Audiobooks Narrated by Jaime Lincoln Smith

A Poor Man's Prose

"A brilliant crossover YA/NA novel that's Legendborn as if written by Jason Reynolds, from social media star and one of the most compelling new voices in fantasy, Jahid Wilson, Jr., about a young man who learns his words have the power to conjure things into existence, but this power comes at a terrible cost... Seventeen-year-old Kaldur's heart has always beat in two places: on the page, and in the community he holds dear. Those precious to him keep him afloat in a world dedicated on seeing him drown. But when he accidentally unleashes soul magic that kills four boys, that love is tested. Kaldur's closest friends rise to the occasion and do what is necessary to protect him. When all is said and done, the bodies disposed of, they swear a blood promise to carry the weight of this secret like they do all others: together. But together does not mean forever, and one year later Kaldur and his friends are still grieving the tragic car accident that turned their infamous quintet into a quartet. Worst of all, suspicion and scrutiny around the case of the missing boys has forced Kaldur's family to relocate to Georgia. Blaming himself, Kaldur attempts to use magic to resurrect their lost companion. His efforts backfire in the worst way, leading to a dangerous pact with a demon: write fifty magic-infused poems and he will undo his friend's death. As Kaldur and his friends strategize to complete the pact, he discovers his powers connect him to a mysterious woman in his dreams, one who is aware of the deaths he has caused and sends her monstrous emissary to hunt him down. Even as he faces supernatural conflict in the waking world and dreaming one, Kaldur's new life in Georgia is filled with the messy vibrancy of being a teenager—forming bonds in his first writing community, meeting a woman who shows him it's not about who he was, but who he can be, and leaning on the friends who still stand by his side, hundreds of miles away. Through laughter, healing, and a love with the deepest roots, Kaldur and his loved ones—both chosen and given—push back against the forces trying to unravel them, proving that even in the face of grief, there's a reason for love, hope, and joy."

Jahid Wilson, Jr. (Author), Erin Ruth Walker, Jaime Lincoln Smith, Jesus E. Martinez (Narrator)

Audiobook

Better Must Come

"Barely Missing Everything meets American Street in this "well-plotted, taut page-turner" (Booklist, starred review) that looks at the darker side of light-filled Jamaica and how a tragedy and missing drug money helplessly entangle the lives of two teens who want to change their fate. Deja is a "barrel girl"—one of the Jamaican kids who get barrels full of clothes, food, and treats shipped to them from parents who have moved to the US or Canada to make more money. Gabriel is caught up in a gang and desperate for a way out. When he meets Deja at a party, he starts looking for a way into her life and wonders if they could be a part of each other's futures. Then, one day while out fishing, Deja spies a go-fast boat stalled out by some rocks, smeared with blood. Inside, a badly wounded man thrusts a knapsack at her, begging her to deliver it to his original destination, and to not say a word. She binds his wounds, determined to send for help and make good on her promise…not realizing that the bag is stuffed with $500,000 American. Not realizing that the posse Gabriel is in will stop at nothing to get their hands on this bag—or that Gabriel's and her lives will intersect in ways neither ever imagined, as they both are forced to make split-second choices to keep the ones they love most alive."

Desmond Hall (Author), Jaime Lincoln Smith (Narrator)

Audiobook

Promise Boys

"Nick Brooks's Promise Boys is a trailblazing, blockbuster YA mystery about three teen boys of colour who must investigate their principal's murder to clear their own names. For fans of Angie Thomas, Jason Reynolds, and Karen McManus. The Urban Promise Prep School vows to turn boys into men. As students, J.B., Ramón, and Trey are forced to follow the prestigious "program's" strict rules. Extreme discipline, they've been told, is what it takes to be college bound, to avoid the fates of many men in their neighborhoods. This, the Principal Moore Method, supposedly saves lives. But when Moore ends up murdered and the cops come sniffing around, the trio emerges as the case's prime suspects. With all three maintaining their innocence, they must band together to track down the real killer before they are arrested. But is the true culprit hiding among them? This gripping thriller shines a glaring light on how the system too often condemns Black and Latinx teen boys to failure before they've even had a chance at success. 'Thrilling . . . Promise Boys will stay with you long after the last page' - Karen M. McManus, author of One of Us Is Lying"

Nick Brooks (Author), Alfred Vines, Anthony Lopez, Brad Sanders, Christopher Hampton, Eliana Marianes, Hannah Church, Henriette Zoutomou, Jaime Lincoln Smith, Maria Liatis, Renier Cortes, Suehyla El-Attar, Xenia Willacey (Narrator)

Audiobook

For Lamb

"Lamb's family strives to better their lives in Jackson, Mississippi, in the late 1930s. Lamb’s mother is a hard-working, creative seamstress who cannot reveal she's a lesbian. Lamb’s brother has a brilliant mind and has even earned a college scholarship for a black college up north—if only he could curb his impulsiveness and rebellious nature. Lamb herself is a quiet and studious girl. She is also naïve. As she tentatively accepts the friendly overtures of a white girl who loans her a book she loves, she sets a off a calamitous series of events that pulls in her mother, charming hustler uncle, estranged father, and brother—and ends in a lynching. Told with nuance and subtlety, avoiding sensationalism and unnecessary brutality, this young-adult novel from celebrated author Lesa Cline-Ransome pays homage to the female victims of white supremacy."

Lesa Cline-Ransome (Author), Angel Pean, Dion Graham, Jaime Lincoln Smith, Kevin R. Free, Rebecca Lee, Tyla Collier (Narrator)

Audiobook