Series fiction has captivated children and teens for decades. Teenagers who grew up reading Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, and Goosebumps titles as children moved on to listening to the Harry Potter, Twilight, The Last Apprentice, and The Hunger Games series, among others. With the start of the new school year, comes a host of new series in audiobook format that will grip the imaginations of middle and high school students.
In The Iron Thorn: The Iron Code, Book 1 (Listening Library), Caitlin Kittredge's steampunk novel set in post-World War II Massachusetts, the necrovirus is blamed for all sorts of evils, including her Aoile's family's hereditary madness. As she nears her 16th birthday, the age when her mother and brother went mad, she discovers that her brother has gone missing. Aoile sets out to find him at her family's ancestral manor, Graystone, escaping from Lovecraft, a city controlled by the Proctors whose reliance upon science and reason have created a nationalistic and near totalitarian world. She discovers that Graystone contains the key to a family secret beyond her wildest imagination. Is the madness real or a cover for a magical, but very real world? Katie MacNichol tackles the author's complex combination of steampunk and dark fantasy with spot-on timing.
Listeners will be hooked from the outset by The Gathering. Darkness Rising, Book 1 (Recorded Books), the first title in a gripping trilogy by Kelley Armstrong. Adopted as an infant, the only clues Maya holds to her Native identity are a strong affinity with animals and a birthmark in the shape of a cat's paw. Upon turning 16, Maya discovers that she is a Skin-Walker, an ancient being who can shift into animal shape. Skin-Walkers supposedly became extinct centuries ago, but were recently resurrected by scientists in a secret genetic experiment. Now the teens whose Skin-Walker gene was activated are reverting back to animal nature. Is there a connection between the experiment and a string of mysterious local deaths? Narrator Jennifer Ikeda expertly embodies Maya, perfectly capturing the teen's outspoken, curious nature and wry humor.
Wither: The Chemical Garden, Book 1 (Recorded Books) is the first title in Lauren DeStefano's projected dystopian trilogy. While genetic engineering has attempted to make mankind immortal, a flaw has caused women to die at age 20 and men at 25. In an attempt to keep humanity from eradication, girls are kidnapped and sold as concubines in order to breed children. The class system has become so stratified that the majority of the population are poor orphans, there is virtually no middle class, and the wealthy few rule. The combination of Angela Lin's narration and the lyrical prose make this an audiobook that is sure to be popular with teens.
Middle school fantasy fans will relish John Stephens's The Emerald Atlas: The Books of Beginnings, Book 1 (Listening Library). Kate, Michael, and Emma have been alone for years, wondering what happened to their parents. They discover that it has something to do with an ancient evil, a wicked Countess, and a town with the no children. The solution seems to lie in a magical book that permits them to travel back and forth in time, creating a variety of alternate futures and pasts, and allows them to solve problems using the atlas's unique abilities. Jim Dale provides a stellar performance, using his vocal skills to immerse listeners in the unique worlds created in the book.
Enclave: Razorland, Book 1 (Macmillan Audio) is the first title in Ann Aquirre's dystopian fantasy, set after war and plague destroyed New York City and most of civilization relocated to enclaves underground. Deuce is thrilled to become a Huntress at her naming ceremony, but she worries about her breeder tendencies to show compassion and be concerned about others. There are graphic descriptions of horrific battles with the Freaks, the flesh eating enemies of Deuce's underground community, and Deuce's increasing realization that these creatures are becoming more devious and rational. After Deuce protects a weaker friend, she's banished to the "upper world" and it amazed to discover sunlight, sunsets, rain, and snow. Ann Bauer's narration perfectly reflects the girl's amazement as she encounters things like canned food, and flush toilets for the first time.
J.S. Lewis's sci-fi novel Invasion (Oasis Audio) , the first book in the "C.H.A.O.S Novel" series, stars Colt, a typical 16-year-old California dude whose world is rocked by the mysterious death of his parents in a car accident. He is sent to a military academy which is actually the front for C.H.A.O.S. (Central Headquarters Against the Occult and Supernatural), becomes an agent, and is thrust into a world of the paranormal. John Haag's narration will keep listeners interested in this suspenseful tale.
This article originally appeared in School Library Journal's enewsletter SLJTeen. Subscribe here.
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