[Free Audiobooks] Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers & You Can’t Say That!: Writers For Young People Talk About Censorship etc. [Award-Winning 1970s History Drama & YA Storyteller Interviews]

The annual SYNC Summer of Listening program encouraging literacy among teens by giving away a themed weekly pair of audiobooks—1 modern or non-fiction, 1 classic or drama—returns for another year, courtesy of sponsor AudioFile Magazine and participating publishers.

This 1st week’s theme is “Freedom to Know”, with works focusing on the importance of access to information and freedom of expression, and obstacles placed in their way, available from Thursday April 27th through Wednesday May 3rd:

• Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers by Geoffrey Cowan, a professor at the University of Southern California, & the late Leroy Aarons, a journalist at the Washington Post who reported on the original story, read by a full cast from L. A. Theatre Works. This is an historical docudrama, recorded from a performance in front of a live audience, about The Washington Post newspaper’s struggle with U.S. President Richard Nixon’s administration over the publication of the Pentagon Papers, documents detailing the extent of the government’s actions in the Vietnam War, previously unknown to the public. The audiobook recording for this was a winner of the Earphones Award, and the play itself won the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Gold Award.
• You Can’t Say That!!: Writers for Young People Talk about Censorship, Free Expression, and the Stories They Have to Tell compiled and edited by Leonard S. Marcus, read by an assorted cast from Brilliance Audio/Candlewick. This audiobook uses actors to reenact interviews between the editor and 13 writers of controversial books for kids and young adults, including notable authors of prize-winning vintage and modern YA classics like Katherine Paterson (Bridge to Terabithia) and Angie Thomas (The Hate U Give) and bestsellers such as David Levithan.

The freebies are available via Overdrive’s Sora service (listenable via browser on their website, or via their mobile app for iOS & Android devices).

To claim them, you’ll need to register on the SYNC website with a valid email address to use in a Sora account, using the setup code and directions in the instructions in SYNC’s FAQ (no need to re-register if you’ve participated in previous years’ giveaways), clicking “Borrow” to add them to your Sora library as a permanent loan. NB: if you need to free up space on your device later, follow the instructions in the FAQ to only “delete files” and DO NOT “Return” the title, which would remove your future access.

Offered worldwide through Wednesday May 3rd until just before midnight Eastern Time, available via the Sora website and app. You can also browse AudioFile Magazine’s planned season list to see what will be offered in the weeks ahead and if there’s anything you’d especially like to get.

[Free Audiobooks] The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork & Tevye the Milkman by Sholem Aleichem [Award-Nominated YA Mental Health Drama & 19th C Classic Literature Musical Inspiration]

The annual SYNC Summer of Listening program continues, promoting literacy among teens by giving away YA-friendly weekly paired audiobooks—1 modern, 1 classic/drama performance—free for a limited time courtesy of the the participating publishers and sponsor AudioFile Magazine.

This 16th and final week’s selections, available through Wednesday August 17th, have a theme of “People We Meet on the Way”, featuring stories centred upon the meaningful encounters characters have with strangers:

• The Memory of Light by award-winning Mexican-American author Francisco X. Stork, read by Frankie Corzo from Scholastic Audiobooks. This is a YA contemporary drama/journey of self-discovery novel starring a teenaged girl who chooses to seek treatment in a Mental Disorders Ward in the wake of a failed suicide attempt, attempting to find reasons to continue living as she gets to know the other patients and staff at the hospital. This novel was a longlist Commended Title for the 2017 Américas Award promoting children’s and YA books with a focus on Latino-related topics, as well as a Top 100 title for the American Library Association’s annual lists of Best Fiction for Young Adults and Amazing Audioboks for Young Adults in this audio performance.

• Tevye the Milkman by Sholem Aleichem, a 19th century Yiddish-language author from the area which is now Ukraine, read by Neville Jason, from Naxos Audiobooks. This is a themed collection of his vintage classic short stories from the late 19th century, which formed the basis of a later stage play that was adapted into the enduringly popular musical “Fiddler on the Roof”. These are the tales of the daily life of a pious Jewish dairyman in a small village in the Russian empire, and the trials and tribulations he endures as the patriarch of an large and unruly family in a time of religious prejudice and change due to outside influences.

The freebies are claimed via the Overdrive Sora app for iOS & Android or directly via the Sora website. You’ll need to register just once with a valid email address and the signup code provided via the front page of the promotion and follow the instructions on the FAQ page to “Borrow” each week’s featured selections for a permanent loan you can listen to anytime via online streaming on all devices or download for just the apps. NB: if you need to free up space on your device later, be sure to follow the FAQ instructions to ONLY delete the downloaded files and NOT “Return” which would remove your future access.

