The sun is still high in the sky, the days are still long, the pools are still open! Even though school supplies are lining the shopping aisles, there is still time to soak up the last lazy days of summer vacation like the characters in these recent audiobooks for youth.—Heather Booth
“Found Sound”
By Meg Wolitzer and Charlie Panek. Read by Jeff Ebner. 2026.
Listening Library. Gr. 3–6. If ever a print book called for an audiobook, it’s one based around a found-sound mystery and scavenger hunt! Listen along as displaced city-kid Felix and his summer neighbor Marigold follow a series of clues, make recordings, mix sounds that we get to hear, try to solve a puzzle, and find the puzzle’s creator.
“Change of Plans”
By Sarah Dessen. Read by Mirai. 2026. Simon & Schuster Audio. Gr. 7–12.
Right after graduation, Finley gets dumped over a video chat, then her mom cancels their New York City summer. Instead, she ends up at a rustic vacation home where she reconnects with family and makes new friends working at her aunt’s breakfast spot and meets a cute guitarist. Mirai brings this sweet YA novel to life with a spot-on voice behind each character.
“King of the Neuro Verse”
By Idris Goodwin. Read by the author. 2025. Simon & Schuster Audio. Gr. 8–12.
In his first novel, award-winning playwright, BreakBeat poet, author, and educator Goodwin introduces us to Pernell. It’s 1999, and Pernell is making his third appearance at “clown college,” aka summer school, where he finds his voice and focuses on his rhythm and rhyme. A love letter in verse to students who are coming into their own while navigating neurodivergence.
“Medicine Wheels”
By Byron Graves. Read by Meegwun Fairbrother. 2026. HarperCollins/Heartdrum. Gr. 8–12.
The summer before his junior year, Bryce is forced to move in with his grandparents on the Ojibwe Wolf Creek reservation, where he grew up. There, he begins to rebuild his world, discovers a love for skateboarding, and connects with old friends who become his new family. Ojibwe actor Fairbrother’s steady, purposeful narration adds to the reflective tone of this novel.
“Really Rubie”
By Maddie Frost. Read by Kimberly Woods. 2026. Simon & Schuster Audio. Gr. 3–6.
This is the first in a series of diaries by two friends anticipating their first foray into being away from home for a month at camp. Rubie hadn’t planned to go to Camp Pinewood alone, but she soon replaces her loneliness with new friends and experiences. Woods expertly narrates this tale of learning to deal with new and sometimes uncomfortable feelings to help listeners relate.
“What Happened Then”
By Erin Soderberg Downing. Read by a full cast. 2025. Scholastic. Gr. 3–7.
Twelve-year-old Avery is spending the summer on her family’s remote island, reluctantly exploring the land and dilapidated buildings with her cousin Jax. When they discover pages from a long-forgotten journal, the tense family dynamic begins to make sense: a terrible event has haunted the family for decades. The full cast enhances the mystery and emotional intelligence of the story, and the expert production makes this a winner.
This article was originally published in Booklist Reader, the magazine for library patrons, from the American Library Association’s nationally distributed book review publication, Booklist.
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