Audiobook Bloggers Week 2017 #MotivationMonday

Happy Day Two of Audiobook Bloggers Week 2017!

When I jumped into blogging, Tasha Saecker was my inspiration. She maintained two blogs Waking Brain Cells as well as Sites and Soundbytes. She was encouraging and offered tips and networks when I got started. Thank you, Tasha!

My goal has been to be a voice for children's audio and I still believe in sharing that voice. I would like to do more as a blogger, but I think all bloggers feel that way, too. I saw a niche when I started and still believe that I have a special area to share my love audiobooks for young listeners.

Have you been a visitor to Adolescent Audio Adventures? Is there something you'd like to see or read? What audiobook would you recommend to me?

Audiobook Bloggers Week 2017: #SunnyHello

Welcome to Adolescent Audio Adventures!

At Adolescent Audio Adventures, I share audiobooks for children, teens, and adults. Most of the books found on this blog can typically be found in the Juvenile section of the library. Every once in a while I do like a branch out with some adult fiction or non-fiction. I typically read chapter books for elementary or middle school age students. I occasionally will hear stories for young children or teens. I think other readers or librarians can understand that there is never enough time to read all the books! My to-be-read list is an ongoing process and sometimes battle against the read list.

In the last couple months, I have enjoyed listening to some adult non-fiction. I finished Radium Girls, Hidden Figures, and Goodbye, Things. I have a couple more nonfiction titles on the my playlist to read including Compassionate Soldier and The Happiest Kids in the World.

What was your last listen? What do you plan on listening to next?

Audiobook Bloggers Week 2017 is Coming!

It's our second year of celebrating audiobook bloggers! I hope you will join me and other bloggers as we talk about audiobooks and blogging. You may use the logo I created for your posts if you'd like. Here are some blogging thoughts for the week ...

Sunday - #SunnyHello - Introduce yourself and your blog. (You can refer to original introductions/welcomes as well.) What books are you currently reading? Do you change up genres throughout the year?

Monday - #MotivationMonday - Who do you find motivating as a blogger and/or audiobook listener? OR What book motivated you to start your blog?

Tuesday - #TravelTuesday - Let's talk travel and how to travel with books and audiobooks. Do you have a preferred format? Do you pack a certain number of books while you travel?

Wednesday - #WednesdayWhere - Have you found a new place to find audiobooks? How do you share audiobooks with those closest to you?

Thursday - #ThrowbackThursday - Go back in your feed and pick a few titles that you'd love to hear again!

Friday - #FridayListens - What are you currently enjoying in audiobook form? OR What's next up on your "to-be-heard" pile?

Saturday - #AudiobooksForTheFuture - In the next year, what are you excited about? New audiobooks, new blog ideas, etc. Let's keep the excitement going!

I hope you're able to join us for the second #AudiobookBloggersWeek! Be sure to stop by fellow audiobook bloggers to say hi! I'm looking forward to hearing from you! Want to join the fun? Comment below with your audiobook blog.

Audiobook Bloggers...

Review: The Radium Girls

Fascinating. Horrifying. What do you know about radium and the Radium Girls?

Radium is a huge part of our history. It was a magical new element around the turn of the century. It was the one thing many sought, but few could hold. Yet when we look back with the knowledge we have today, it's a terrifying part of the past.

When I saw The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women at the library, it looked fascinating. I didn't know much about the radium era, and wanted to learn more about it. Author Kate Moore has written a wonderful book on the lives of the radium women. She drew her information from published and previously unpublished sources. Moore's fascination began with a theatre play and ended with a book that gives readers a glimpse into the lives of women who changed history, litigation, and science. Job well done! I would recommend this book to everyone! I couldn't wait to take a drive in my car so I could continue hearing about The Radium Girls.

Angela Brazil narrated The Radium Girls. This is the first time I've heard Brazil read an audiobook. Brazil has a strong, firm voice. Other listeners thought her voice sounded harsh, but I heard determination of telling a haunting story. I think a gentler voice could have made this story too sad to hear. I would listen to Brazil again, but she is not a narrator I would seek out.

