SYNC is a free spring/summer program sponsored by AudioFile Magazine. Once you sign up, you receive 2 paired audiobooks every week for 14 weeks. I have participated for many years, but this is the first year that I listened to the audiobooks with the Sora app, an audiobook player by OverDrive. What I liked about Sora was that I could add my SYNC account as well as my public library card so that I can listen to audiobooks from both sources. This is one of the offerings for summer 2021.
My Thoughts:
I am still trying to figure out who audiobooks appeal to and I realize that like books, it all depends. Personally, what I know for sure is that I have to appreciate the voice work of the narrator.
The main character in the book, Janna, lives a lot of her life in her mind, so there is a lot of self talk. At 8 hours, this audiobook takes some commitment and the narrator, Ariana Delawari does a good job of just narrating this teen voice without being overdramatic or trying to make this sound like I am listening to a play. This is more like I am listening to a podcast of Jannaʻs life.
Through Janna, as a reader I find out more about being an American Muslim teen without the book being about the issues of being an American Muslim teen. I am seeing this in other YA books too, where the characters and authors are diverse and marginalized, but the book is not JUST about being marginalized. The teens go through the same angst, issues, fears, family drama, friendships, and love as white teens, but what makes this book more rich is the fact that the characters are diverse so we as readers either see ourselves in the characters or we learn more about these characters beyond the stereotypes.
For example, Jannaʻs monster is not a stranger. He is seen by her community as someone that is popular and upright in her community, but she knows what is behind that mask (sexual predator, abuser, stalker) and he wields his power over her in very sinister ways. We have seen this before, and the culture and religion of this book does not make this a Muslim conflict, but a Janna conflict. Also, this book is not just about the monster, as that would be too simple.
But if readers are looking for drama, teen angst, living in your head main characters - like To All the Boys I've Loved Before, this is the audiobook for them. Speaking of To All the Boys, I did not enjoy reading it because of the talkiness and drama, but I did not mind it in this book and I think it is because when reading, I have to muddle in the text as I can only read at a certain rate. However, with this audiobook, I sped up the narration to 1.5x until I could get into the characters. I have never tried doing that before, but I feel like it allowed me to enjoy the book more when the narration was faster.
Perhaps the strongest part of the book was that this book could hold on to many characters. I think that is more a skill of the author, S. K. Ali than the narration itself. Like Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak (another drama, living in your head main character), Ali does a great job of using rich description and attitude/actions to round out multiple characters and hold reader interest.
Finally, I like to hear authors "sell" their books because it gives me a new perspective. So a reader who likes this will want to read Ali's other books, including her newest Misfit in Love. This book does not have a sweet, happily ever after ending, however, it seems like Janna will be ok. Still, enough readers kept thinking about Janna and there was enough pressure on Ms. Ali that she published Misfit three years later. Misfit starts with Janna in the water in the same way that she starts in the water in Saints, so connection point. That is all the teaser I will say, but if readers like Misfits, the companion novel needs to be in your classroom waiting for them.
From the Publisher:
There are three kinds of people in my world:
1. Saints, those special people moving the world forward. Sometimes you glaze over them. Or, at least, I do. They’re in your face so much, you can’t see them, like how you can’t see your nose.
2. Misfits, people who don’t belong. Like me—the way I don’t fit into Dad’s brand-new family or in the leftover one composed of Mom and my older brother, Mama’s-Boy-Muhammad.
Also, there’s Jeremy and me. Misfits. Because although, alliteratively speaking, Janna and Jeremy sound good together, we don’t go together. Same planet, different worlds.
But sometimes worlds collide and beautiful things happen, right?
3. Monsters. Well, monsters wearing saint masks, like in Flannery O’Connor’s stories.
Like the monster at my mosque.
People think he’s holy, untouchable, but nobody has seen under the mask.
1. Saints, those special people moving the world forward. Sometimes you glaze over them. Or, at least, I do. They’re in your face so much, you can’t see them, like how you can’t see your nose.
2. Misfits, people who don’t belong. Like me—the way I don’t fit into Dad’s brand-new family or in the leftover one composed of Mom and my older brother, Mama’s-Boy-Muhammad.
Also, there’s Jeremy and me. Misfits. Because although, alliteratively speaking, Janna and Jeremy sound good together, we don’t go together. Same planet, different worlds.
But sometimes worlds collide and beautiful things happen, right?
3. Monsters. Well, monsters wearing saint masks, like in Flannery O’Connor’s stories.
Like the monster at my mosque.
People think he’s holy, untouchable, but nobody has seen under the mask.
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