This summer, SYNC will be providing two free teen audiobooks each week from May 5th to August 11th. Each week will focus on a specific theme, pairing a classic YA title with a more modern YA title. This week starts Thursday, July 7th with Symphony For the City Of The Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad
M.T. Anderson narrates his own extensively researched work in a gentle, emphatic tenor, simultaneously methodical and sympathetic. Although his discussion focuses on Shostakovich’s personal experiences, Anderson incorporates a great deal of historical information, using primary sources and detailed accounts of events to give listeners an immersive account of one of Russia’s darkest periods. With a balanced, impartial tone, Anderson recounts the daily lives of Shostakovich’s friends, family, and fellow citizens amid the actions of corrupt dictators, outlining how machinations from above affected ordinary people. Anderson’s use of Shostakovich’s music and his thorough, direct approach as an author and narrator make this an immersive listen for music and history enthusiasts alike. The library owns the book version of this title.
Chris Weitz’s postapocalyptic adventure is a gritty, taut, and unexpectedly funny gem, made even more engrossing by expert narration. A mysterious Sickness has changed New York into a haunting alien world, and those remaining have banded into tribes for survival. But when two teenagers find a clue to a cure, they must embark on a journey into the unknown to save humankind. Jose Julian and Spencer Locke perfectly capture the brash, vibrant energy of these two youthful protagonists, timing their quips, confessions, and grousing perfectly, and creating a tense, compelling relationship that propels the plot forward. Through their eyes, the world of the story becomes a thoroughly engrossing one that readers will find hard to leave behind. The library owns this title in both book and CD formats.
These two titles will be available to download for free this week only (from 7/07 to 07/14) at the SYNC website. The theme for this week is “Restarting the world when all seems doomed.”