12 Great Young Adult Audiobooks from 2018
This round-up of great young adult audiobooks from 2018 is sponsored by Macmillan Audio
An innovative audiobook production featuring more than thirty voices, Sadie explores the depth of a sister’s love. Sadie hasn’t had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she’s been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water. But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie’s entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister’s killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him. Listen to an excerpt!
The majority of my reading consists of Young Adult audiobooks. Here are my favorite Young Adult audiobooks released so far in 2018. All quoted descriptions are from Goodreads.
Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
“Monday Charles is missing, and only Claudia seems to notice…So when Monday doesn’t turn up for the first day of school, Claudia’s worried…But Monday’s mother refuses to give Claudia a straight answer, and Monday’s sister April is even less help.” Wow, this book was a ride. And the narration is absolutely perfect, adding to the experience.
Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston
“Ana’s desperate effort to save D09 leads her on a quest to steal the coordinates to a lost ship that could offer all the answers. But at the last moment, a spoiled Ironblood boy beats Ana to her prize. He has his own reasons for taking the coordinates, and he doesn’t care what he’ll sacrifice to keep them.”
Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough
“By the time she was seventeen, Artemisia was one of Rome’s most talented painters, even if no one knew her name. But Rome in 1610 was a city where men took what they wanted from women, and in the aftermath of rape Artemisia faced another terrible choice: a life of silence or a life of truth, no matter the cost.” This is my favorite book of 2018 so far. I listened to it first, then read it in print, and I recommend doing both—you get something different each time.
My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma
“A pandit predicted Winnie would find the love of her life before her 18th birthday, and Raj meets all of the qualifications. Which is why Winnie is shocked to return from her summer at film camp to find her boyfriend of three years hooking up with Jenny Dickens.” I was really charmed by the character and the narration of this book.
People Like Us by Dana Mele
“Kay’s a star soccer player whose group of gorgeous friends run their private school with effortless popularity and acerbic wit. But when a girl’s body is found in the lake, Kay’s carefully constructed life begins to topple.”
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
“Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy.” Bahni Turpin is one of my favorite audiobook narrators, so I’m thrilled she narrated my most anticipated book of 2018.
Anger Is a Gift by Mark Oshiro
“A story of resilience and loss, love and family, Mark Oshiro’s Anger is a Gift testifies to the vulnerability and strength of a community living within a system of oppression.”
The Heart Forger (The Bone Witch #2) by Rin Chupeco
“No one knows death like Tea. A bone witch who can resurrect the dead, she has the power to take life…and return it. And she is done with her self-imposed exile.” This sequel is even better than the first book and impeccably narrated by Emily Woo Zeller and Will Damron.
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
“A young girl in Harlem discovers slam poetry as a way to understand her mother’s religion and her own relationship to the world.” It’s not often an author as narrator is an advantage to an audiobook, but Elizabeth Acevedo shines doubly in this performance.
American Panda by Gloria Chao
“An incisive, laugh-out-loud contemporary debut about a Taiwanese-American teen whose parents want her to be a doctor and marry a Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer despite her squeamishness with germs and crush on a Japanese classmate.” The publisher’s blurb says it all: this book will make you laugh out loud.
The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis
“As things with Henry heat up, and his mother’s abuse escalates, Evan has to decide how to find his voice in a world where he has survived so long by avoiding attention at all costs.”
Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman
“In the medieval kingdom of Goredd, women are expected to be ladies, men are their protectors, and dragons can be whomever they choose. Tess is none of these things. Tess is…different.” As a huge fan of Seraphina, I couldn’t wait for Rachel Hartman’s newest and she did not disappoint!
Do you listen to Young Adult audiobooks? Did I miss one of your favorites from this year? Sound off in the comments!
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