Tough Topics Audiobooks

Sunderworld, Vol. I: The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry

"The instant New York Times bestseller from visionary storyteller Ransom Riggs!   Weaving the familiar with the peculiar, this stunning tale of loss, triumph, friendship and magic, will remind readers everywhere that true heroes are made, not born-and when you're never the chosen one, sometimes you have to choose yourself. Seventeen-year-old Leopold Berry is seeing weird things around Los Angeles. A man who pops a tooth into a parking meter. A glowing trapdoor in a parking lot. A half-mechanical raccoon with its tail on fire that just won't leave him alone. Every hallucinatory moment seems plucked from a cheesy 1990s fantasy TV show called Max's Adventures in Sunderworld-and that's because they are.  Not a good sign. In the blurry weeks after his mother's death, a young Leopold discovered VHS tapes of its one and only season in a box headed for the trash-and soon became obsessed. Losing himself in Sunder was the best way to avoid two things: grieving his mother and being a chronic disappointment to his overbearing father. But when the strange visions return-at the worst possible time on the worst possible day-Leopold turns to his best friend Emmet for help. Together they discover that Sunder is much more than just an old TV show, and that Los Angeles is far stranger than they ever imagined. And soon, he'll realize that not only is Sunderworld real, but it's in grave danger. Certain he's finally been chosen for greatness, Leopold risks everything to claim his destiny, save the world of his childhood dreams, and prove once and for all that he's not the disappointment his father believes him to be. But when everything goes terribly, horribly, excruciatingly wrong, Leopold's disappointments prove to be more extraordinary than he ever could have imagined. How do you battle darkness when no one believes in you-not even yourself? Welcome to Sunderworld."

Ransom Riggs (Author), Kirby Heyborne (Narrator)

Audiobook

Look No Further

"The Parent Trap meets The Vanishing Half in Rioghnach Robinson and Siofra Robinson's Look No Further, a gripping YA novel about estranged siblings who meet for the first time at art camp and confront their differing experiences of race and identity. When seventeen-year-old Niko and fifteen-year-old Ali meet at Ogilvy Summer Art Institute, a selective camp for art students in New York City, they seem like complete opposites. Ali comes across as standoffish to laid-back Niko, who feels like a fish out of water surrounded by so many type-A peers. So when a teacher assigns them as pairs for a genealogy project, Ali and Niko are shocked to find they have a lot more in common than they bargained for. As the pair embark on a quest to uncover their shared history, Ali finds herself falling for her roommate—who may have already fallen for another girl at Ogilvy—and surfer-bro Niko struggles to find his footing in the glamorous NYC art scene. Soon they're both questioning their preconceptions about the world and each other. But only when they face real heartbreak can they accept the most transformative revelation of all: the best art is what you make, not just what you see."

Rioghnach Robinson, Siofra Robinson (Author), Catherine Ho, David Lee Huynh (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Deep Dark: A Graphic Novel

"From Molly Knox Ostertag, writer-illustrator of the New York Times and ABA Indie bestselling The Witch Boy trilogy and The Girl from the Sea, comes a darkly beautiful story of identity, family, love, loss, and magic. Everyone has secrets. Mags's has teeth. Magdalena Herrera is about to graduate high school, but she already feels like an adult with serious responsibilities: caring for her ailing grandmother; working a part-time job; clandestine makeouts with a girl who has a boyfriend. And then there's her secret, which pulls her into the basement each night, drains her of energy, and leaves her bleeding. A secret that could hurt and even kill if it ever got out -- like it did once before. So Mags keeps her head down, isolated in her small desert community. That is, until her childhood friend Nessa comes back to town, bringing vivid memories of the past, an intoxicating glimpse of the future, and a secret of her own. Mags won't get attached, of course. She's always been strong enough to survive without anyone's help. But when the darkness starts to close in on them both, Mags will have to drag her secret into the daylight, and choose between risking everything... or having nothing left to lose."

Molly Knox Ostertag (Author), André Santana, Annette Amelia Oliviera, Elena Rey, Eva Reign, James Fouhey, Marni Penning, Max Meyers, Rachel H. Hirsch, Roxanne Hernandez Coyne (Narrator)