Additional information about Radium Girls:
The Spectator newspaper article
Radium Girls on Wikipedia
The Radium Girls on Audible (with review)

Reviewed from a library copy.

Audio Book Details...
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore
Read by Angela Brazil
Produced by HighBridge, a Division of Recorded Books
Number of Discs: 13
Total Time: 15 hours, 51 minutes
Release Date: May 2017
ISBN: 9781681684215

Review: A Frozen Heart

Disney's Frozen is one of the top animated films right now. There have been numerous books and audiobooks about the story. A Frozen Heart by Elizabeth Rudnick is another one you can add to the list of available books. Rudnick's rendition of Frozen is a chapter book for older elementary readers. She focuses on the characters of Anna and Hans. She created backstory for the characters and offers their perspective of the events that the movie shares with the audience.

A Frozen Heart was a fine story. I played the audiobook hoping for a twisted tale of Frozen. I was disappointed. It was Frozen. I wanted to stop the book and start a different one, but I was all ready committed. I listened to all 6 CDs. If you're a Frozen fan, by all means find a copy and give a listen! If you're looking for something completely different on this new classic, you could pass.

Narrator Andrew Eiden did a fine job sharing the story between two characters. He was not dynamic with voices, but he gave the characters different nuances. I previously heard him narrate another Frozen tale: Journey to the Lights. I would listen to him again.



Reviewed from a library copy.

Audio Book Details...
A Frozen Heart by Elizabeth Rudnick
Read by Andrew Eiden
Produced by Disney / Blackstone Audio
Number of Discs: 6
Total Time: 7 Hours, 32 minutes
Release Date: September 2016
ISBN: 9781504751049

Review: Dragonwatch

Journey back to the world of Fablehaven!

Brandon Mull has begun a new series, A Fablehaven Adventure. Book one is entitled Dragonwatch. If you have yet to hear the original Fablehaven series, you need to start there before tackling his newest adventure. Familiar characters return to familiar locations in this fantastical story.

Here is the book description from Brandon Mull's website:

"In the hidden dragon sanctuary of Wyrmroost, Celebrant the Just, King of the Dragons, plots his revenge. He has long seen the sanctuaries as prisons, and he wants nothing more than to overthrow his captors and return the world to the Age of Dragons, when he and his kind ruled and reigned without borders. The time has come to break free and reclaim his power.
No one person is capable of stopping Celebrant and his dragon horde. It will take the ancient order of Dragonwatch to gather again if there is any chance of saving the world from destruction. In ancient times, Dragonwatch was a group of wizards, enchantresses, dragon slayers, and others who originally confined the majority of dragons into sanctuaries. But nearly all of the original Dragonwatch members are gone, and so the wizard Agad reaches out to Grandpa Sorenson for help.
As Kendra and Seth confront this new danger, they must draw upon all their skills, talents, and knowledge as only they have the ability to function together as a powerful dragon tamer. Together they must battle against forces with superior supernatural powers and breathtaking magical abilities.
How will the epic dragon showdown end? Will dragons overthrow humans and change the world as we know it?"

I am thrilled to hear more about Fablehaven's world! I was hoping for more stories, but I was content with end of the original series. I adored the original narrator, E. B. Stevens, too. I hoped for the return of Stevens, but Shadow Mountain went with Kirby Heyborne. I was disappointed, but Heyborne did an amazing job! Dragonwatch is a dramatic story and he fully embraced the emotions without going over the top. The only voice that got muddy in my ears was Grandpa's voice. I look forward to the next installment of A Fablehaven Adventure and hope to hear Heybourne read again.

One final note on Shadow Mountain - they produce an wonderful audiobook. The music at the beginning and end of the discs is lovely with what sounds like a full orchestra. Moving from disc to disc is an artform. They fade out the story and bring in Heybourne to tell you to go to the next disc and fade out with music. There is no abrupt cutoff of the story or jarring new voice to tell you to change discs. Well done, Shadow Mountain!

