Teens Archives - AudiobooksNow Blog

Loyalty, Love and Determination…”A Dog’s Way Home”, by W. Bruce Cameron

We have all heard miraculous stories about lost animals who traveled miles and miles to get back to their owners, but American author, W. Bruce Cameron, has created an entire novel on the premise of one mixed breed dog going to great lengths to return to her person. It demonstrates loyalty and focused determination.

The main human character, Lucas Ray is walking on one ordinary day, when a sweet puppy literally lands in his arms as it falls from a building. Lucas loves animals, and decides to take a chance on letting the puppy, who he has named Bella, live with he and his mother in their apartment. Of course, their apartment does not allow pets. But Lucas Mother, a disabled veteran, is so happy to see the new addition.

Alas, Bella, a pit bull mix, gets picked by Animal Control and is sent to a foster family over 400 miles away from Arizona. The VA patients where Lucas works were very sad to see Bella moved so far away. It is a well documented fact that the human-animal bond is very beneficial to both human and animal. Bella and her human both miss each other very much.

A Dog’s Way Home is beautifully narrated and presents a charming story of Bella, a dog who is facing and overcoming great challenges to find her way back to her person, Lucas! A bonus story within the story is about a plan to help provide shelter for feral cats. Author Cameron is an animal supporter and master at keeping the reader entertained and surprised at what happens next! This second book about Dogs has also been produced as a full feature movie.

Get your digital audio copy today!!

From Where The Force Awakens Ended, to…”The Last Jedi” begins…by Jason Fry

Star Wars fans have been very surprised at their own delight in reading the official adaptation of Star Wars: The Last Jedi by author Jason Fry. With the input from director Rian Johnson, the author expands on the film by including scenes from unused portions of the script and other content. And so begins another threat to the Empire and the galaxy’s freedom by the evil First Order.

The novel has been described as reading like a real book, and much better than the book created from The Force Awakens. It gives the reader the sense of something new, even though you already know the source for most of the story.

The heroes in the story provide a good example by admitting their mistakes, and better yet, learning from them. A great theme for all readers, but especially young readers. All the characters……Snoke, Hux, Luke, Ben Solo, Leia, and Rey…..were captured beautifully and emotionally in the new, untouched scenes crafted by the consulting director.

“Where the action of Star Wars: The Force Awakens ended, Star Wars: The Last Jedi begins, as the battle between light and dark climbs to astonishing new heights”.

Get your digital audio copy today!!!

A Fantastic Voyage in Believing That There is GOOD in the World…”A Wrinkle In Time”, by Madeleine L’Engle

What would you do if your scientist father was experimenting with a fifth dimension, then suddenly disappeared? You would, of course, try to find your father by whatever means possible. For Meg Murry, her brother Charles Wallace, and her friend Calvin, the time had come to rescue Mr. Murry from whatever dimension had grabbed him. Author L’Engle is well into her 80’s, but those who have met her say she is spirited, engaging, challenging and very sharp for any age. She autographed one reader’s copy of A Wrinkle in Time by inscribing…….with love and a flourish, “ananda”! The ending word loosely means bliss or joy. What an amazing comment by such a spirited author.

Creativity is the central word to describe this book. From its wonderful names, such as Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, Mrs. Witch who were lively supernatural neighbors. Then, there is the lovely Aunt Beast. The three ladies, whose names begin with W, are escorts for the Murry children and their friend from Meg’s school into the universe and into the fifth dimension to try to rescue their father.

The story ramps up in excitement……so much so that most children might become a little frightened and anxious. This commonly happens when a story deals with the forces of good and evil. Fortunately, for the reader, the story does have a happy ending. One reviewer said what we can all wish……I love believing there is GOOD in the world…….but sometimes we still feel sad.

Major motion picture, starring Oprah Winfrey, Reece Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Storm Reid and Chris Pine was released to theaters on March 89, 2018.

Get your digital audio copy today!!

Showing Compassion and a Sense of Humanity…”Wonder”, by R.L. Palacio

“It’s okay, I know I’m weird-looking, take a look, I don’t bite”…… and such is the story-line for author, R. L. Palacio’s newest book…Wonder. It has always been a mystery to me why anyone can be non-compassionate, when it comes to treating others who have challenges or frailties. If you are fortunate and blessed to be what we think of as “normal”, then that should make it compulsory to be kind and sympathetic to those who were not so fortunate. The story of August (Auggie) Pullman shows the kind side of kind people, and the cruel side of cruel people……with not all cruelty coming from his child peers……hard to believe that adults would ever be as cruel as they sometimes are.

