To Read, or Not To Read

When teens leave their once-predictable lives behind, what comes next? I can't believe we're already six weeks in with Sync's Audiobooks for Teens . To download these FREE titles go to https://audiobooksync.com . Titles are delivered through the OverDrive app, which is also free. There's a link to download the app on Sync's website. These titles are free to download this week only!  Available: 05/31 - 06/07 by Robyn Schneider | Read by Khristine Hvam, James Fouhey Published by HarperAudio John Green's The Fault in Our Stars meets Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor and Park in this darkly funny novel from the critically acclaimed author of The Beginning of Everything. Up until his diagnosis, Lane lived a fairly predictable life. But when he finds himself at a tuberculosis sanatorium called Latham House, he discovers an insular world with paradoxical rules, med sensors, and an eccentric yet utterly compelling confidante named Sadie - and life as

ABOUT THE BOOK Monsterland Reanimated Written by Michael Okon Ages 14+ | Publisher: WordFire Press | April 6, 2018 | ISBN-13: 978-1614756729 Publisher’s Synopsis: After Monsterland has been destroyed, the entire world is thrown into chaos. Wyatt Baldwin and his friends must go beyond the boundaries of their small town to reestablish contact with the outside world. During their journey they discover a new threat released from the bowels of the defunct theme park. The danger of werewolves, vampires and zombies pale in comparison to an army of relentless mummies, Vincent Conrad’s reanimated monster and the menace of a life-sucking ooze they call The Glob.  Will Wyatt and his friends survive when they reenter the scariest place on earth? My Thoughts Zombies scare me. I usually don't read books or watch movies that contain zombies in them for that reason. Vampires, werewolves, mummies, bring them on. Just no zombies. However, I do make exceptions on occasion, for exa

Too Wilde to Wed  (The Wildes of Lindow Castle #2)   by Eloisa James 384 pages | May 29th 2018 | by Avon  9780062692467 Summary The handsome, rakish heir to a dukedom, Lord Roland Northbridge Wilde—known to his friends as North—left England two years ago, after being jilted by Miss Diana Belgrave. He returns from war to find that he's notorious: polite society has ruled him "too wild to wed." Diana never meant to tarnish North's reputation, or his heart, but in her rush to save a helpless child, there was no time to consider the consequences of working as a governess in Lindow Castle. Now everyone has drawn the worst conclusions about the child's father, and Diana is left with bittersweet regret. When North makes it clear that he still wants her for his own, scandal or no, Diana has to fight to keep from losing her heart to the man whom she still has no intention of marrying. Yet North is returning a hardened warrior—and this is o

When Love Surprises is this week's theme for Sync Audiobooks for Teens. To download these FREE titles go to https://audiobooksync.com . Titles are delivered through the OverDrive app, which is also free. There's a link to download the app on Sync's website. These titles are free to download this week only!  Available: 05/24 - 05/31 by Sandhya Menon | Read by Sneha Mathan, Vikas Adam Published by Dreamscape Media Now that Dimple Shah has graduated, she's ready for a break from her family - especially from Mamma's inexplicable obsession with her finding the "Ideal Indian Husband." Ugh. But Dimple knows that her mother must respect that she isn't interested in doing that right now - otherwise she wouldn't have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers, right? Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic, so when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him -

Books to take to the beach: Fahrenheit 451 premiered on HBO over the weekend. I've not watched it yet, but I plan to. I can't decide if I want to re-read the book first. I haven't read it since high school. Just for fun

I can't believe we're on week 4 of Sync Audiobooks for Teens. To download these FREE titles go to https://audiobooksync.com . Titles are delivered through the OverDrive app, which is also free. There's a link to download the app on Sync's website. These titles are free to download: 05/17 - 05/24 Two heroines find ways to fit in—without selling themselves short.  Saving Montgomery Sole by Mariko Tamaki Read by Rebecca Lowman Montgomery Sole is a square peg in a small town, a girl with two moms forced to go to a school full of homophobes and people who don't even know what irony is. Her saving grace--her two best friends, Thomas and Naoki. Monty's obsessed with paranormal mysteries like ESP, astrology, superpowers, and the healing powers of frozen yogurt, but when strange things actually start happening to Monty, she realizes that the greatest mystery of all is herself. Thoughtful, funny, and honest, this audiobook will make you wa

The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau Publication: Fall 2018 Endeavour Quill Genre: Historical Fiction What would you do to possess the most coveted color in the world? The year is 1758, and a headstrong woman artist, 24-year-old Genevieve Planche, is caught up in a high-stakes race to discover the ultimate color, one that threatens to become as deadly as it is lucrative. When Genevieve's mission is complicated by her falling in love with the chemist behind the formula, she discovers the world of blue is filled with ruthless men and women and how high the stakes really are. The story sweeps readers from the worlds of the silk-weaving refugees of London’s Spitalfields and the luxury-obsessed drawing rooms of Grosvenor Square to the porcelain factory of Derby and, finally, magnificent Sevres Porcelain in the shadow of Versailles. And running through it all: the dangerous allure of the color blue. "Bilyeau’s sumptuous tale of mystery and intrigue transports the reader into th

Royally Romanov (The Royals #2) by Teri Wilson Pocket Star ebook | 304 pages |  B01M5CMDEN Buy: Amazon Summary In this charming modern day retelling of the 1956 classic Anastasia, a museum curator falls for a mysterious man who may or may not be a long lost heir to Russia’s imperial Romanov dynasty. Finley Abbot is organizing the most prestigious art exhibit of her career at the Louvre museum—a retrospective of art from the House of Romanov. But the sudden appearance of Maxim Romanov threatens to turn her into the biggest laughingstock of the art world. When she finds herself falling in love, she realizes there’s even more at stake than her career. How can she trust a man with her whole world when he can’t remember a thing about his past? After suffering a violent blow to the head, Maxim’s only clue to his identity is a notebook containing carefully researched documentation in his own handwriting indicating that he is the sole surviving descendant of the Gr

A new documentary will explore the life and legacy of Ursula K. Le Guin Also, this is hilarious!  I loved watching  Unforgotten on Masterpiece Mystery! It's kept me enthralled for the last six weeks. I can't wait for season 3. And last but not least, listen to this recording of Flannery O'Conner reading A Good Man is Hard to Find.

