Audiobooks narrated by Barrie Buckner

From award-winning and bestselling author, Jewell Parker Rhodes comes a powerful coming-of-age story about two brothers, one who presents as white, the other as black, and the complex ways in which they are forced to navigate the world, all while training for a fencing competition. Framed. Bullied. Disliked. But I know I can still be the best. Sometimes, 12-year-old Donte wishes he were invisible. As one of the few black boys at Middlefield Prep, most of the students don't look like him. They don't like him either. Dubbing him 'Black Brother,' Donte's teachers and classmates make it clear they wish he were more like his lighter-skinned brother, Trey. When he's bullied and framed by the captain of the fencing team, 'King' Alan, he's suspended from school and arrested for something he didn't do. Terrified, searching for a place where he belongs, Donte joins a local youth center and meets former Olympic fencer Arden Jones. With Arden's help, he begins training as a competitive fencer, setting his sights on taking down the fencing team captain, no matter what. As Donte hones his fencing skills and grows closer to achieving his goal, he learns the fight for justice is far from over. Now Donte must confront his bullies, racism, and the corrupt systems of power that led to his arrest. Powerful and emotionally gripping, Black Brother, Black Brother is a careful examination of the school-to-prison pipeline and follows one boy's fight against racism and his empowering path to finding his voice.

Jewell Parker Rhodes (Author), Barrie Buckner (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Love Hate Thing

When they’re stuck under one roof, the house may not be big enough for their hate…or their love. When Tyson Trice finds himself tossed into the affluent coastal community of Pacific Hills, he’s ready for the questions, the stares and the feeling of not belonging in the posh suburb. Not that he cares. After recovering from being shot and surviving the mean streets of Lindenwood, he doesn’t care about anyone or anything. He doesn’t even care how the rest of his life will play out. In Pacific Hills, image is everything. Something that, as the resident golden girl, Nandy Smith knows all too well. She’s spent most of her life building the pristine image it takes to fit in. After learning that her parents are taking in a teen boy, Nandy fears her summer plans, as well as her reputation, will go up in flames. It’s the start of summer vacation, and the last thing Nandy needs is some juvenile delinquent from the ’Wood crashing into her world. Stuck together in close quarters, Trice and Nandy are in for some long summer nights. Only, with the ever-present pull back to the Lindenwood streets, it’ll be a wonder if Trice makes it through this summer at all.

Whitney D. Grandison (Author), Adenrele Ojo, Barrie Buckner (Narrator)

Audiobook

Spark

In a future United States under the power of a charismatic leader, everyone gets the Mark at age thirteen. The Mark lets citizen shop, go to school, and even get medical care—but without it, you're on your own. Few refuse to get the Mark. Those who do . . . disappear. Parents are looking for fiction that makes Christianity exciting for kids. This series is an alternative to the Hunger Games series and other dark dystopian fiction. It’s packed with action and intrigue, but the message is written from a Christian worldview. Logan Langly went to get his Mark but backed out at the last minute. Ever since, he’s been on the run from government agents and on a quest to find his sister Lily, who disappeared when she went to get her Mark five years ago. His journey leads him to befriend the Dust, a network of Markless who oppose the iron-grip rule of the government. On the way to the capital to find Lily, the Dust receive some startling information from the Markless community, warning that humanity is now entering the End of Days. Spark introduces nine-year-old Ali, a beggar living in the Dark Lands city of al-Balat. Ali meets a stranger who gives her his tablet, a portal to a tech world that Ali never knew existed. But one day, the tablet begins to communicate back to her—and takes her on a journey that will cross her path with exiled Logan Langly, Chancellor Cylis, and the fierce battle for power that spans reality and the virtual world.

Evan Angler (Author), Barrie Buckner (Narrator)

Audiobook

Storm

When the storm breaks, no one will be able to stop it. In the future, the world is united under the power of a charismatic leader, and everyone gets "The Mark" at age thirteen. The Mark lets citizens shop, go to school, and even get medical care — without it, you're on your own. Few refuse to get the Mark. But those who have refused are fighting back. Logan Langly is the unlikely leader of the Markless revolution. He started out to find his sister Lily, who disappeared during her Marking pledge, but now he's fighting for much more. With the threat of a chemically manufactured plague that will potentially kill millions and a drought that is nearing critical mass, someone has to step in. But when Lily appears with a special mission for Logan, it's difficult to know if he can trust her. And with the weather becoming more and more unstable, a storm is coming that will put everything Logan and the Markless have worked for at risk...

Evan Angler (Author), Barrie Buckner (Narrator)

Audiobook

Gideon's Call: A Novel

Peter Leavell's award-winning debut novel is a touching and inspiring tale of surprising heroism amid the horrors of the Civil War. Tad, a slave boy of exceptional hidden gifts, comes of age just as the Civil War erupts in coastal South Carolina. An unlikely deliverer, the young man's hopes remain buried under a crushing weight of abuse and degradation until an extraordinary event thrusts him and 10,000 fellow slaves into an uncharted wilderness of freedom and danger. Based on true events, Gideon's Call immerses listeners in the slave culture of the antebellum South and propels you on a dramatic journey of hope, discovery, faith, and triumph. It is the story of a remarkable young man who, in the face of unimaginable obstacles, overcomes shame and prejudice to emerge a champion of thousands. "In this sweeping saga of one of the most stirring times in our nation's history, Peter Leavell brings alive the stories of unsung American heroes that should never be forgotten. Gideon's Call is exactly the kind of historical novel I love." - Donna Fletcher Crow, author of Glastonbury, A Novel of The Holy Grail ***Please Contact Member Services for Additional Documents***

Peter Leavell (Author), Barrie Buckner (Narrator)

Audiobook

Sneak

When Logan Langly backed out of getting the Mark and went on the run, no one thought he could survive on his own. Without the Mark, you can't buy food, go to the doctor, or use a tablet — you aren't even a citizen. But when he discovers that his sister is being held in a mysterious hidden prison named Acheron, Logan risks everything to travel through an underground network of the Markless to rescue her. Logan arrives only to find that Acheron holds more secrets than anyone could have guessed and that all his careful planning is worthless against a government that will do anything to gain absolute control. It seems there is only one place to turn. But can a banned book with whisper-thin pages and warnings about the real meaning of the Mark really hold the answer? "Apocalyptic dystopian fiction at its best. Angler's sharp wit and dexterity with political themes are matched only by the thrilling suspense on every page." - Lis Wiehl, New York Times best-selling author and Fox News correspondent

Evan Angler (Author), Barrie Buckner (Narrator)

Audiobook

Swipe

Logan Langly is just months away from his thirteenth birthday and the biggest day of his life—the day he will finally be marked. The mark lets people get jobs, use public transportation, or even buy concert tickets. Becoming marked means becoming free—or so he is told. Five years ago when Logan's sister went to get her mark, she never came back. Now Logan can't shake the feeling he's being watched... And then he finds the wire.

Evan Angler (Author), Barrie Buckner (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Barrie Buckner