Auggie is just 10 years old, and is starting in a private school for the first time. He has a very severe facial deformity that causes others to feel very sorry for him, or very cruel to him. He has a great attitude, as evidenced by the first sentence of this review, but even with the best attitude, his everyday life is full of very high moments as well as those dreaded low ones. Author Palacio captures the story of Auggie’s personal growth as well as others who surround him each day. It is a complicated web of emotions among family and friends as they cheer for him as he learns some of life’s hardest lessons.

Whether author Palacio had intended it or not, the book has spurred a new discussion of showing compassion and a sense of humanity when interacting with those who through no fault of their own, have physical or mental challenges. Hopefully, those who read the book, or see the movie, will either reinforce their current sensitivity toward those like Auggie, or will have a change of heart and develop the sensitivity they should have as a human being.

Get your digital audio copy today!!

Harnessing the Electrifying Power of a Bold Vision…”Shoe Dog”, by Phil Knight

Phil Knight, the founder of Nike has written a very honest and entertaining memoir about how he became the chairman of the board for one of the most successful companies in business history. His decision to try something other than the usual corporate employment and ladder climbing was reached after a back-packing trip through Asia, Europe, and Africa. He was 24 years old and was questioning what his future would hold. During that trip, he decided to follow an unconventional path…….one that would lead him to be the chairman of a company that now grosses $30 billion annually.

Knight was a graduate of the University of Oregon, where he was a runner on their track team. He decided that he wanted a career in something that would allow him to not only make money, but afford him the opportunity to pretty much “play all the time”. He began his amazing venture by borrowing $50 from his father, and sold Japanese made running shoes from the trunk of his Plymouth Valiant. He says that in his first year, he made a profit of $8,000. That “company” was named Blue Ribbon, after those hanging on his bedroom walls representing his own running competitions.

The road to his current multi-billion dollar corporation was not always rosey. Knight encountered many successes and setbacks along the way. But through those good and bad times, he persevered, with his most cherished accomplishment being the formation of relationships that formed the foundational heart and soul of Nike. One can only imagine the current thoughts of the struggling graphic designer who was paid $35 to create the iconic swoosh! The chairman Knight, and his “ragtag group of misfits”, together “harnessed the electrifying power of a bold vision and a shared belief in the redemptive, transformative power of sports, and created a brand, and a culture, that changed everything.”

Get your digital audio copy today!!

After 30 Years….”The Force Awaken” (Star Wars), by Alan Dean Foster

Approximately 30 years after Return of the Jedi, comes The Force Awakens. It traces Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron and their battle with the Resistance. Led by veterans of the Rebel Alliance, they fight members who are decedents of the Galactic Empire.

“Thirty years after the destruction of the second Death Star, Luke Skywalker, the last Jedi, disappeared. The First Order has risen from the remains of the Fallen Galactic Empire, and seeks to eliminate Luke and the Republic.”
The Force Awakens was filmed in Abu Dhabi and Iceland, and other photography took place in Ireland and England. It premiered on December 18, 2015, which was more than 10 years after the release of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sixth. The film stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, and others.

Get your digital audio copy today!!

Perfect Teenage Story with Refined Rage Against What Is Perceived To Be the Cruel And Powerful Adult World…”Mockingjay”, by Suzanne Collins

As the last installment of The Hunger Games, author Suzanne Collins published Mockingjay in August of 2010. The book carries forth the story of Katniss Everdeen. She and her sister and friends are working at unifying the district of Panem, as there is rebellion against the tyrannical Capitol. They live in the highly structured District 13, where the attempt at unification is being spearheaded. Katniss grudgingly agrees to act as the poster child for the rebellion….. the Mockingjay.

The ins and outs of battles, missions, and attempted assassinations, fill the fictional novel with excitement, mystery, deception, loyalty, and betrayal. The series tackles issues like severe poverty, starvation, oppression, and the effects of war. The main theme can be boiled down to being a seemingly perfect teenage story with refined rage against what is perceived to be the cruel and powerful adult world.

