Summer Listening Sorted: Don’t Miss Out on These 28 Free Audiobooks from SYNC
In its 14th iteration this year, SYNC, an annual summer audiobook program for teens 13 and older hosted by AudioFile Magazine, will once again provide free audiobooks each week starting April 27 and running through August 2. Two free thematically-paired audiobooks are offered each week to interested participants, and they can be kept long after the listening campaign ends. Audiobook lovers everywhere in the world, not only those from the United States, are eligible. It’s open to everyone who thinks they might like listening to audiobooks curated for young adults.
Similar to previous years, you may get the audiobooks using the Sora student reading app by OverDrive. Each title will have a seven-day run during their corresponding week and be accessible for download every Thursday at midnight Eastern time. The previous titles will disappear as a new week starts, therefore listeners should grab them before they disappear for good. An audiobook that you’ve borrowed remains on your Sora shelf until you return them.
The 28 audiobooks are primarily backlist titles, and some may even be for adults. Check them out:
Week 1, April 27–May 3, 2023
- Top Secret by Geoffrey Cowan and Leroy Aarons, read by John Heard, Susan Sullivan, James Gleason, and a full cast
- You Can’t Say That!, edited by Leonard S. Marcus, read by Tom Parks, Roxanne Hernandez, Arthur Morey, et al.
Week 2, May 4–10
- The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang, read by Brian Nishii
- Faraway by Rainbow Rowell, Nic Stone, Soman Chainani, Ken Liu, and Gayle Forman, read by Rebecca Lowman, Kate Rudd, Robin Eller, Alexander Cendese, et al.
Week 3, May 11–17
Week 4, May 18–24
- The Keeper of the Night by Kylie Lee Baker, read by Rebecca Yeo
- Out of the Blue by Jason June, read by André Santana and Neo Cihi
Week 5, May 25–31
- Arsene Lupin Versus Herlock Sholmes by Maurice Leblanc, read by David Timson
- Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller, read by Deryn Edwards
Week 6, June 1–7
- Poor Matza by Avrom Reisen, edited by Harvey Fink, read by David Skulski
- The Truth About White Lies by Olivia A Cole, read by Mela Lee
Week 7, June 8–14
- Fractured Tide by Leslie Lutz, read by Chloe Dolandis
- Hurricane Song by Paul Volponi, read by Jacob Norman
Week 8, June 15–21
- Spearhead by Adam Makos, read by Johnathan McClain
- Tommy by Karen Blumenthal, read by Maggi-Meg Reed
Week 9, June 22–28
- Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin, read by Tanya Eby, Nick Podehl, Todd Haberkorn, et al.
- Loveless by Alice Oseman, read by Billie Fulford-Brown, Elizabeth Schenk, and Imogen Church
Week 10, June 29–July 5
- Bump by Chiara Atik, read by Ana Ortiz, Herbert Siguenza, Alma Martinez, and a full cast
- The Woman Who Split the Atom by Marissa Moss, read by Sandy Rustin
Week 11, July 6–12
- The Boy in the Red Dress by Kristin Lambert, read by Sophie Amoss
- This Rebel Heart by Katherine Locke, read by Kathleen Gati and Steven Jay Cohen
Week 12, July 13–19
- The Lantern’s Ember by Colleen Houck, read by Piper Goodeve
- Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold, read by January Lavoy
Week 13, July 20–26
- The Getaway by Lamar Giles, read by Karl T. Wright, Imani Parks, and P.J. Ochlan
- The Wonderland Collection by Lewis Carroll, read by Simon Bubb
Week 14, July 27–August 2
- Freedom! by Jetta Grace Martin, Joshua Bloom, and Waldo E. Martin Jr., read by Dion Graham
- Not Without Laughter by Langston Hughes, read by Jaime Lincoln Smith
To receive weekly alerts when the audiobooks are available for download, listeners must sign up for the newsletter on the program’s website. For complete instructions on how to configure Sora for your devices, visit this FAQ page.
SYNC, launched in 2010, was developed as an improvement for teen learning experiences, including and going beyond literacy support, according to AudioFile Magazine, its main organizer.
Want more audiobooks aside from the aforementioned? Here’s how to find more of them using these free apps!
