LGBTQ+ Audiobooks

I Was Born for This

"The third novel by the phenomenally talented Alice Oseman, the author of the 2021 YA Book Prize winning Loveless, Solitaire and graphic novel series Heartstopper – now a major Netflix series. For Angel Rahimi life is about one thing: The Ark – a pop-rock trio of teenage boys who are taking the world by storm. Being part of The Ark’s fandom has given her everything she loves – her friend Juliet, her dreams, her place in the world. Jimmy Kaga-Ricci owes everything to The Ark. He’s their frontman – and playing in a band with his mates is all he ever dreamed of doing. But dreams don’t always turn out the way you think and when Jimmy and Angel are unexpectedly thrust together, they find out how strange and surprising facing up to reality can be. A funny, wise, and heartbreakingly true coming of age novel. I Was Born for This is a stunning reflection of modern teenage life, and the power of believing in something – especially yourself."

Alice Oseman (Author), Aysha Kala, Huw Parmenter (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Brightsiders

"A teen rockstar has to navigate family, love, coming out, and life in the spotlight after being labeled the latest celebrity trainwreck in Jen Wilde’s quirky and utterly relatable novel. As a rock star drummer in the hit band the Brightsiders, Emmy King’s life should be perfect. But there’s nothing the paparazzi love more than watching a celebrity crash and burn. When a night of partying lands Emmy in hospital, she’s branded the latest tabloid train wreck. Luckily, Emmy has her friends and bandmates, including the super-swoonworthy Alfie, to help her pick up the pieces of her life. She knows hooking up with a band member is exactly the kind of trouble she should be avoiding, and yet Emmy and Alfie Just. Keep. Kissing. Will the inevitable fallout turn her into a clickbait scandal (again)? Or will she find the strength to stand on her own? Jen Wilde, author of Queens of Geek, which Seventeen called, “the geeky, queer book of our dreams” is back with a brand new cast of highly diverse and relatable characters for her fans to fall in love with."

Jen Wilde (Author), Katherine Littrell (Narrator)

Audiobook

Miles Away From You

"From debut voice A.B. Rutledge comes a quirky and completely fresh story of young love, loss, and the drastic distances we sometimes have to travel in order to move on, perfect for fans of Adam Silvera and Jandy Nelson. Explores gender nonconformity and the spectrum of sexual preference in an authentic way. It's been three years since Miles fell for Vivian, a talented and dazzling transgender girl. Eighteen months since a suicide attempt left Vivian on life support. Now Miles isn't sure who he is without her, but knows it's time to figure out how to say goodbye. He books a solo trip to Iceland but then has a hard time leaving the refuge of his hotel room. After a little push from Oskar, a local who is equal parts endearing and aloof, Miles decides to honor Vivian's life by photographing her treasured Doc Martens standing empty against the surreal landscapes. With each step he takes, Miles finds his heart healing--even as he must accept that Vivian, still in a coma, will never recover. Told through a series of instant messages to Vivian, this quirky and completely fresh novel explores love, loss, and the drastic distances we sometimes have to travel in order to move on."

A.B. Rutledge (Author), Tom Picasso (Narrator)

Audiobook

49 Pulses

"On June 12, 2016, a gunman walked into a crowded nightclub in Orlando, Florida and shot 102 people, murdering 49 of them. At 2:00 AM, the Pulse nightclub was winding down its weekly Latino night. The building was dark, crowded, and loud. Patrons were making plans to leave when they were ambushed by a gunman, who began firing in every direction. Customers tried to escape, but the killer followed them. For the next three hours, the gunman terrorized victims while playing a cat and mouse game with the police. Join acclaimed filmmaker Charlie Minn as he tries to answer several questions that remain unanswered about this tragedy, including why the perpetrator chose Pulse nightclub and why it took over three hours for police to stop the shooter. Through his interviews with the survivors, police, family members, and city officials, Minn pieces together how one of the largest mass shootings in American history took place. Contains mature themes."