Offered free worldwide through Wednesday August 17th (until just before midnight Eastern Time), available directly from the Sora website and apps. I hope you’ve enjoyed another year of the SYNC Summer of Listening giveaway and listening to whichever titles you decided to get.

[Free Audiobooks] As Fast as Her: Dream Big, Break Barriers, Achieve Success by Kendall Coyne & City Boy: The Adventures of Herbie Bookbinder by Herman Wouk [Olympic Hockey YA Memoir & 1920s Historical Coming of Age]

The annual SYNC Summer of Listening program continues, promoting literacy among teens by giving away YA-friendly weekly paired audiobooks—1 modern, 1 classic/drama performance—free for a limited time courtesy of the the participating publishers and sponsor AudioFile Magazine.

This 15th week’s featured selections, free through Wednesday August 10th, have a theme of “Believe, Become”, showcasing stories both real life and fictional about being yourself and working to realize your goals:

• As Fast as Her: Dream Big, Break Barriers, Achieve Success by Olympic gold medal-winning athlete Kendall Coyne with Estelle Laure, with a foreword by pioneering tennis champion Billie Jean King, read by the author herself, from HarperCollins’ Zonderkidz imprint. This is a YA-level autobiography/memoir of the author’s determination since her childhood years to become an ice hockey player with the support of her family, despite financial hardships and other setbacks including multiple injuries, eventually receiving assorted awards and joining Team USA to win silver and later gold during the Winter Olympics, as well as her ongoing advocacy for more opportunities for girls and women in the sport.
• City Boy: The Adventures of Herbie Bookbinder by the late Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Herman Wouk, read by Peter Berkrot, from Tantor Media. This is his vintage 1948 semi-autobiographical coming of age literary fiction novel, set during the spring and summer of 1928 in New York as a slightly misfit 11 year old Jewish boy longing to fit in with his peer group finishes the school year and goes on to summer camp, with assorted experiences and escapades in and outside of his Bronx neighbourhood which help shape his character, and was loosely adapted into a 1951 film, according to its Wikipedia entry.

The freebies are claimed via the Overdrive Sora app for iOS & Android or directly via the Sora website. You’ll need to register just once with a valid email address and the signup code provided via the front page of the promotion and follow the instructions on the FAQ page to “Borrow” each week’s featured selections for a permanent loan you can listen to anytime via online streaming on all devices or download for just the apps. NB: if you need to free up space on your device later, be sure to follow the FAQ instructions to ONLY delete the downloaded files and NOT “Return” which would remove your future access.

Offered free worldwide through Wednesday August 10th (until just before midnight Eastern Time), available directly from the Sora website and apps, and you can sneak peek the upcoming featured selections to see if there’s anything you’d be particularly interested in.

[Free eBooks] 28 Days: A Novel of Resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto by David Safier & The White Rose: Munich 1942-1943 by Inge Scholl [Award-Winning YA WWII Historical Fiction & History]

The annual SYNC Summer of Listening program continues, promoting literacy among teens by giving away YA-friendly weekly paired audiobooks—1 modern, 1 classic/drama performance—free for a limited time courtesy of the the participating publishers and sponsor AudioFile Magazine.

This 14th week’s featured selections, free through Wednesday August 3rd, have a theme of “Resistance”, focusing on fiction and non-fiction about individuals of varying backgrounds caught up in World War II, in groups targeted for different reasons:

• 28 Days: A Novel of Resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto by award-winning German author David Safier, translated by Helen McCormac and read by Amanda Dolan from Recorded Books. This is a YA historical novel centred around the everyday life of a Jewish teenager as she tries to survive the Warsaw Ghetto. The novel won the Buxtehude Bull award for youth literature, and is dedicated to the author’s grandparents who were also forced to experience life in a wartime ghetto.

• The White Rose: Munich 1942-1943 by the late German activist Inge Scholl, translated by Arthur R. Schultz with an introduction by the late German theologian Dorothee Sölle, and read by Elizabeth Wiley, Heather Henderson, and a supporting cast from Post Hypnotic Press. This is her vintage 1952 history/memoir of the White Rose resistance group of German university students protesting the Nazi regime, of which her younger brother and sister were key members, leading to the family’s arrest. A full cast provides additional narration to excerpts from period leaflets and postwar commentary, as well as the words of the young protestors.

