SYNC Summer 2015: Week 13 #sync15

Can we put summer on pause, please? It's going by way too fast. But with summer comes the SYNC Young Adult Listener Program. They recently announced the list of audiobook pairings up for grabs this summer, and today kicks off the 13th week of the program for 2015. Here's what you can grab through Wednesday of next week...for free!

This week's YA title is Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickels by Tanya Lee Stone, performed by J.D. Jackson for Brilliance Audio.

World War II was raging, with thousands of American soldiers fighting overseas against the injustices brought on by Hitler. Back on the home front, the injustice of discrimination against African Americans was playing out as much on Main Street as in the military. Enlisted black men were segregated from white soldiers and regularly relegated to service duties. At Fort Benning, Georgia, First Sergeant Walter Morris’s men served as guards at The Parachute School while the white soldiers prepared to be paratroopers. Morris knew that in order for his men to be treated like soldiers, they would have to train and act like them, but would the military elite and politicians recognize the potential of these men, as well as their passion for serving their country? Tanya Lee Stone examines the role of African Americans in the military through the lens of the untold story of the Triple Nickles as they became America’s first black paratroopers and fought a little-known World War II attack on the American West by the Japanese. The 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, in the words of Morris, “proved that the color of a man had nothing to do with his ability.”

This week's classic title is John Ball's In the Heat of the Night adapted by Matt Pelfrey, performed by Ryan Vincent Anderson, Michael Hammond, Kalen Harriman, Travis Johns, James Morrison, Darren Richardson & Tom Virtue for L.A. Theatre Works.

Based on John Ball’s novel which inspired the Oscar-winning film and the Emmy-winning television series, In the Heat of the Night pits a visiting black detective from California against a small Alabama town simmering with anger over desegregation. A fitting reflection of America in the 1960s, this Off-Broadway hit is provocative, timely, and uncomfortably relevant. Please note: This title contains strong and racially charged language.

Will you be picking up either of these titles? Remember, they're only available through Wednesday, and new titles will be put up on Thursday for download. To download this week's titles, just click here to be taken directly to the SYNC download page.

I hope you take advantage of this program. I've been doing it for the last few years, and I've had the opportunity to listen to a ton of great audio for free.  If you've never tried audiobooks before, it's a great opportunity to do so without the obligation of buying one that you might not enjoy.  And if you love audiobooks, well, it's a great time to stock up on some titles you may have missed or discover new ones.  Win/win.  =)

Happy listening!

Labels: 2015, audiobooks, classics, diversity, freebies, promotions, summer, sync