Access YA e-Books and Audiobooks Online
By Grace Benedick, Teen Services Librarian
If you’re anything like me, staying home sounds like a lovely idea, but after a while…the cabin fever sets in. Audiobooks and walks around the block pair wonderfully! Here are some library resources for downloadable audiobooks you may not have used yet. You can access them all from: https://kslib.info/128/Digital-Book-eLending
Freading
Freading is a digital library provided by the State Library of Kansas. You’ll need a State Library eCard to borrow titles from Freading, but you can browse the collection before logging in. If you don’t have an eCard with the Kansas State Library, you can register for one easily by emailing Manhattan Public Library at refstaff@mhklibrary.com or using the chat feature available on our online catalog between 1 and 6 p.m M-F. All titles in Freading can be borrowed simultaneously by multiple users, meaning that there is no need to place holds.
If you enjoy a slow-burn romance, try “This Train Is Being Held” by Ismee Williams about two teens whose chance meetings on the subway eventually lead to something more.
If you want to read about a career-oriented teen, “With the Fire on High” by Elizabeth Acevedo follows a teen mom in 12th grade, who has a passion for cooking and dreams of turning her talent into a career.
For fantasy fiction, try “Shadow of the Fox” by Julie Kagawa, about a half-yokai, half-human girl who must protect a fragment of magical scroll from a pursuing army of demons.
Graphic Novels on Freading
There are several popular graphic novel series published by Boom Studios! available on Freading. If you enjoy sports stories, try “SLAM!” by Pamela Ribon about a roller-derby team or “Avant-Guards” by Carly Usdin, which features a basketball team at an all-girls’ school.
If music is your jam, there’s “Heavy Vinyl” by Carly Usdin, about a group of teen girls who work in a record shop by day and fight crime by night.
“b.b. free” by Gabby Rivera is about a teen just quietly running her own radio show until she suddenly develops super powers, then heads out on a road trip with her best friend to save the planet.
John Allison has three series on Freading: “By Night”, about two teens who find a portal to another universe; the popular “Giant Days”, about girls getting through undergrad; and his brand-new series, “Wicked”, about a teen detective suddenly forced to grow up when she’s accused of murder.
“The Backstagers” by James Tynion IV follows a backstage crew at an all-boys’ school with storage rooms that are pure magic: you never know where a door will lead you!
RB Digital
RB Digital is a library of online audiobooks. You’ll need to register and create an account to borrow audiobooks from RB Digital, which you can do from the State Library of Kansas’s “Digital Book eLending” page. Like Cloud Library and Sunflower e-Library, there are finite copies of titles, and you’ll need to place holds on popular items.
Although there are some great fantasy titles on RB Digital, there are more recent realistic and historical fiction available without a wait-time:
“Butterfly Yellow” by Thanhhà Lai follows a Vietnamese teen reuniting with her long-lost brother after the war and the process of making a new home.
“Free Lunch” by Rex Ogle, which won the 2020 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award, relates the author’s experiences in 6th grade.
“Hey, Kiddo” by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, which won the 2020 YALSA Odyssey Award, given to the best audiobook recording, is a memoir about growing up in a family dealing with addiction.
“Loveboat, Taipei” by Abigail Hing Wen is inspired by a real-life summer learning program, where young adults spent 6 weeks in Taiwan, taking immersion language courses and making life-long friends.
“Dig” by A.S. King, which won the 2020 YALSA Printz Award, is a multi-generational saga revealing the history of a troubled family.