The freebies are claimed via the Overdrive Sora app for iOS & Android or directly via the Sora website. You’ll need to register just once with a valid email address and the signup code provided via the front page of the promotion and follow the instructions on the FAQ page to “Borrow” each week’s featured selections for a permanent loan you can listen to anytime via online streaming on all devices or download for just the apps. NB: if you need to free up space on your device later, be sure to follow the FAQ instructions to ONLY delete the downloaded files and NOT “Return” which would remove your future access.

Offered free worldwide through Wednesday August 3rd (until just before midnight Eastern Time), available directly from the Sora website and apps, and you can sneak peek the upcoming featured selections to see if there’s anything you’d be particularly interested in.

[Free Audiobooks] Sisters of the Snake by Sarena Nanua & Sasha Nanua & Yesterday is History by Kosoko Jackson [Award-Winning YA Fantasy & LGBT Time Travel Romance]

The annual SYNC Summer of Listening program continues, promoting literacy among teens by giving away YA-friendly weekly paired audiobooks—1 modern, 1 classic/drama performance—free for a limited time courtesy of the the participating publishers and sponsor AudioFile Magazine.

This 13th week’s featured selections, free through Wednesday July 27th, have a theme of “Outsiders”, focusing on youths discovering themselves when thrust into a new roles in unexpected situations with a fantastic element:

• Sisters of the Snake by Sarena Nanua & Sasha Nanua, read by Soneela Nankani from Harper Audio. This is the 1st novel in their YA fantasy series in a magical historical India-inspired setting, co-starring a sheltered princess yearning for freedom and an orphaned street urchin of strikingly similar appearance. The story sees them meeting and making a bargain to switch places, as you do, and finding in their new roles the obligatory dangers against which they must team up to save the land. This audiobook performance was a winner of AudioFile Magazine’s own Earphones Award.

• Yesterday is History by Kosoko Jackson, read by Ron Butler from Dreamscape. The story is a YA m/m contemporary time travel romance, as in the wake of a much-needed liver transplant which unexpectedly granted him mysterious powers, a black teen finds himself slipping between two lives and two loves, one in present-day Boston, and one in 1969.

The freebies are claimed via the Overdrive Sora app for iOS & Android or directly via the Sora website. You’ll need to register just once with a valid email address and the signup code provided via the front page of the promotion and follow the instructions on the FAQ page to “Borrow” each week’s featured selections for a permanent loan you can listen to anytime via online streaming on all devices or download for just the apps. NB: if you need to free up space on your device later, be sure to follow the FAQ instructions to ONLY delete the downloaded files and NOT “Return” which would remove your future access.

Offered free worldwide through Wednesday July 27th (until just before midnight Eastern Time), available directly from the Sora website and apps, and you can sneak peek the upcoming featured selections to see if there’s anything you’d be particularly interested in.

[Free Audiobooks] Paradise Lost by John Milton & The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep: Voices from the Donner Party by Allan Wolf [Award-Winning Classic 17th C Poetry & YA 19th C Historical Tragedy]

The annual SYNC Summer of Listening program continues, promoting literacy among teens by giving away YA-friendly weekly paired audiobooks—1 modern, 1 classic/drama performance—free for a limited time courtesy of the the participating publishers and sponsor AudioFile Magazine.

This 12th week’s featured selections, free through Wednesday July 20th, have a theme of “Epic Stories”, told in the form of verse, focusing on a classic mythological event and a tragic historical event, respectively:

• Paradise Lost by John Milton, read by Simon Vance from Tantor Media. The story is the 17th century poet’s classic recounting the biblical war in heaven and fall of man, as Satan decides to tempt Adam and Eve in the aftermath of the banishment of the rebellious fallen angels, and the source of the common quotation about it being better to reign in hell than serve in heaven. This audiobook recording was a winner of AudioFile Magazine’s own Earphones Award.

• The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep: Voices from the Donner Party by Allan Wolf, read by Bahni Turpin and a full cast from Brilliance Audio/Candlewick. This is a YA book-in-verse dramatized retelling of the historical true crime tragedy of the Donner Party, a group of mid-19th century pioneers attempting to migrate from Missouri to California, who became snowbound for months in an inaccessible mountain pass and resorting to extreme measures to survive, using multiple actors to give the perspectives of the various individuals caught up in the terrible ensuing events, amidst the overarching narrative.

The freebies are claimed via the Overdrive Sora app for iOS & Android or directly via the Sora website. You’ll need to register just once with a valid email address and the signup code provided via the front page of the promotion and follow the instructions on the FAQ page to “Borrow” each week’s featured selections for a permanent loan you can listen to anytime via online streaming on all devices or download for just the apps. NB: if you need to free up space on your device later, be sure to follow the FAQ instructions to ONLY delete the downloaded files and NOT “Return” which would remove your future access.