Reviewed from a library copy.

Audio Book Details...
Dragonwatch by Brandon Mull
Series: Book 1, A Fablehaven Adventure
Read by Kirby Heybourne
Produced by Shadow Mountain
Number of Discs: 9
Total Time: 10 hours, 19 minutes
Release Date: March 2017
ISBN: 9781629722962

Review: Pillow Stalk

Pillow Stalk by Diane Vallere is a cozy mystery for adult readers. I typically review fiction or non-fiction that has a link to adolescent readers or families. This was purely a book for me. I am a fan of Doris Day and this Mad for Mod / Madison Knight mystery series looked too good to pass up! Here is the book description from Dreamscape Media:

"Interior Decorator Madison Night might look like a throwback to the sixties, but as business owner and landlord, she proves that independent women can have it all. When a killer targets women dressed in her signature style-estate sale vintage to play up her resemblance to fave actress Doris Day-what makes her unique might make her dead. The local detective connects the new crime to a twenty-year old cold case, and Madison's long-trusted contractor emerges as the leading suspect. As the body count piles up, Madison uncovers a Soviet spy, a campaign to destroy all Doris Day movies, and six minutes of film that will change her life forever."

I will admit this is my first cozy mystery that I have read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I couldn't wait to hop in the car and hear this story. There are little tidbits that I can match up with Day films and characteristics of characters in her movies. I was surprised by the unfolding mystery and a surprising teaser at the end of the book. I look forward to hearing more from the Mad for Mod series!

Susan Berneis narrated Pillow Stalk. I've previously heard her narrate children's titles including The Christmas Quiet Book and Ben Franklin's Big Splash. I enjoyed her narration of Madison Night's story. Berneis did a fine job of the various female and male voices. I could hear that she tried to voice each character differently. I would definitely listen to her again as Madison Night and am thrilled to see that she returned to read the next three books in the series.

Reviewed from a Dreamscape Media copy. Thank you, Audiobook Jukebox!
I received this audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review.

Audio Book Details...
Pillow Stalk by Diane Vallere
Series: Book 1, Mad for Mod Mystery
Read by Susan Berneis
Produced by Dreamscape Media
Number of Discs: 7
Total Time: 8 hours, 19 minutes
Release Date: January 2017
ISBN: 9781520063553

Review: The Jolly Regina

Sisters Jaundice and Kale Bland live a very bland life. They stay in one place and repair stockings. Everything they need is delivered to them. Until one day when there is a knock at the door. Before the sisters can blink they are kidnapped and set to work on the pirate ship, The Jolly Regina. How unintended!

A fun family listen of blandness, adventure, and silliness. There is word play during the tale as well as definitions at the beginning of each chapter. The definitions play well in hand with the topic of the chapter as well as bringing in the Bland sisters only book, a dictionary. Yes, it is adventures on the high seas, but nothing terrifying for young listeners in the family. All's well that ends well. If you appreciate silliness, adventure, or pirates, give this story a go.

Rosalyn Landor narrates the first book in the new series The Unintenional Adventures of the Bland Sisters. This is the first time I have heard Landor narrate an audiobooks. I would listen to her again. I did read that there is a second book coming, The Uncanny Express. If the books is also made into an audiobook, I hope Landor returns to narrate. The girls are soft spoken characters while the pirates are boisterous. It listens well, but I did have to adjust my volume up and down in the car as I listened to the story. Dreamscape Media adds end of the disc notifications so it is easy to know when to change CDs.


Reviewed from a Dreamscape Media copy. Thank you, Audiobook Jukebox!
I received this audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review.

Audio Book Details...

The Jolly Regina by Kara LaReau
Series: Book 1, The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters
Read by Rosalyn Landor
Produced by Dreamscape Media
Number of Discs: 3
Total Time: 2 hours, 41 minutes
Release Date: February 2017
ISBN: 9781508227960

Review: Dragon Captives

Unwanteds, the New Quests!

