Horse
So good, long, multiple narrators.

I posted this in response to a question about a car ride with teens but I think there are plenty in here you might like.


I listen to Audible A LOT so I have tons of suggestions. I'll indicate which ones I think teens would like.

*I was going in order through my library and I didn't feel like renumbering so the below is not done in order of enjoyment (I'm also not listing books that have already been listed on this thread)

Stephen King - I really love him as an author (and I'm not a horror/fantasy/sci-fi person) because I get pulled into his books immediately and I love the characters he writes. Will Patton, the narrator for the Mr. Mercedes trilogy and a few other books like The Outsider is fantastic. I also happen to like Stephen King's voice even though he's kind of nasally. Duma Key is also a good one and is narrated by John Slattery, who has the best voice. And The Institute is narrated by Santino Fontana, who is another great voice. Holly was one of my recent favorites, and the narrator, Justine Lupe, was great. Finally, King does a lot of short stories, which can be a nice change of pace for shorter listens here and there.

The Terminal List and subsequent books by Jack Carr - these were made into a show starring Chris Pratt (which was fine but I thought the books were much better), and the narrator, Ray Porter, is a really good one. I actually listened to the first six books in a row (the seventh one came out last summer and I listened to it immediately) because I enjoyed them so much. Not super high quality writing but good story lines and interesting characters and fast-paced action. Teens would like these, although there is a lot of killing - he's a Navy SEAL and encounters a lot of bad guys.

Wrong Place Wrong Time - an interesting murder mystery narrated by a Brit. I listen to a lot of murder mysteries/thrillers/crime fiction because they tend to be simple and entertaining and this was my most recent favorite. (I have several duds in this category as well, which I won't list here, but it's a common genre and easy to do wrong). I think teens would like this one, as the character who was murdered is a teen, but I don't think that would be upsetting? Maybe it would, my twins are only 11 and I wouldn't have them listen to it.

The Midnight Library - note that many people listed this on the popular books they hate thread, but I enjoyed listening to it. It is about suicide so not sure I'd recommend it for teens but it's thought-provoking and could be a good conversation piece with them.

Anything by David Sedaris. His are all autobiographical that I know of, but he's hysterical and has a great take on life. His Santaland Diaries is one of the funniest things I have ever heard. He's adult but not inappropriate, and I think teens would find him amusing.

John Grisham books by the right narrator. I read all of John Grisham's books (I'm a lawyer and have been a fan of his for decades), but the best ones I've listened to are A Time for Mercy, A Time To Kill, The Guardians, and The Reckoning, all narrated by Michael Beck. HIs voice is like cotton candy and so easy to listen to. These are all teen-friendly, although some of them have heavy topics (i.e. rape in A Time to Kill).

You and Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes. Santino Fontana is the narrator and after listening to these I watched Frozen and he played the voice of Hans and I immediately said, oh, he's a bad guy. He plays that character really well because you hate him but you also like him. The books are entertaining and he's great to listen to. I think these are fine for teens although he's a psychopath so I guess it depends on what you let them watch/listen to.

This is Where I Leave You (or anything by Jonathan Tropper). This one was free on Audible recently so I listened to it after having read it years ago. He wrote the TV show Your Friends and Neighbors which, despite having him as the writer and an amazing cast, I thought fell flat a lot. But if you watched it and appreciated the moments of brilliance, his books are like that but almost the whole time. I can't vouch for any narrators other than for this one because I've read all his books, not listened to them. Teens may find these books boring as they are primarily about adult relationships.

Not sure if you and your teens are Hunger Games fans, but the recent book, Sunrise on the Reaping, which is the backstory of Haymitch Abernathy, was very good and I listened to it on a recent road trip. I liked it far better than The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes about Coriolanus Snow.

The Beartown trilogy and also My Friends by Frederik Backman are some of my favorite books ever (I listened to all of them because I love that narrator). Beartown is about a high school hockey team (I couldn't care less about hockey) so your teens may enjoy that one. My Friends is also centered around a teenager, but it's a heavier book. I cried when that one was over because I was so sad to leave the characters.

Murderbot Diaries are a fun, quick series (many of the books are only 3-4 hours). There is a TV show about it as well but I haven't seen it, but the teens would like these books - they're about a security robot who becomes sentient. It's very sci-fi, which is not a genre I particularly like, but the narrator is great and the robot has a really good sense of humor and they are very fast-paced and easy to listen to. Many of them were also free on Audible.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah was very good, and teens might like it as well. Conversely, I HATED The Women. Loved The Great Alone, although I read that as a book (that one is also heavy, like My Friends and Demon Copperhead).

The Rose Code and The Alice Network are two WWII books based on real people that your teens may enjoy. I found both books to be super engaging and fascinating. The characters are young adults.

Going Zero by Anthony McCarten could be a fun conversation-starter for the whole family - it's about people who are competing for a big prize if they can stay off the grid and not be located for 30 days. It generated a lot of discussions with my kids about where we would go, what we would take (we discussed how bringing the dogs would be a terrible idea!), and who we would want to be with. It's also very fast-paced and appropriate for teens.

Deep State and the other books in the Hayley Chill series are also pretty engaging and easy to listen to (love the narrator, which is how I found them). They're similar to the Terminal List books above, although she's not a SEAL. It's a government gone rogue kind of series with lots of twists and turns. People die but I don't think it's inappropriate for teens. I've listened to the first two of the four book series.

I recently listened to The Andromeda Strain after having read it years (decades?) ago, and it was very good. I have always loved Michael Crichton, so I'd say probably any of his books could be entertaining for the whole family. (Except I will admit I did not like Dragon Teeth).

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell was one of my favorite novels, although I wouldn't say it's super fast-paced, just engrossing. Not sure teens would like it although the main character is younger. I like the author but had only read his Russian spy novels before, so this book was a total about face for him. I fell in love with Sam and just wanted to listen to his story forever.

The Beekeeper of Aleppo was an amazing (fictional) story of Syrian refugees. Not sure kids would find it as engaging, but I adored it. It's a beautifully written book and story.

The Apollo Murders is an engrossing murder in space book (I know, I know, I swear I don't really like sci-fi!) that the whole family would like.

I have others but have to get back to work. Hope you enjoy your trips!

Anonymous wrote:Most Kristin Hannah books are excellent on audio - I especially liked The Women and The Great Alone though both are pretty intense.
not fiction but Born A Crime by Trevor Noah is absolutely amazing on audio since he reads it himself.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett is read by Meryl Streep which makes is great for audio
If you are looking for lighter topics (some brain candy/beach read style) Elin Hildebrand's books are good on audio

I can't stand Julia Whelan as a narrator (she did both of these but did NOT do The Nightingale, which I loved).

Agree with Tom Lake and Dutch House. Elin Hilderbrand's all have a good narrator and are easy enough to keep up with even if you doze off.

If you want something really long The Historian is excellent. The Stand is another very long one (44 hours I think?!).

My recent favorite was My Friends by Frederik Backman. I adore Marin Ireland as a narrator (she does other books of Backman's as well as some other very good ones).

I've posted some long lists on here before so I'll see if I can find them. I should probably sign them so I can easily search...