Audiobook

Wicked Like a Wildfire

"Two sisters must unearth an ancient curse—before the magic that bonds them together tears them apart. All the women in Iris and Malina’s family are born with a gleam—a unique way of manipulating beauty through magic. Seventeen-year-old Iris sees flowers as fractals and turns her kaleidoscope visions into glasswork, her twin sister Malina interprets moods as music, and their cold, distant mother Jasmina bakes scenery into decadent treats at her confectionery in Old Town Cattaro, Montenegro. Jasmina forbids Iris and Malina to share their gleams with anyone, and above all, she forbids them to fall in love—being discovered could shatter the quiet lives they’ve built in their tucked away, seaside town. But Iris and Malina are tired of abiding by their mother’s rules and rebel in secret whenever they can. Yet when a mysterious, white-haired woman attacks their mother and leaves her hovering between life and death, the sisters unearth an ancient curse that haunts their line—a wicked bargain that masquerades as a blessing, and binds the twins’ fates—and hearts—to a force larger than life. To save each other, they must untangle a thousand years of lies and reveal their own hurtful secrets. But even the deepest sacrifice might not be enough. Wicked Like a Wildfire is author Lana Harper's (writing as Lana Popovic) first book in a sumptuous, bewitching duology about the power of love, death, magic, and the many faces of beauty."

Lana Harper, Lana Popović (Author), Hallie Bee Bard (Narrator)

Audiobook

Belle Morte

"There's only one way out Belle Morte. One of five houses where vampires reside as celebrities and humans are paid to be their living donors. While others came here seeking fortune, I came in search of my sister who walked into Belle Morte five months ago . . . and never walked back out. Now that I'm here, the secrets about this world have proven to be much bigger than I ever anticipated. And lurking around every corner are shocking insinuations of what happened to my sister. There's only one person who might have the answers I need, and the undeniable pull I feel toward him is terrifying: Edmond Dantès—a vampire, and my mortal enemy. The harder I try to resist him, the further I fall under his spell. And in one instant my life is irrevocably changed. My past becomes prologue, and my fate becomes sealed behind these doors. Belle Morte has spoken. And it may never let me go."

Bella Higgin (Author), Allie Rose, Stewart Crank (Narrator)

Audiobook

Jupiter Rising

"When Jack's P.E. coach pairs him up with Jay Perkins for the cross-country team, neither of them is happy about it. Jack is grieving the loss of Joseph, his foster brother, and adjusting to his role as big brother to Jupiter, Joseph’s orphaned daughter. Dealing with Jay Perkins—who'd once ganged up with his buddies to jump Joseph in the locker room—is the last thing he wants to do. But then Jack realizes that Jay is grieving too—the loss of his cousin Maddie, Jupiter’s mom. As Jack's relationships with both Jay and Jupiter grow and his running improves, he starts to feel more like himself than he has since Joseph died. He's finding his stride . . . until Maddie’s parents, who have never shown interest in their granddaughter before, decide to claim Jupiter as their own, blocking Jack’s family from adopting her. And suddenly Jack’s past and present smash together, threatening to dissolve both his newfound confidence and his friendships. This poignant, powerful companion to Orbiting Jupiter is Gary D. Schmidt at his best. He is the author of the Printz Honor and Newbery Honor Book Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy; Okay for Now, a National Book Award finalist; and The Wednesday Wars, a Newbery Honor Book, among many acclaimed novels for young readers."

Gary D. Schmidt (Author), Christopher Gebauer (Narrator)

Audiobook

Fierce Like a Firestorm

"In the bewitching conclusion to Lana Popovic’s sumptuous and romantic teen fantasy duology, perfect for fans of Holly Black and Leigh Bardugo, Malina must rescue her twin sister from a magical power more dangerous than Death. Twin sisters Iris and Malina thought they knew how to reverse the ancient curse that haunts their line, the spell that destines them to use their gleams—unique forms of beauty-manipulating magic—to entice and enchant none other than Death himself. But both sisters thought wrong. Instead of ending the wicked bargain with the power of her infinite bloom, Iris is taken to an uncanny realm between this world and the next. Only unlike all of Death’s companions before, Iris’s body goes on the one-way journey along with her soul, arriving in a kingdom never meant to sustain a living girl. Left behind, Lina searches for a way to save Iris. But as Lina unearths the dark secrets that bind her family and Iris tries to outwit Death on his own terrain, a power resurfaces that even Mara, the original witch mother, fears. Now both sisters must learn to fully embrace their gleams—or else they’ll truly lose each other forever."