Offered free worldwide through Wednesday July 20th (until just before midnight Eastern Time), available directly from the Sora website and apps, and you can sneak peek the upcoming featured selections to see if there’s anything you’d be particularly interested in.

[Free Audiobooks] Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson & We Were Kings by Court Stevens [YA Mystery/Thriller]

The annual SYNC Summer of Listening program continues, promoting literacy among teens by giving away YA-friendly weekly paired audiobooks—1 modern, 1 classic/drama performance—free for a limited time courtesy of the the participating publishers and sponsor AudioFile Magazine.

This 11th week’s featured selections, free through Wednesday July 13th, have a theme of “Crime and Crime Again”, with twisty stories about unexpected secrets and surprising revelations as plucky teens attempt to uncover the truth:

• Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson, read by Kate Rudd from Harper Audio. This is the 1st novel in the popular eponymous YA contemporary mystery trilogy, starring a quirky student at an elite boarding school, who’s a true crime aficionado determined to solve an old kidnapping and murder case that happened decades ago on the campus. NB: this apparently has a cliffhanger ending which leads into the 2nd book.

• We Were Kings by Court Stevens, read by McKenzie Fetters from Thomas Nelson (a HarperCollins imprint). The story is a contemporary YA thriller/family drama in which a girl discovers something that makes her question her true place in her wealthy family while also helping her mother, who’s racing against the clock in an attempt to save an old friend on death row for a crime she claims she didn’t commit. NB: the AudioFile review/synopsis seems to give away one of the probable surprise discoveries in the plot.

The freebies are claimed via the Overdrive Sora app for iOS & Android or directly via the Sora website. You’ll need to register just once with a valid email address and the signup code provided via the front page of the promotion and follow the instructions on the FAQ page to “Borrow” each week’s featured selections for a permanent loan you can listen to anytime via online streaming on all devices or download for just the apps. NB: if you need to free up space on your device later, be sure to follow the FAQ instructions to ONLY delete the downloaded files and NOT “Return” which would remove your future access.

Offered free worldwide through Wednesday July 13th (until just before midnight Eastern Time), available directly from the Sora website and apps, and you can sneak peek the upcoming featured selections to see if there’s anything you’d be particularly interested in.

[Free Audiobooks] Mississippi Trial, 1955 by Chris Crowe & This is My America by Kim Johnson [Award-Winning YA Historical Fiction]

The annual SYNC Summer of Listening program continues, promoting literacy among teens by giving away YA-friendly weekly paired audiobooks—1 modern, 1 classic/drama performance—free for a limited time courtesy of the the participating publishers and sponsor AudioFile Magazine.

This 10th week’s featured selections, free through Wednesday July 6th, have a theme of “Justice for All”, with stories showcasing casual and systemic inequality as seen from both sides of racial divisions in the US:

• Mississippi Trial, 1955 by Chris Crowe, an award-winning professor of English at Brigham Young University, read by Victor Bevine from Listening Library. This is a YA historical novel centred around a teenaged white boy from Arizona visiting his grandfather in Mississippi, who is horrified to discover that a childhood friend may have been involved in the real-life murder of black 14 year old Emmett Till, and gradually begins to notice the deep-seated racism in his former hometown community as the trial unfolds. This won the 2003 International Reading Association Children’s Book Award for Young Adult Fiction, the Jefferson Cup Award for best US historical fiction, as well as being featured on the American Library Association’s annual list of Best Books for Young Adults.

• This is My America by Kim Johnson, read by Bahni Turpin from Listening Library. This is a YA contemporary novel centred around a teenaged black girl in Texas whose family, already trying to maintain hope in the face of her innocent father facing a death sentence, is further stressed when her track star brother is accused of killing a white girl. The audiobook performance of this was a winner of AudioFile Magazine’s own Earphone Awards as well as making the American Library Association’s Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults 2021 list, and the print book was also an ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults selection.

The freebies are claimed via the Overdrive Sora app for iOS & Android or directly via the Sora website. You’ll need to register just once with a valid email address and the signup code provided via the front page of the promotion and follow the instructions on the FAQ page to “Borrow” each week’s featured selections for a permanent loan you can listen to anytime via online streaming on all devices or download for just the apps. NB: if you need to free up space on your device later, be sure to follow the FAQ instructions to ONLY delete the downloaded files and NOT “Return” which would remove your future access.

