly Black lives in Massachusetts with her husband.
Plot Summary: Cassel Sharpe comes from a family of curse workers, they can change your memory, effect your emotions, rob you or even kill you all from a touch with their hands. Curse working is outlawed and most people where gloves to protect themselves. But Cassel isn't like the rest of his family, it seems he was not give any of his families abilities. Though, Cassel has his own dark secret, he killed his best friend Lila a few years ago. Recently, strange things have been happening to Cassel, like waking up in his underwear on rooftops with no idea on how he got there. And then there is the issue of the white cat that seems to keep showing up everywhere. Cassel's family can't be trusted, they are a bunch of con artists after all but why would they be behind all the strange things happening to Cassel?
Critical Review: The book is a mix of a mobster and magicians that only Holly Black could come up with. The audiobook has a great reader in Jesse Eisenberg, who conveniently is related to Holly Black. Jesse is an excellent voice for Cassel who seems lost in his family of magically con artists. There is lots of unknown and mystery in the story which of course leave you guessing through the entire story. Since it's a series not every question is answered and the story seems to build in it's complexity as questions are answered.
Reader's Annotation: Everyone in Cassel's family is a Curse Worker. They have the ability to kill a person or change their memories or even their emotion just by touching you with their bare hands. Cassel can't do any of it, he is the oddly normal member of his magical con artist family. But lately stronge things have been happening to Cassel and he wonders if they are linked to his best friend Lila who he killed 3 years ago.
Reading Level/Interest Level: High School
Book Talk Ideas: The book has very strong magical Sopranos vibe that could be used in a book talk. Each one of Cassel's family members has a sorted history of illegal activity that could be used to grab a reader's attention.
Challenge Issues: dark magic, violence, criminal activity
Why Include this book? One of the most refreshing things about this book is that it's an urban fantasy with a male character for the narrater. Also, Holly Black is an amazing story teller with a very unique and often dark take on teen fantasy.