Lana Harper, Lana Popović (Author), Hallie Bee Bard (Narrator)

Audiobook

Portrait of a Shadow

"INEZ IS MISSING, BUT MISSING THINGS CAN ALWAYS BE FOUND. Mae knows this as fact, even though the police investigation has come to a standstill, even though her parents are moving on. But when she goes to clear out her older sister’s studio, Mae finds a mess of research and an old white canvas set in an ornate gold frame. The closer Mae gets to the canvas, the more difficult it becomes to pull her eyes away from its mottled surface. Its heavy layer of white paint. The peeling top corner she’s tempted to pull to see what’s beneath. But she doesn’t. Not yet. Mae is certain that Inez’s disappearance is connected to the painting. With the help of a strange, beautiful boy who says he’s Inez’s neighbor, she decides to retrace her sister’s steps. So begins a scavenger hunt for what Inez left behind. One that leads to centuries-old questions best left unasked and secrets best kept in the shadows. From the author of A Guide to the Dark comes another romantic and eerie mystery about the lengths we are willing to go for the truth and the ones we love. “Metoui weaves in so many twists and turns, mystery fans will be frantically turning the page to see what comes next.”—Sara Farizan, author of Dead Flip"

Meriam Metoui (Author), Ramiz Monsef (Narrator)

Audiobook

Shackled: A Tale of Wronged Kids, Rogue Judges, and a Town that Looked Away

"Beginning in the early 2000s, Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan exerted a mighty influence over the workings of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Under their guidance a stern warning aimed at young people spread throughout the county: follow the rules. A simple misstep could result in severe punishment. In the post-Columbine era, many believed this type of old-school discipline was just what juveniles needed to stay on the straight and narrow path. However, as more and more kids and teens received shocking sentences for seemingly minor offenses, a disturbing pattern of corruption and lies began to emerge. With original reporting and extensive new research from Pulitzer Prize finalist Candy J. Cooper, Shackled chronicles the infamous kids-for-cash scandal, where the scales of justice were deliberately tipped to fill prison beds and line the pockets of those sworn to uphold the law."

Candy J. Cooper (Author), Beth Hicks (Narrator)

Audiobook

House of Thorns

"In the vein of The Haunting of Hill House, a teen returns to the mysterious house from her past to search for her missing sister and uncover the truth of Brier Hall in this atmospheric and eerie modern gothic novel. Lia Peartree is haunted—by memories, by her past, by secrets, by the ones she left behind. Five years ago, the Peartrees fled their home—the infamous ancestral Brier Hall—and never looked back. But her oldest sister went missing that night, and there's been no sign of her since. In the aftermath, the Peartrees are traumatized and get by however they can. Lia's remaining sister Ali says yes to any bad idea, and Lia tries so desperately to be the perfect daughter that it's tearing her apart. But as the five year anniversary of the night they left nears, Lia begins seeing her missing sister everywhere, and memories of Brier Hall won't leave her alone. When Ali disappears with no warning except a cryptic phone call—'don't follow me when I'm gone'—Lia is sure she's gone back to Brier Hall. Lia must go home one final time and face what haunts her in an effort to find her sisters and uncover the truth of her past."

Isabel Strychacz (Author), Candace Fitzgerald (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Forgotten Memories of Vera Glass

"A mind-bending YA novel about a world where everyone has a bit of magic in them—but some magic is being used to change the world in unspeakable ways Vera has a nagging feeling that she's forgetting something. Not her keys or her homework—something bigger. Or someone. When she discovers her best friend Riven is experiencing the same strange feeling, they set out on a mission to uncover what's going on. Everyone in Vera's world has a special ability—a little bit of magic that helps them through the day. Perhaps someone's ability is interfering with their memory? Or is something altering their very reality? Vera and Riven intend to fix it and get back whatever or whomever they've lost. But how do you find the truth when you can't even remember what you're looking for in the first place? The Forgotten Memories of Vera Glass is a cleverly constructed, heartbreaking, and compelling contemporary YA novel with a slight fantasy twist about memory, love, grief, and the invisible bonds that tie us to each other."

Anna Priemaza (Author), Ellie Gossage (Narrator)

Audiobook

[German] - Sex - Mit nackten Tatsachen durch unsere Kulturgeschichte (ungekuerzt)

"Hat deine Ur-Ur-Uroma eigentlich schon an Sex gedacht? Klar, denn sonst wärst du heute wahrscheinlich nicht hier! Sicher hat sie anders geflirtet als die heutige Jugend. Aber die Menschen waren früher längst nicht so prüde, wie wir manchmal denken. Liebe, Sex und nackte Körper gab es schon immer. Aber wie darüber gesprochen, gemalt und geurteilt wurde, das verändert sich im Lauf der Geschichte immer wieder. Die Ethnologin Elin Hägg nimmt uns mit auf eine erstaunliche Reise durch die (abendländische) Geschichte der Ideen, Religionen und Machtverhältnisse - immer in Bezug auf deren Auswirkungen auf das Sexleben. Eins wird dabei ganz klar: Unser Umgang damit ist immer im Wandel - und das ist gut so!"

Elin Hägg (Author), Beatrix Hermens, Lydia Herms, Thorsten Giese (Narrator)

Audiobook