Tough Topics Audiobooks

Spin

"Even in murder, the music lives on. When rising star Paris Secord (aka DJ ParSec) is found dead on her turntables, it sends the local music scene reeling. No one is feeling that grief more than her shunned pre-fame best friend, Kya, and ParSec's chief groupie, Fuse -- two sworn enemies who happened to be the ones who discovered her body. The police have few leads, and when the trail quickly turns cold, the authorities don't seem to be pushing too hard to investigate further. But nobody counted on Paris's deeply loyal fans, ParSec Nation, or the outrage that would drive Fuse and Kya to work together. As ParSec Nation takes to social media and the streets in their crusade for justice, Fuse and Kya start digging into Paris's past, stumbling across a deadly secret. With new info comes new motives. New suspects. And a fandom that will stop at nothing in their obsessive quest for answers, not even murder..."

Lamar Giles (Author), Bahni Turpin, Shawana Carter, Sisi Aisha Johnson (Narrator)

Audiobook

[German] - Gun Love (Ungekürzt)

"Seit ihrer Geburt lebt Pearl im Auto, sie vorne, ihre Aussteiger-Mutter auf der Rückbank. Zwölf Jahre stehen die beiden jetzt schon am Rande eines Trailer Parks irgendwo in Florida. Draußen vor der Windschutzscheibe ist die Welt den Waffen verfallen: Kinder wachsen mit Pistolen statt Haustieren auf, Schießübungen immer und überall, mal Alligatoren, mal den Fluss, mal Polizisten im Visier, und sonntags sitzt man beim Gottesdienst mit der geschulterten Schrotflinte in der ersten Reihe. Doch im Ford Mercury wirken andere Kräfte, hier lernt Pearl das Träumen. Bis mit Eli ein Mann auftaucht, der das Herz der Mutter stiehlt ... Gun Love liest sich wie ein Trip. Jennifer Clement schreibt vom Band zwischen Mutter und Tochter und dem Waffenwahnsinn ihrer Heimat, sie erzählt in strahlenden Bildern eine Geschichte, in der Liebe und Gewalt, Magie und Fakt, Sorge und Freude haltlos ineinander fallen. Das literarische Stimmungsbild einer ganzen Nation. 'Edith Stehfest spricht Pearls Geschichte mit der Gelassenheit eines zu früh erwachsen gewordenen Kindes. ... Sie erzählt natürlich und lässt den Text so flimmern wie die Hitze Floridas über dem Horizont. Ein bewegendes Hörbuch, durch das man mal nicht eine auf Hochglanz polierte Seite Amerikas kennen lernt.' (SWR2) 'Sprecherin Edith Stehfest lässt die junge Protagonistin unaufgeregt erzählen, mit kindlicher Naivität zwar, trotzdem mit erstaunlicher Reife. Der Hörer spürt: Etwas Schlimmes wird geschehen.' (Süddeutscher Verlag) 'Ich finde die Stimme ganz wunderbar, unglaublich mädchen- ja geradezu zauberhaft. ... [Edith Stehfest] gibt dem Roman einen wunderbar flirrenden, verträumten Ton. Und das bildet dann sehr gut einen Gegensatz zu diesem ziemlich brutalen Leben, in dem sich Pearl später sogar nach dem Gestank der Müllkippe und dem Geruch nach Insektenspray im Auto sehnt ...' (hr2 Kultur)"

Jennifer Clement (Author), Edith L. Stehfest (Narrator)

Audiobook

Fake Boyfriend

"'Afraid to be alone with me?' he challenged. 'How am I going to be your boyfriend then?'  'Pretend boyfriend,' I emphasized.   He gave me a tight-lipped smile. 'You do know that this has to look convincing if you expect people to believe I'm your boyfriend, don't you?'  In desperation, Sarah hires Gage to pretend to be her boyfriend. It was supposed to be only a business arrangement, but now her feelings for her fake boyfriend are real."

Suzana Thompson (Author), Kalena Schubert (Narrator)

Audiobook

My Almost Flawless Tokyo Dream Life

"“I’m here to take you to live with your father. In Tokyo, Japan! Happy birthday!” In the Land of the Rising Sun, where high culture meets high kitsch, and fashion and technology are at the forefront of the First World’s future, the foreign-born teen elite attend ICS—the International Collegiate School of Tokyo. Their accents are fluid. Their homes are ridiculously posh. Their sports games often involve a (private) plane trip to another country. They miss school because of jet lag and visa issues. When they get in trouble, they seek diplomatic immunity. Enter foster-kid-out-of-water Elle Zoellner, who, on her sixteenth birthday discovers that her long-lost father, Kenji Takahara, is actually a Japanese hotel mogul and wants her to come live with him. Um, yes, please! Elle jets off first class from Washington, DC, to Tokyo, which seems like a dream come true. Until she meets her enigmatic father, her way-too-fab aunt, and her hypercritical grandmother, who seems to wish Elle didn’t exist. In an effort to please her new family, Elle falls in with the Ex-Brats, a troupe of übercool international kids who spend money like it’s air. But when she starts to crush on a boy named Ryuu, who’s frozen out by the Brats and despised by her new family, her already tenuous living situation just might implode. My Almost Flawless Tokyo Dream Life is about learning what it is to be a family, and finding the inner strength to be yourself, even in the most extreme circumstances."