Charlie Minn (Author), Pete Cross (Narrator)

Audiobook

All We Can Do is Wait

"Debut author and Vanity Fair film critic Richard Lawson makes your heart stop and time stand still in his extraordinary and life-affirming novel that's perfect for fans of If I Stay and We All Looked Up. In the hours after a bridge collapse rocks their city, a group of Boston teenagers meet in the waiting room of Massachusetts General Hospital: Siblings Jason and Alexa have already experienced enough grief for a lifetime, so in this moment of confusion and despair, Alexa hopes that she can look to her brother for support. But a secret Jason has been keeping from his sister threatens to tear the siblings apart...right when they need each other most. Scott is waiting to hear about his girlfriend, Aimee, who was on a bus with her theater group when the bridge went down. Their relationship has been rocky, but Scott knows that if he can just see Aimee one more time, if she can just make it through this ordeal and he can tell her he loves her, everything will be all right. And then there's Skyler, whose sister Kate-the sister who is more like a mother, the sister who is basically Skyler's everything-was crossing the bridge when it collapsed. As the minutes tick by without a word from the hospital staff, Skyler is left to wonder how she can possibly move through life without the one person who makes her feel strong when she's at her weakest. In his riveting, achingly beautiful debut, Richard Lawson guides readers through an emotional and life-changing night as these teens are forced to face the reality of their pasts...and the prospect of very different futures."

RICHARD LAWSON (Author), HOLLY LINNEMAN (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza

"A Junior Library Guild Selection "Surreal, brainy, and totally captivating." —Booklist (starred review) "Provocative and moving." —Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Hutchinson artfully blends the realistic and the surreal." —School Library Journal (starred review) From the critically acclaimed author of We Are the Ants and At the Edge of the Universe comes a mind-bending, riveting novel about a teen who was born to a virgin mother and realizes she has the power to heal—but that power comes at a huge cost. Sixteen-year-old Elena Mendoza is the product of a virgin birth. This can be scientifically explained (it's called parthenogenesis), but what can't be explained is how Elena is able to heal Freddie, the girl she's had a crush on for years, from a gunshot wound in a Starbucks parking lot. Or why the boy who shot Freddie, David Combs, disappeared from the same parking lot minutes later after getting sucked up into the clouds. Other things that can't be explained are the talking girl on the front of a tampon box, or the reasons that David Combs shot Freddie in the first place. As more unbelievable things occur, and Elena continues to perform miracles, the only remaining explanation is the least logical of all—that the world is actually coming to an end, and Elena is possibly the only one who can do something about it."

Shaun David Hutchinson (Author), Candace Thaxton (Narrator)

Audiobook

Reign of the Fallen

"A gutsy, unpredictable fantasty epic with a surprising and breathtaking queer romance at its core. 'Reign of the Fallen is a diverse story brimming with wickedly delightful magic, sizzling romance, and shocking betrayal-I've completely fallen under its spell.'-Kerri Maniscalco, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Stalking Jack the Ripper Without the dead, she'd be no one. Odessa is one of Karthia's master necromancers, catering to the kingdom's ruling Dead. Whenever a noble dies, it's Odessa's job to raise them by retrieving their soul from a dreamy and dangerous shadow world called the Deadlands. But there is a cost to being raised: the Dead must remain shrouded. If even a hint of flesh is exposed, a grotesque transformation begins, turning the Dead into terrifying, bloodthirsty Shades. A dramatic uptick in Shade attacks raises suspicions and fears around the kingdom. Soon, a crushing loss of one of her closest companions leaves Odessa shattered, and reveals a disturbing conspiracy in Karthia: Someone is intentionally creating Shades by tearing shrouds from the Dead--and training them to attack. Odessa is forced to contemplate a terrifying question: What if her magic is the weapon that brings the kingdom to its knees? Fighting alongside her fellow mages--and a powerful girl as enthralling as she is infuriating--Odessa must untangle the gruesome plot to destroy Karthia before the Shades take everything she loves."

Sarah Glenn Marsh (Author), Alex McKenna (Narrator)

Audiobook

Before I Let Go

"From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of This Is Where It Ends comes an intense story of loss and the quest for truth Corey and her best friend, Kyra, are inseparable. Corey is the only person who understands Kyra's high-highs and low-lows. So when Corey's family moves away from their Alaskan town, she makes Kyra promise to stay strong during the long, dark winters and wait for her return. Except Kyra doesn't. Two days before Corey is to visit, Kyra is found floating underneath the ice. While everyone in Lost Creek deems Kyra's death a suicide, Corey knows something is wrong. With every hour, her suspicion grows. The town is keeping secrets-chilling secrets. But piecing together the truth about what happened to Kyra may prove as difficult as lighting the sky in an Alaskan winter. Author Bio: Marieke Nijkamp is a storyteller, dreamer, globe-trotter, and geek. She holds degrees in philosophy, history, and medieval studies and is a founding member of We Need Diverse Books, DiversifYA, and YA Misfits. She lives in the Netherlands. Visit mariekenijkamp.com."

