Astoria Bookshop Staff Picks - Young Readers

The Poet X

By: Elizabeth Acevedo
Narrated by: Elizabeth Acevedo
Length: 3 hours 30 minutes

“The Poet X is written and narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo. It is a novel made up of poems by a teenager, Xiomara Batista, growing up in Harlem. Acevedo's narration is wonderful and brings the story to life. Xiomara's dad is MIA even though he lives at home; her mother is extremely religious and pushes her faith onto her daughter; her twin brother... Read more

Monday's Not Coming

By: Tiffany D. Jackson
Narrated by: Imani Parks
Length: 10 hours 6 minutes

“My heart ached as the teenaged protagonist Claudia struggled to make sense of why her best friend Monday is simply gone. As Claudia reaches out to peers and adults again and again, you can feel her frustration with things out of her control. The actor on the audio book was a perfect choice to narrate. The book serves as an important reminder... Read more

The Light Between Worlds

By: Laura E. Weymouth
Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham & Moira Quirk
Length: 9 hours 34 minutes

What happens when you return to the real world after being in a fantastical one like Narnia? This YA debut by Laura E. Weymouth is perfect for fans of Melissa Albert’s The Hazel Wood and Lev Grossman’s The Magicians.Six years ago, sisters Evelyn and Philippa Hapwell were swept away to a strange and beautiful kingdom called the Woodlands, where... Read more

All We Can Do is Wait

By: Richard Lawson
Narrated by: Holly Linneman
Length: 9 hours 19 minutes

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... Read more

The Serpent's Secret

Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond: Book #1

By: Sayantani DasGupta
Narrated by: Sayantani DasGupta
Length: 8 hours 14 minutes

A new middle-grade fantasy series packed with action and adventure, perfect for fans of Rick Riordan and Soman Chainani. MEET KIRANMALA: INTERDIMENSIONAL DEMON SLAYER (Only she doesn't know it yet.) On the morning of her twelfth birthday, Kiranmala is just a regular sixth grader living in Parsippany, New Jersey . . . until her parents... Read more

City of Ghosts (City of Ghosts #1)

City of Ghosts

By: Victoria Schwab
Length: 5 hours 1 minute

From #1 NYT bestselling author Victoria Schwab comes a sweeping, spooky, evocative adventure, perfect for fans of "Stranger Things" and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.Ever since Cass almost drowned (okay, she did drown, but she doesn't like to think about it), she can pull back the Veil that separates the living from the dead... Read more

The Hazel Wood

A Novel

The Hazel Wood: Book #1

By: Melissa Albert
Narrated by: Rebecca Soler & James Fouhey
Length: 10 hours 30 minutes

“What happens when fairy tales mix with reality? What happens when those fairy tales aren't all happy endings? Alice experiences this first hand in the novel, The Hazel Wood, by Melissa Albert. I listed through Libro.fm as Rebecca Soler narrated the tale of Alice, a teenager, constantly on the move with her mother, Ella, as bad luck always seems... Read more

I Stop Somewhere

By: TE Carter
Narrated by: Laurel Schroeder
Length: 8 hours 38 minutes

From TE Carter comes a highly-anticipated audiobook debut. I Stop Somewhere promises to keep listeners hooked from the very first track.

Ellie Frias disappeared long before she vanished.

Tormented throughout middle school, Ellie begins her freshman year with a new look: she doesn’t need to be popular; she just needs to blend in with the... Read more

Children of Blood and Bone

Legacy of Orisha: Book #1

By: Tomi Adeyemi
Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
Length: 17 hours 44 minutes

“Children of Blood & Bone, is a story told in a world where magic no longer exists. Years ago, this was not the case. Once, magic and the Gods were celebrated. Now, Diviners (those with Maji blood, but no magic) are treated poorly, and all the Maji have been killed. One of those including our main protagonist, Zélie’s, mother. Determined to... Read more

Sky in the Deep

Sky and Sea: Book #1

By: Adrienne Young
Narrated by: Khristine Hvam
Length: 8 hours 40 minutes

"Fearless in its exploration of family, forgiveness, loyalty, and love, Sky in the Deep is fierce, vivid, and violently beautiful. This book will wage a war with your heart as brutal and as bold as the battles inked in its pages." - Stephanie Garber, New York Times Bestselling author of Caraval

In her highly-anticipated debut audiobook, Adrienne... Read more

The Cruel Prince

The Folk of the Air: Book #1

By: Holly Black
Narrated by: Caitlin Kelly
Length: 12 hours 36 minutes

“I ate this trilogy right up! And in return it destroyed me (in a good way!) If you're looking for a fun fantasy read to keep you up at night with plots and scheming, you've hit the jackpot. So much fun! Read more

Emergency Contact

By: Mary H. K. Choi
Narrated by: Joy Osmanski & Jacques Roy
Length: 9 hours 6 minutes

“Smart and funny, with characters so real and vulnerable, you want to send them care packages. I loved this book.” —Rainbow Rowell

From debut author Mary H.K. Choi comes a compulsively readable novel that shows young love in all its awkward glory—perfect for fans of Eleanor & Park and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.

For Penny Lee, high... Read more

Dry

By: Neal Shusterman & Jarrod Shusterman
Narrated by: Neal Shusterman, Jarrod Shusterman, Jenni Barber, Noah Galvin, Michael Crouch & Kivlighan De Montebello
Length: 11 hours 6 minutes

“Dry by Neal Shusterman is frightening it its reality. Set in modern day California with a simple thought—what if southern California were to wake up one day, turn on the water faucet to discover that there was NO WATER in the taps. Not absurd at all. Shusterman takes us through a week of “TAP OUT” with a cast of teens in which we see the very... Read more

Merci Suárez Changes Gears

Merci Suárez: Book #1

By: Meg Medina
Narrated by: Frankie Corzo
Length: 7 hours 9 minutes

Winner of the 2019 Newbery MedalThoughtful, strong-willed sixth-grader Merci Suarez navigates difficult changes with friends, family, and everyone in between in a resonant new novel from Meg Medina.

Merci Suarez knew that sixth grade would be different, but she had no idea just how different. For starters, Merci has never been like the other kids... Read more