Teen Tech Week: Listen Up!
Did you know audiobooks are one of the many different materials available to you, for FREE, at your Natrona County Public Library? All you need is your library card and you are ready to check one out.
There are several formats available for checkout:
**CD: you must have the means to play them (CD player, car stereo, computer, etc) and then remember to return all the discs.
**Playaway: which is preloaded with the entire audiobook and only requires you to plug in your earphones and press play. They are small enough to store in your pocket or backpack. You can also hook them up to the audio input cord in your vehicle or home stereo.
**One Click Digital: allows you to download audio books to your computer and/or digital device(s). You can check out up to 15 audiobooks for 14 days. (One Click is available through the Wyoming State Library.)
Wondering which audiobooks are the best? You can check out YALSA’s list of Amazing Audiobooks.
Here are the reviews of a few of my favorites.
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
I’ve read this book twice and it still haunts me. The first time I listened to the audiobook on a road trip and I would definitely recommend that readers attempt to listen to it because the audiobook is a perfect way to really deeply connect with the story and it sets the tone for the premise of the book–Clay Jensen receives a box of cassette tapes in the mail. He discovers they are from his classmate/crush, Hannah Baker, who committed suicide two weeks prior. Hannah recorded and left the tapes for the thirteen people whom she considers reasons for her choice. As you listen to the dual narrators it is as though you are really Clay listening to Hannah’s tapes. Like Clay, you keep hoping that something or someone will stop her, even though you already know she’s gone.
Many of my teens had read this book and recommended it to me, which is why I initially chose to read it. It was also a runner up for the 2009-2010 Soaring Eagle Book Award. Many teacher/adult book clubs in Casper have also read it and we used it as the inaugural book for our Never Too Old book club. I believe it is a very powerful book and something that everyone who works with teens should read, especially since suicide is an issue that plagues our community. It is more than just a book about suicide. It is a book about how one single person can make a difference in someone’s life.
Want to read it? Click here to place the book on hold!
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Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford
What can I say? I laughed for hours while listening to this book. I now feel a bit like I have ADD and can’t focus on writing a synopsis, booktalk, or review of the book. Carter is any & every guy (freshman or not) I’ve ever met… obsessed with girls, more specifically their bodies, but clueless as to how to interact with them. Being a teenager is tough, but thankfully Brent Crawford has given readers the ability to find the humor in it.
I think the back cover of the book says it best: “Warning: This book contains lewd humor, underage drinking, illicit fantasizing, and very bad decision-making.”
FYI, there are two other books in the series: Carter’s Big Break and Carter’s Unfocused One-Track Mind.
Why I picked it up: I was driving to Denver for a conference and needed something to listen to. I had heard from other librarians that the book was hilarious. I had just finished listening to If I Stay by Gayle Forman so I needed something a bit lighter.
Why I finished it: HIL-AR-IOUS! OMG! The book is great and the narrator did a perfect job of capturing and creating Carter’s voice. I kept taking short trips to the store for nothing just so I could hear some more.
I’d give it to: Tyler P, who liked Twisted and The Outsiders and who I think might laugh harder than I did. Girls who want to understand why their brothers or classmates act the way they do and guys who will realize they aren’t alone.
Want to read it? Click here to place the book on hold!
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If I Stay by Gayle Forman
It started out as a great day for some family bonding. The Oregon snow canceled school for Mia and Teddy as well as Dad, who is a teacher, so Mom decided to play hooky from her job too. Since the snow has already stopped falling and no one wants to waste the day, an impromptu road trip to visit family friends and have dinner with the grandparents sets the day’s events in motion. One second, seventeen year old Mia is listening to Beethoven’s Cello Sonata no. 3 and practicing it in her mind, the next second she is witnessing the devastation of a horrible car wreck. Mia is the only survivor and while her body is in critical condition and her life hangs in the balance, she must make the ultimate choice. Would you want to live if your whole life was gone? Would the dreams of your future and the memories of your past be enough to keep you alive? How do you decide if you stay or if you…
WARNING: You may want to have a Kleenex handy while you read this one!
Why I picked up the book: I’d heard great things about the book and I was looking for something to listen to on a car trip.
Why I finished it: From the beginning you are pulled into the story. The flashbacks allow you to form a bond with Mia and her family. I had to know what was going to happen to Mia. I didn’t want to reach my destination and turn off the CD player.
I’d give it to: fans of books like Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher, teens who like music, and anyone who has ever wondered what if.
Want to read it? Click here to place the book on hold!
Reviews by Jenn, YA Librarian (View all my Goodreads reviews)
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