Marieke Nijkamp (Author), Jennifer O'Donnell, Sandy Rustin (Narrator)

Audiobook

That Inevitable Victorian Thing

"Speculative fiction from the acclaimed bestselling author of Exit, Pursued by a Bear and Star Wars: Ahsoka.   Victoria-Margaret is the crown princess of the empire, a direct descendent of Victoria I, the queen who changed the course of history. The imperial tradition of genetically arranged matchmaking will soon guide Margaret into a politically advantageous marriage. But before she does her duty, she'll have one summer of freedom and privacy in a far corner of empire. Posing as a commoner in Toronto, she meets Helena Marcus, daughter of one of the empire's greatest placement geneticists, and August Callaghan, the heir to a powerful shipping firm currently besieged by American pirates. In a summer of high-society debutante balls, politically charged tea parties, and romantic country dances, Margaret, Helena, and August discover they share an extraordinary bond and maybe a one-in-a-million chance to have what they want and to change the world in the process. Set in a near-future world where the British Empire was preserved not by the cost of blood and theft but by the effort of repatriation and promises kept, That Inevitable Victorian Thing is a surprising, romantic, and thought-provoking story of love, duty, and the small moments that can change people and the world. ★ 'This witty and romantic story is a must-read."-SLJ, starred review ★ 'Compelling and unique-there's nothing else like it.'-Booklist, starred review. ★ '[A] powerful and resonant story of compassion, love, and finding a way to fulfill obligations while maintaining one's identity.'-PW, starred review"

E.K. Johnston (Author), Katherine Kellgren (Narrator)

Audiobook

27 Hours

"Rumor Mora fears two things: hellhounds too strong for him to kill and failure. Jude Welton has two dreams: for humans to stop killing monsters and for his strange abilities to vanish. But in no reality should a boy raised to love monsters fall for a boy raised to kill them. Nyx Llorca keeps two secrets: the moon speaks to her, and she's in love with her best friend. Braeden Tennant wants two things: to get out from his mother's shadow and to unlearn his colony's darkest secret. To save everyone they love, they'll both have to commit treason. During one 27-hour night, these four runaways must stop the war between the monsters and the colonies from becoming a war of extinction-otherwise, the things they fear the most will be all that's left."

Tristina Wright (Author), Michael Crouch (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Line in the Dark

""A twisty, dark psychological thriller that will leave you guessing til the very end.'-Teen Vogue "[A] riveting read…'-NPR The line between best friend and something more is a line always crossed in the dark.   Jess Wong is Angie Redmond's best friend. And that's the most important thing, even if Angie can't see how Jess truly feels. Being the girl no one quite notices is OK with Jess anyway. If nobody notices her, she's free to watch everyone else. But when Angie begins to fall for Margot Adams, a girl from the nearby boarding school, Jess can see it coming a mile away. Suddenly her powers of observation are more a curse than a gift.   As Angie drags Jess further into Margot's circle, Jess discovers more than her friend's growing crush. Secrets and cruelty lie just beneath the carefree surface of this world of wealth and privilege, and when they come out, Jess knows Angie won't be able to handle the consequences.   When the inevitable darkness finally descends, Angie will need her best friend.                                 "It doesn't even matter that she probably doesn't understand how much she means to me. It's purer this way. She can take whatever she wants from me, whenever she wants it, because I'm her best friend."   A Line in the Dark is a story of love, loyalty, and murder. ★ 'Mesmerizing.'-Kirkus, starred review."

Malinda Lo (Author), Jennifer Lim (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Very, Very Bad Thing

"From the author of Drag Teen, a startling novel about the complexities of identity -- and of truth. Marley is one of the only gay kids in his North Carolina town -- and he feels like he might as well be one of the only gay kids in the universe. Or at least that's true until Christopher shows up in the halls of his high school. Christopher's great to talk to, great to look at, great to be with-and he seems to feel the same way about Marley. It's almost too good to be true.There's a hitch (of course): Christopher's parents are super conservative, and super not okay with him being gay. That doesn't stop Marley and Christopher from falling in love. Marley is determined to be with Christopher through ups and downs-until an insurmountable down is thrown their way. Suddenly, Marley finds himself lying in order to get to the truth-and seeing the suffocating consequences this can bring. In A Very, Very Bad Thing, Jeffery Self unforgettably shows how love can make us do all the wrong things for all the right reasons-especially if we see them as the only way to make love survive."

Jeffery Self (Author), Jeffery Self (Narrator)

Audiobook