Challenge Your Shelf 2022

Braiding Sweetgrass

Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants

By: Robin Wall Kimmerer
Narrated by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
Length: 16 hours 44 minutes

“Indigenous wisdom meets scientific theory in this memoir by Robin Wall Kimmerer. A botanist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Kimmerer offers a more positive and hopeful approach to healing the vital relationship between people and nature in a time when the climate crisis feels too overwhelming to overcome. Read more

Parable of the Sower

Earthseed: Book #1

By: Octavia E. Butler
Narrated by: Lynne Thigpen
Length: 12 hours 2 minutes

“A definite classic! This acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel of hope and terror from an award-winning author pairs well with 1984 and The Handmaid's Tale. Read more

Imaginary Borders

Pocket Change Collective

By: Xiuhtezcatl Martinez
Narrated by: Xiuhtezcatl Martinez
Length: 49 minutes

"It won't take you long to read this book, but it will linger in your heart and head for quite a while, and perhaps inspire you to join in the creative, blossoming movement to make this world work." -- Bill McKibben, environmentalist, New York Times bestselling author of The End of Nature, journalist, and founder of 350.org

"An inspiring story... Read more

Every Leaf a Hallelujah

By: Ben Okri
Narrated by: Ben Okri
Length: 52 minutes

An environmental fairytale made for our times, written to be read by adults and children, from the Booker Prize-winning author of The Famished Road.

Mangoshi lives with her mum and dad in a village near the forest. When her mum becomes ill, Mangoshi knows only one thing can help her - a special flower that grows deep in the forest.

The little girl... Read more

Plain Bad Heroines

A Novel

By: Emily M. Danforth
Narrated by: Xe Sands
Length: 19 hours 27 minutes

“Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth was by far my favorite book of 2021. It's spooky and sapphic and gothic to the extreme. The story switches between a haunted early 1900s boarding school and modern Hollywood with a rotating (and entirely queer) cast of characters. Read it read it read it!!! Read more

Call Us What We Carry

Poems

By: Amanda Gorman
Narrated by: Amanda Gorman
Length: 3 hours 31 minutes

The instant #1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller


The breakout poetry collection by #1 New York Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman

Formerly titled The Hill We Climb and Other Poems, the luminous poetry collection by #1 New York Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet... Read more

Rules for Being a Girl

By: Candace Bushnell & Katie Cotugno
Narrated by: Julia Whelan
Length: 6 hours 3 minutes

Candace Bushnell, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Sex and the City, and Katie Cotugno, New York Times bestselling author of 99 Days, team up to write a fierce, propulsive novel about a girl who is preyed upon by a manipulative teacher and finds the power to fight back. Perfect for fans of Courtney Summers and Laurie Halse Anderson.It... Read more

Lifting as We Climb

Black Women's Battle for the Ballot Box

By: Evette Dionne
Narrated by: Karen Chilton
Length: 4 hours 51 minutes

For African American women, the fight for the right to vote was only one battle.

An eye-opening book that tells the important, overlooked story of black women as a force in the suffrage movement--when fellow suffragists did not accept them as equal partners in the struggle.

Susan B. Anthony. Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Alice Paul. The Women's Rights... Read more

Bold & Brave

Ten Heroes Who Won Women the Right to Vote

By: Kirsten Gillibrand
Narrated by: Kirsten Gillibrand
Length: 28 minutes

From United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand comes an inspiring audiobook about ten suffragists who fought for women's right to vote.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was inspired by her own great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother to be bold and brave--to stand up and fight for what she believes in. But who inspired them? The long chain of women... Read more

I Am Every Good Thing

By: Derrick Barnes
Narrated by: Joshua David Scarlett
Length: 4 minutes

An upbeat, empowering, important audiobook from the team that created the award-winning Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut

I am
a nonstop ball of energy.
Powerful and full of light.
I am a go-getter. A difference maker. A leader.

The confident Black narrator of this book is proud of everything that makes him who he is. He's got big plans, and no doubt... Read more

Ana on the Edge

By: A. J. Sass
Narrated by: Sagan Chen
Length: 7 hours 6 minutes

“Ana, twelve years old, is a champion figure skater—but why should that mean she has to wear a dress for her next routine? And what does it mean that she feels so uncomfortable with that idea? Follow Ana as she discovers her nonbinary gender identity, and builds a path forward that allows her true self to shine. Read more

Maybe He Just Likes You

By: Barbara Dee
Narrated by: Emily Rankin
Length: 5 hours 21 minutes

Barbara Dee explores the subject of #MeToo for the middle grade audience in this heart-wrenching--and ultimately uplifting--novel about experiencing harassment and unwanted attention from classmates.

For seventh-grader Mila, it starts with some boys giving her an unwanted hug on the school blacktop. A few days later, at recess, one of the boys... Read more

30 Things I Love About Myself

By: Radhika Sanghani
Narrated by: Radhika Sanghani
Length: 10 hours 31 minutes

When Nina Mistry's life hits rock bottom, she decides to change her stars by falling in love...with herself—a hilarious, heartfelt story from outrageously funny novelist Radhika Sanghani.

Nina didn't plan to spend her thirtieth birthday in jail, yet here she is in her pajamas, locked in a holding cell. There's no Wi-Fi, no wine, no carbs—and no... Read more

Come As You Are: Revised and Updated

The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life

By: Emily Nagoski
Narrated by: Emily Nagoski
Length: 11 hours 29 minutes

“Every woman needs to read this book at least once in her life! Nagoski's exploration of women's sexuality is comprehensive and comforting; it's like having a well-educated older sister answer all of your questions while debunking societal misconceptions of sex. Read more

Starfish

By: Lisa Fipps
Narrated by: Jenna Lamia
Length: 3 hours 27 minutes

A PRINTZ HONOR BOOK • Ellie is tired of being fat-shamed and does something about it in this poignant novel-in-verse.

“In her debut novel, Starfish, Lisa Fipps confronts diet culture and fat phobia head-on. . . .  The book reads as if Ellie herself is writing these poems, which are accessible and engaging.”—The New York Times Book Review

Ever... Read more

The Body Is Not an Apology, Second Edition

The Power of Radical Self-Love

By: Sonya Renee Taylor
Narrated by: Sonya Renee Taylor
Length: 5 hours 11 minutes

New York Times bestseller! "To build a world that works for everyone, we must first make the radical decision to love every facet of ourselves. . . . 'The body is not an apology' is the mantra we should all embrace."
—Kimberlé Crenshaw, legal scholar and founder and Executive Director, African American Policy Forum

Humans are a varied and... Read more

Spoiler Alert

A Novel

Spoiler Alert: Book #1

By: Olivia Dade
Narrated by: Isabelle Ruther
Length: 12 hours 48 minutes

National BestsellerOlivia Dade bursts onto the scene in this delightfully fun romantic comedy set in the world of fanfiction, in which a devoted fan goes on an unexpected date with her celebrity crush, who’s secretly posting fanfiction of his own. Marcus Caster-Rupp has a secret. The world may know him as Aeneas, star of the biggest show on... Read more