Rachel Cohn (Author), Adenrele Ojo (Narrator)

Audiobook

Ashes in the Snow (Movie Tie-In)

"An international bestseller, a #1 New York Times bestseller, and now a major motion picture! Ruta Sepetys's Between Shades of Gray is now the film Ashes in the Snow! 'Few books are beautifully written, fewer still are important; this novel is both.' --The Washington Post Fifteen-year-old Lina is a Lithuanian girl living an ordinary life -- until Soviet officers invade her home and tear her family apart. Separated from her father and forced onto a crowded train, Lina, her mother, and her young brother make their way to a Siberian work camp, where they are forced to fight for their lives. Lina finds solace in her art, documenting these events by drawing. Risking everything, she imbeds clues in her drawings of their location and secretly passes them along, hoping her drawings will make their way to her father's prison camp. But will strength, love, and hope be enough for Lina and her family to survive? A moving and haunting novel perfect for readers of The Book Thief. Praise for Between Shades of Gray: 'Superlative. A hefty emotional punch.' --The New York Times Book Review 'Heart-wrenching . . . an eye-opening reimagination of a very real tragedy written with grace and heart.' --The Los Angeles Times 'At once a suspenseful, drama-packed survival story, a romance, and an intricately researched work of historial fiction.' --The Wall Street Journal * 'Beautifully written and deeply felt . . . An important book that deserves the widest possible readership.' --Booklist, starred review A New York Times Notable book An international bestseller A Carnegie Medal nominee A William C. Morris Award finalist A Golden Kite Award winner A Best Children's Book of 2011 selection from The Wall Street Journal, PW, SLJ, Booklist,Kirkus, iTunes, Amazon, St. Louis Post Dispatch, and Columbus Dispatch ILA Notable Book for a Global Society Award winner Winner of 10 international book prizes across France, Sweden, Belgium, Lithuania, and Canada  26 state award lists 4 starred reviews And more!"

Ruta Sepetys (Author), Emily Klein (Narrator)

Audiobook

Accidentally Perfect

"Everyone's convinced the hottest guy in school's going to ask me out—that Mason and I would be the perfect couple, that he's my John Cusack. Except, he hasn't. On holidays, I find myself hanging out with the resident underachiever, and he surprises me. With Roman, I don't have to pretend that little Piper Barlow is perfect; even if we're both in a foul mood, just sitting in silence together is perfectly enough. Until it becomes more. But, Roman doesn't do more . . . does he? What do you do when you accidentally find perfection with the wrong guy? You fight for it."

Elizabeth Stevens (Author), Shiromi Arserio (Narrator)

Audiobook

Spain or Shine

"Elena is lost in the shuffle between her three overachieving siblings. But now that she's on her own for a whole semester, she intends to keep the spotlight on herself-and Spain is just the place to do it. Once she starts living it up in tapas bars, lying out on the beach (even though it's November), and having a nice, long siesta smack-dab in the middle of every day, Elena finds that Spain is everything she hoped it would be. She's even met a to-fawn-over Spaniard, Miguel. But Elena has always been more comfortable writing plays than starring in them, and she's beginning to realize that keeping out of the spotlight has its perks too. . . ."

Michelle Jellen (Author), Allyson Johnson (Narrator)

Audiobook

Four Three Two One

"“This is not a book about a tragedy. This is a book about survivors, and hope, and belief. I wish this book wasn’t necessary, but it is. Read it. And then pass it on.” —Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces “A whip-smart and deeply felt story about reclaiming life from the rubble of guilt and trauma, Four, Three, Two, One glows brilliantly with heart, humanity, and hope.” —Brendan Kiely, New York Times bestselling coauthor of All American Boys and author of Tradition Golden “Go” Jennings wasn’t supposed to be on Bus 21 the day it blew up in New York City. Neither was her boyfriend, Chandler. But they were. And so was Rudy, a cute stranger Go shared a connection with the night before. And Caroline, a girl whose silence ended up costing nineteen people their lives. Though it’s been a year since the bombing, Go isn’t any closer to getting over what happened. With Chan completely closed off to even talking about it, Go makes an impulsive decision: round up the rest of the survivors and head to New York City. There they will board an art installation made of the charred remnants of Bus 21 and hopefully reach some sort of resolution. But things are never easy when it comes to rehashing the past. Uniting the four stirs up conflicting feelings of anger and forgiveness, and shows them that, although they all survived, they may still need saving."