The film adaptation of Mockingjay, Part 1 is set to be released on November 21, 2014, and Part 2 on November 20, 2015. Francis Lawrence, director of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, returns to direct the two final movies. Cast members are! Jennifer Lawrence, Katniss Everdeen; Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, and others.

Get your digital audio copy today!!!

A Little Klutzy…Yet Magical, Mysterious, and Full of Fun….”Autumn Falls”, by Bella Thorne

Bella Thorne, teen icon, introduced her first novel, Autumn Falls, this month. The novel is filled with many personal elements that are directly from Bella’s own life. She depicts a real girl who is trying her best to draw from her own inner strength to be the best person she can be. The novel is magical, mysterious, and full of fun.

The new girl, Autumn Fall, is a little klutzy and can’t miss being seen with her bright red hair. She is attending Aventura High, where she hopes to quickly find some friends to calm her uneasiness of being the new girl. Some genuinely nice friends take her under their wing, but that puts her on the wrong side of the popular girls. If that is not trouble enough, the guy she has started to like, who is funny and sweet, and whose name is Sean, hangs with the mean crowd. Two situations that may, or may not, have an adverse affect on her reputation in the new high school.

Bella finds solace in expressing her feelings by writing in a journal. But to her surprise, things seem to be changed in her favor as she keeps the diary. She wonders if it is a coincidence or magic?
Bella Thorne, now author, is best known for her role as Cece Jones on the Disney Channel’s hit show, Shake it Up. She is a global ambassador for Stomp Out Bullying, and lead ambassador for iDECIDE, a campaign encouraging teens to make smart and healthy decisions.

Get your digital audio copy today!!!

Victims Turning Everything on it’s Head….”The Maze Runner”, by James Dashner

Author James Dashner’s novel The Maze Runner is the first in a trilogy of post-apocalyptic, young adult, science fiction novels. Before this first of the trilogy stories, Dashner also wrote a prequel entitled “The Kill Order“.

The novel follows a group of boys who have been deposited after the apocalypse, at a place known as the Glade. It is the epitome of science fiction with mechanical creatures called Grievers, who roam the Maze at night. The Gladers, as the boys are known, have made a community in which each Glader has an assigned job to perform. The Maze is outside of the Glade which is protected by huge doors surrounding it that close every night to give protection from the creatures.

The main character, Thomas, learns more and more about the Glade, and gets the feeling that he has been there before. He befriends fellow Gladers named Chuck ad Newt, and feels strangely connected to the only girl ever deposited at the Glade, named Teresa. The whole plot revolves around the three Gladers performing as runners who explore the Maze and bring back information, all the time avoiding getting stung by the Grievers. Dashner’s original motivation for the novel came from an idea he had where, as quoted directly from the author……..”a bunch of teenagers living inside an unsolvable maze full of hideous creatures, in the future, in a dark dystopian world. It would be an experiment to study their minds……Until the victims turn everything on its head.” And so goes Maze Runner.

The novel has been adapted for film and is due to be released today! The director is Wes Bell with a cast of Dylan O’Brien as Thomas, Blake Cooper as Chuck, Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Newt, and Kaya Scodelario as Teresa.

Get your digital audio copy today!!

Ideal World Turned Contrived Society…”The Giver”, by Lois Lowry

“The Giver” written in 1993 by Lois Lowry, covers the “ideal” world where well-matched couples marry, give birth, and raise exactly two offspring, one boy and one girl. As the offspring reach adolescence, drugs are given to stifle any sexual feelings, and by age 12 their elders have given each child an appropriate career path. The elderly live in group homes, and are “released” at the proper time with great celebration.
All “citizens” of this “perfect” world are very complacent until they are weighed down by the responsibilities of their assignments. They begin to be aware of and realize the hypocrisy that rules their world. What we as readers, think would be a perfect world in the beginning, quickly shows itself to be a contrived society.
“The Giver” is the first in the series of “The Giver Quartet” by the author. Other books in the series are…….The Giver 2 – Gathering Blue; The Giver 3 – Messenger; The Giver 4 – Son.

A motion picture is to be released August 15th, 2014. It will have a very impressive cast, including: Meryl Streep, Jeff Bridges, Katie Holmes, Alexander Skarsgård and Taylor Swift.

Get your digital copy today!!!