Offered free worldwide through Wednesday July 6th (until just before midnight Eastern Time), available directly from the Sora website and apps, and you can sneak peek the upcoming featured selections to see if there’s anything you’d be particularly interested in.

[Free Audiobooks] Fence: Striking Distance by Sarah Rees Brennan & Honestly Ben by Bill Konigsberg [Award-Winning YA LGBT Sport & School Drama]

The annual SYNC Summer of Listening program continues, promoting literacy among teens by giving away YA-friendly weekly paired audiobooks—1 modern, 1 classic/drama performance—free for a limited time courtesy of the the participating publishers and sponsor AudioFile Magazine.

This 9th week’s featured selections, free through Wednesday June 29th, have a theme of “Take Pride”, featuring school-aged LGBT characters balancing the search for self-identity with the desire to fit in among peer groups:

• Fence: Striking Distance by Sarah Rees Brennan, read by Will Collyer from Hachette Audio. This is an original tie-in novel to C. S. Pacat’s Fence graphic novel series of YA LGBT sports drama centred around a high school fencing team, and this story stars the illegitimate son of an Olympic fencer from a poor background, struggling to fit in amongst his more privileged peers as they do team-building exercises to improve in competition against another school.

• Honestly Ben by Bill Konigsberg, read by Dan Bitter from Scholastic Audiobooks. This is a sequel to a previous YA LGBT social drama novel, Openly Straight, now giving the spotlight to a secondary character in the aftermath, as the titular character struggles with with lingering questions about his own identity and sexual orientation, as well as navigating other relationships with his relatives and peers at the elite boarding school to which he’s earned a scholarship. This audiobook reading was a winner of AudioFile Magazine’s own Earphone Awards.

The freebies are claimed via the Overdrive Sora app for iOS & Android or directly via the Sora website. You’ll need to register just once with a valid email address and the signup code provided via the front page of the promotion and follow the instructions on the FAQ page to “Borrow” each week’s featured selections for a permanent loan you can listen to anytime via online streaming on all devices or download for just the apps. NB: if you need to free up space on your device later, be sure to follow the FAQ instructions to ONLY delete the downloaded files and NOT “Return” which would remove your future access.

Offered free worldwide through Wednesday June 29th (until just before midnight Eastern Time), available directly from the Sora website and apps, and you can sneak peek the upcoming featured selections to see if there’s anything you’d be particularly interested in.

[Free Audiobooks] Paradise by Laura Maria Censabella & Caprice of Fate by Christopher L. Bennett [Award-Winning YA Drama Play & Sci-Fi Superhero Novel]

The annual SYNC Summer of Listening program continues, promoting literacy among teens by giving away YA-friendly weekly paired audiobooks—1 modern, 1 classic/nonfiction/drama performance—free for a limited time courtesy of the the participating publishers and sponsor AudioFile Magazine.

This 7th week’s featured selections, free through Wednesday June 15th, have a theme of “Theater Tickets”, focusing on dramatic audio performances showcasing the interaction between actors and stories:

• Paradise by Laura Maria Censabella, performed by Medalion Rahimi & Jeff Marlow from L. A. Theatre Works. This is a YA contemporary drama play in L. A. Theatre Works’ science-themed Relativity Series, exploring the complex relationship between a shy but intense Muslim teen student and her middle-aged high school science teacher as they work to design an experiment together, exploring assorted cultural and generational issues along the way. This audio performance received Audio File Magazine’s own Earphones Award.

• Caprice of Fate by Christopher L. Bennett, read by Richard Rohan, Elaine Yuko Qualter, Bianca Bryan, and a full cast from GraphicAudio. This is the 1st novel in the Tangent Knights series of superhero science fiction action adventure, set in a futuristic Earth arcology dominated by a tech conglomerate, where a college student Japanese tokusatsu show superfan finds herself turning superhero and fighting with her new teammate friends against multiversal cyborg creatures and their surprising backer. This was also an Earphones Award winner.

The freebies are claimed via the Overdrive Sora app for iOS & Android or directly via the Sora website. You’ll need to register just once with a valid email address and the signup code provided via the front page of the promotion and follow the instructions on the FAQ page to “Borrow” each week’s featured selections for a permanent loan you can listen to anytime via online streaming on all devices or download for just the apps. NB: if you need to free up space on your device later, be sure to follow the FAQ instructions to ONLY delete the downloaded files and NOT “Return” which would remove your future access.

Offered free worldwide through Wednesday June 15th (until just before midnight Eastern Time), available directly from the Sora website and apps, and you can sneak peek the upcoming featured selections to see if there’s anything you’d be particularly interested in.