The final installment of The Unwanteds: Island of Dragons came out last year (April 2016). Such a wonderful, fantastic series. With great anticipation (with a hint of unease), a new Unwanteds series has arrived! The Unwanteds Quests by Lisa McMann, narrated by Fiona Hardingham.

Journey back to Artime and say hello to familiar friends.

Dragon Captives takes place several years after Island of Dragons. The sister twins, Fifer and Thisbe, are older and bolder. They want to strike out on their own and use their unknown, magical powers. When an old friend, Hux the ice-blue dragon, arrives on Artime's shore, new adventure calls out to the girls. They can help Hux as wells as their brother.

Author McMann truly returns to the world of Artime and the surrounding islands. Time has passed, but she captures the feelings and tone of her previous series. There is humor, seriousness, twists, and a good cliffhanger. I cannot wait to hear the next book!

Narrator Fiona Hardingham reads the story. After several books with narrator Steve West, this change of narrator was a bit of a shift. It makes sense to change from a gentleman reader to a lady because of the shift of characters from brothers to sisters, but I miss you Mr. West. Hardingham does a fine job of sharing the story. Only one character made me cringe while listening - Simba. His voice is low and gravely and it can very difficult to capture. It takes strength to maintain a voice, but he sounded like he had Southern accent. I look forward to book two and we'll see if Hardingham returns to narrate the next installment.

Reviewed from a Simon and Schuster copy. Thank you, Simon and Schuster!
I received this audiobook for free from Simon and Schuster for an honest review.

Audio Book Details...

Dragon Captives by Lisa McMann
Series: Book 1, The Unwanteds Quests
Read by Fiona Hardingham
Produced by Simon & Schuster Audio
Number of Discs: 7
Total Time: 8 hours, 8 minutes
Release Date: February 2017
ISBN: 9781508227960

June is Audiobook Month 2017

Welcome to Day 12 of June is Audiobook Month Blog Tour! Thanks for visiting Adolescent Audio Adventures. As a children's librarian, I love to share stories as well as listen to stories. Audiobooks help feed my reading appetite because I can always have a book with me! Audiobooks are also great for trips. It doesn't matter if it's a quick commute or a long family road trip. They can be shared to an audience of one or more. I love it! And we have a whole month to celebrate!

Planning a family road trip this summer? Here are a couple suggestions for your travels this summer:

Screen Shot from Christopher Heely's Website

The Hero's Guide Series by Christopher Healy, read by Bronson Pinchot
Quick review: Funny, fairytale remix with a fantastic reader!

Screen Shot from Downpour.com

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, read by Neil Gaiman OR by Full Cast
Quick review: Slightly scary tale with two different production styles!

Ralph S. Mouse series by Beverly Cleary
Quick review: Classic trilogy to enjoy again or introduce to someone new!

Wonder by R. J. Palacio, ready by Diana Steele, Nick Podehl, Kate Rudd
Quick review: A new classic that can be read before the movie comes to theaters in November 2017.

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series by Maryrose Wood, read by Katherine Kellgren
Quick review: Hilarious historical fiction with a mystery that is still unfolding!


Thank for stopping by Adolescent Audio Adventures! Huge thanks to Audio Publishers Association for putting this blog tour together for June is Audiobook Month. They also shared with me a fun giveaway - earbuds and 3 free audiobook downloads from Audiobooks.com. Comment below for your chance to win.

What are you listening to OR hope to listen to this summer?



Comment for a chance to win. No purchase is necessary. The giveaway is open until Saturday, June 17 at 8am (CT). One winner will be chosen. The prize is a pair of earbuds and 3 free audiobook downloads at Audiobooks.com (approximate value: up to US$45.00), which expires July 15, 2017. The codes have been provided by the Audio Publisher’s Association and Audiobooks.com. Entrants are restricted to US addresses only, please. One entry per person, please.