Week 3 of  Sync Audiobooks for Teens  is live. To download these FREE titles go to  https://audiobooksync.com .  Titles are delivered through the  OverDrive app , which is also free.  Available: 05/10 - 05/17 Two boys on the run face danger—and struggle with mistrusting everyone around them. Johnny Get Your Gun by John Ball | Read by Dion Graham Published by Brilliance Publishing When a nine-year-old boy shoots an older child, a race war is ignited between militant blacks and racist whites of 1960s Pasadena. Follow black homicide detective Virgil Tibbs as he investigates the scene of the conflict involving riots, brutalities, a chase through Disneyland, and a heartwarming—and heartbreaking—scene that takes place in the baseball stadium of the former Los Angeles Angels. Here you will find childhood gone awry, racism that ought to shock but in context does not (we know it too well), and political conflicts that add fuel to the fire. O

Leading up to Mother’s Day on May 13, visit Read It Forward to find   heartwarming, relatable, and emotional essays. The pieces cover experiences such as a shared Kindle account bringing a parent and child together to a dying mother reading her daughter’s novel, and more. Highlights from Word to Your Mother include:  Elisabeth Cohen , author of  The Glitch,  who reminisces about the soundtrack of her childhood—her mother’s audiobooks—and the ways listening to stories brought them together.  Chloe Esposito , author of  Bad , who shares a witty account of adventures in bedtime stories—one of the  greatest pleasures she shares with her daughters.     Liam Callanan , author of  Paris by the Book , who recalls the lessons that remain with him from reading  The Country Bunny  with his mother as a child. On Read it Forward you can also find bookish gift ideas for mom and a reading list of moving “ momoirs ” that cover loving and losing mothers, and reckoning with complic

Prince in Disguise by Stephanie Kate Strohm Hyperion | Ages 12-18 | 320 pages 9781484768174 Amazon Summary Someday I want to live in a place where I never hear “You’re Dusty’s sister?” ever again. Life is real enough for Dylan—especially as the ordinary younger sister of Dusty, former Miss Mississippi and the most perfect, popular girl in Tupelo. But when Dusty wins the hand of the handsome Scottish laird-to-be Ronan on the TRC television network’s crown jewel, Prince in Disguise, Dylan has to face a different kind of reality: reality TV. As the camera crew whisks them off to Scotland to film the lead-up to the wedding, camera-shy Dylan is front and center as Dusty’s maid of honor. The producers are full of surprises—including old family secrets, long-lost relatives, and a hostile future mother-in-law who thinks Dusty and Dylan’s family isn’t good enough for her only son. At least there’s Jamie, an adorably bookish groomsman who might just be the perfect anti

Meet the Author: Stuart Neville Meet the Author: Imbolo Mbue What I'm Reading I'm listening to this on audio. It's powerful, people. Here's the summary: In this valuable and revealing anthology, cultural critic and best-selling author Roxane Gay collects original and previously published pieces that address what it means to live in a world where women have to measure the harassment, violence, and aggression they face, and where they are "routinely second-guessed, blown off, discredited, denigrated, besmirched, belittled, patronized, mocked, shamed, gaslit, insulted, bullied" for speaking out. Contributions include essays from established and up-and-coming writers, performers, and critics, including actors Ally Sheedy and Gabrielle Union and writers Amy Jo Burns, Lyz Lenz, and Claire Schwartz. Covering a wide range of topics and experiences, from an exploration of the rape epidemic embedded in the refugee crisis to first-pe

Week 2 of Sync Audiobooks for Teens is in full swing. To download these FREE titles go to  https://audiobooksync.com .  Titles are delivered through the OverDrive app , which is also free.  Is leaving home to look for something better worth the risks—and the revelations? Available: 05/03 - 05/10 Solo by Kwame Alexander, Mary Rand Hess Read by Kwame Alexander New York Times bestseller! Blade never asked for a life of the rich and famous. In fact, he’d give anything not to be the son of Rutherford Morrison, a washed-up rock star and drug addict with delusions of a comeback. Or to no longer be part of a family known most for lost potential, failure, and tragedy, including the loss of his mother. The one true light is his girlfriend, Chapel, but her parents have forbidden their relationship, assuming Blade will become just like his father. In reality, the only thing Blade and Rutherford have in common is the music that lives inside them. And songwritin

Holding by Graham Norton Published October 6th 2016 by Hodder & Stoughton Hardcover, 320 pages | 9781444792003 |  Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins | Simon & Schuster Audio Summary The remote Irish village of Duneen has known little drama, and yet its inhabitants are troubled: Sergeant P.J. Collins hasn’t always been this overweight; Brid Riordan, a mother of two, hasn’t always been an alcoholic; and elegant Evelyn Ross hasn’t always felt that her life was a total waste. So when human remains—suspected to be those of Tommy Burke, a former lover of both Brid and Evelyn—are discovered on an old farm, the village’s dark past begins to unravel. As a frustrated P.J. struggles to solve a genuine case for the first time in his professional life, he unearths a community’s worth of anger and resentments, secrets and regrets. Darkly comic, at times profoundly sad, and “especially inviting because of its tongue-in-cheek wit” (Kirkus Reviews), Holding is a masterful deb