I’ve noticed, in both adult and teen audiobooks, an increase in titles with more than one narrator. I love multi-actor narration, because it transforms an audiobook into a more immersive experience. Here are three full-cast YA audiobooks that should not be missed:

The latest from author Jason Reynolds is a masterpiece—of both storytelling and sound design. Unlike other YA audio titles from Reynolds, Soundtrack (Listening Library, 6 hours and 29 minutes) is an audiobook original. Featuring a cast of 20 and an original score by Grammy-winning composer Justin Ellington, it’s a unique and captivating listening experience. Drummer Stuy wants to follow in his parent’s footsteps and start a band. He connects with guitarist Dunks, hype man Frankie, trumpeter Keith, and bass player Alexis, and together they start playing in subway stations. Their popularity quickly rises, and the underground band’s dreams come true. The music performed by each character embodies their personality, so listeners have extra insight into who these teens are—and get to hear amazing music at the same time. In addition to the music, city sounds like tap dancing, pizza shop clatter, clapping crowds, and the echoes of the subway bring New York City to life.

Also set in New York, A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe by Mahogany L. Browne (Listening Library, 3 hours and 38 minutes) captures life during the Covid-19 pandemic through a mixture of prose, poetry, lists, and letters. Hyacinth and Electra are “two city girls with island roots” who meet in foster care. Because the two have “seen it all,” they serve as the chorus, threading together 10 separate stories while adding context and personal reflections in their pitch-perfect Caribbean patois. Having 14 actors on the recording gives a greater depth and precision to each character than could be accomplished with just a single narrator. The dynamic performances allow listeners to feel characters’ pain, their grief, and their struggles. There is a sense of hope as well—especially in Hyacinth’s “litany on surviving”— that reminds us we did make it out.

Libba Bray’s Under the Same Stars (Macmillan Audio, 16 hours 31 minutes), read by January LaVoy, Jeremy Carlisle Parker, and Major Curda, is a multigenerational story that takes place across three different timelines: a small village in Germany at the start of WWII, the 1980s punk scene in West Berlin, and New York City during the 2020 pandemic lockdown. In the latter storyline, Chloe receives a package from her grandmother that includes an article about three teens who disappeared from their village on the winter solstice in 1941. She enlists her best friend, Miles, to help her solve the cold case, and the unraveling of that mystery connects all the timelines. Bray’s transformative storytelling is supported by multiple actors in the audio edition—each character has a distinct voice, and that pulls readers into the thrilling chase. Throughout the audiobook, Chloe’s grandma shares fairy tales on cassette tapes; listeners first hear the tape sliding into the tape player, then a crackling noise, and we are transported far away. The softer, more distant quality of this recording-within-a-recording lends an otherworldly effect to the story. The third act is emotionally charged; the pacing is excellent and there is a tenseness in every word that reinforces the need for resistance in the darkest times.

Kirby McCurtis is director of location services at Multnomah County Library in Oregon.