Courtney Stevens (Author), Bailey Carr, Erin Spencer (Narrator)

Audiobook

Slow Burn

"From the New York Times bestselling author of We All Looked Up comes the second novel in the Anchor & Sophia trilogy, where the rules of humanity are called into question by two warring cities. After their devastating journey from the Anchor to Sophia, Clive and Clover Hamill, Gemma Poplin, and Paz Dedios have all been separated—not only physically, but philosophically. In the Anchor, Clive would like nothing better than to never speak with Paz again, but when he is tapped to help with her interrogation, the two of them begin to reconcile their differences, which don't run nearly as deep as they expected. In Sophia, as Clover learns more and more about the city and its enigmatic director, Zeno, his faith in his mission begins to waver. And Gemma embarks on a journey of self-discovery and spiritual expansion that will open her eyes…if it doesn't kill her first. In Slow Burn, the second book in the Anchor & Sophia trilogy, these four young people will be compelled to question everything they thought they believed—and the conclusions they reach could determine the fate of an entire civilization."

Tommy Wallach (Author), Corey Brill, Gibson Frazier, Joy Osmanski, Julia Whelan (Narrator)

Audiobook

Pulp

"In 1955, eighteen-year-old Janet Jones keeps the love she shares with her best friend Marie a secret. It’s not easy being gay in Washington, DC, in the age of McCarthyism, but when she discovers a series of books about women falling in love with other women, it awakens something in Janet. As she juggles a romance she must keep hidden and a newfound ambition to write and publish her own story, she risks exposing herself—and Marie—to a danger all too real. Sixty-two years later, Abby Zimet can’t stop thinking about her senior project and its subject—classic 1950s lesbian pulp fiction. Between the pages of her favorite book, the stresses of Abby’s own life are lost to the fictional hopes, desires and tragedies of the characters she’s reading about. She feels especially connected to one author, a woman who wrote under the pseudonym “Marian Love,” and becomes determined to track her down and discover her true identity. In this novel told in dual narratives, New York Times bestselling author Robin Talley weaves together the lives of two young women connected across generations through the power of words. A stunning story of bravery, love, how far we’ve come and how much farther we have to go."

Robin Talley (Author), Stephanie Cannon (Narrator)

Audiobook

How She Died, How I Lived

"Girl in Pieces meets The Way I Used to Be in this poignant and thought-provoking novel about a girl who must overcome her survivor's guilt after a fellow classmate is brutally murdered. I was one of five. The five girls Kyle texted that day. The girls it could have been. Only Jamie--beautiful, saintly Jamie--was kind enough to respond. And it got her killed. On the eve of Kyle's sentencing a year after Jamie's death, all the other 'chosen ones' are coping in various ways. But our tenacious narrator is full of anger, stuck somewhere between the horrifying past and the unknown future as she tries to piece together why she gets to live, while Jamie is dead. Now she finds herself drawn to Charlie, Jamie's boyfriend--knowing all the while that their relationship will always be haunted by what-ifs and why-nots. Is hope possible in the face of such violence? Is forgiveness? How do you go on living when you know it could have been you instead?"

Mary Crockett (Author), Bailey Carr (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Incredible True Story of the Making of the Eve of Destruction

"Arkansas, 1984: The town of Griffin Flat is known for almost nothing other than its nuclear missile silos. MAD-Mutually Assured Destruction-is a fear every local lives with and tries to ignore. Unfortunately that's impossible now that film moguls have picked Griffin Flat as the location for a new nuclear holocaust movie, aptly titled The Eve of Destruction. When sixteen-year-old Laura Ratliff wins a walk-on role (with a plus-one!) thanks to a radio call-in contest, she is more relieved than excited. Mingling with Hollywood stars on the set of a phony nuclear war is a perfect distraction from being the only child in her real nuclear family-which has also been annihilated. Her parents are divorced, and her mother has recently remarried. Her father, an officer in the Strategic Air Command, is absent...except when he phones at odd hours to hint at an impending catastrophe. But isn't that his job? Laura's only real friend is her new stepbrother, Terrence. She picks him as her plus-one for the film shoot, enraging her fair-weather friends. But their anger is nothing compared to what happens on set after the scripted nuclear explosion. Because nobody seems to know if a real nuclear bomb has detonated or not."

Amy Brashear (Author), Amielynn Abellera (Narrator)

Audiobook