Wendelin Van Draanen has 28 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 9 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.8★ across 24 ratings. The most-rated is Flipped.
Flipped
Summary
This special audiobook of the classic he said/she said romantic comedy includes essays written and read by Wendelin Van Draanen. The first time she saw him, she flipped. The first time he saw her, he ran. That was the second grade, but not much has changed by the seventh. Juli says, "My Bryce. Still walking around with my first kiss." He says, "It's been six years of strategic avoidance and social discomfort." But in the eighth grade, everything gets turned upside down: Just as Bryce is thinking that there's maybe more to Juli than meets the eye, she's thinking that he's not quite all he seemed. Bonus content includes Wendelin Van Draanen on her sources of inspiration, the making of the movie of Flipped, and why she'll never write a sequel. Narrators Ryan Gesell and Tara Sands read a selection of the amazing fan mail Wendelin has received.
©2003 Wendelin Van Draanen (P)2017 Listening Library
The Running Dream
Summary
Jessica thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a car accident. She's not comforted by the news that she'll be able to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg. Who cares about walking when you live to run? As she struggles to cope with crutches and a first cyborg-like prosthetic, Jessica feels oddly both in the spotlight and invisible. People who don't know what to say, act like she's not there. Which she could handle better if she weren't now keenly aware that she'd done the same thing herself to a girl with CP named Rosa. A girl who is going to tutor her through all the math she's missed. A girl who sees right into the heart of her. With the support of family, friends, a coach, and her track teammates, Jessica may actually be able to run again. But that's not enough for her now. She doesn't just want to cross finish lines herself - she wants to take Rosa with her.
©2011 Wendelin Van Draanen (P)2010 Listening Library
Wild Bird
Summary
From the award-winning author of The Running Dream and Flipped comes a remarkable portrait of a girl who has hit rock bottom but begins a climb back to herself at a wilderness survival camp. 3:47 a.m. That's when they come for Wren Clemmens. She's hustled out of her house and into a waiting car, then a plane, and then taken on a forced march into the desert. This is what happens to kids who've gone so far off the rails, their parents don't know what to do with them anymore. This is wilderness therapy camp. Eight weeks of survivalist camping in the desert. Eight weeks to turn your life around. Yeah, right. The Wren who arrives in the Utah desert is angry and bitter and blaming everyone but herself. But angry can't put up a tent. And bitter won't start a fire. Wren's going to have to admit she needs help if she's going to survive.
©2017 Wendelin Van Draanen (P)2017 Listening Library
Sammy Keyes and the Dead Giveaway
Summary
The 10th mystery in the popular Sammy Keyes series offers more spirit and adventure than ever!Sammy accidentally makes a deadly mistake, but all clues point to her nemesis, Heather, and she gets blamed. As Sammy struggles with her conscience, she should confess, but there's a certain justice in Heather finally getting what she deserves, and she gets distracted helping an ailing senior citizen in her fight against urban renewal. There's a local council member who seems to be on both sides of the issue, and neighborhood vandalism that could be a clue to what's really at stake. While Sammy's trying to sort out those truths, her own haunt her, along with her feelings for Casey, Heather's brother, whom she's agreed to attend the Farewell Dance with on a "non-date".Download another Sammy Keyes puzzler.
©2005 Wendelin Van Draanen Parsons (P)2006 Live Oak Media
Shredderman
Summary
The big mystery in this fourth book in the series is "who is Shredderman"? As national media pressure mounts to reveal his identity, Nolan stumbles across a real spy ring, which leads to the arrests of his parents and favorite teacher. Will Nolan's quest for truth and justice mean losing his secret identity?Listen to more of the exciting escapades of Shredderman!
©2005 Wendelin Van Draanen Parsons (P)2007 Live Oak Media
The Gecko and Sticky
Summary
Dave Sanchez is an average boy with an after-school job and a pet gecko named Sticky. All very normal...until the day Sticky talks. Sticky tells Dave a wild tale of a former life of crime, searching for Aztec gold with a treasure hunter named Damien Black, and of a magical Aztec wristband with shiny gold power ingots that will give the wearer super powers. Dave doesn't believe a word until Sticky shows him the wristband. But while Sticky managed to escape with the wristband, Damien Black has the power ingots. So the lizard and treasure hunter each have something the other wants . . . very badly. Filled with outrageous adventures, over-the-top characters, snappy-funny dialogue, and a tongue-planted-firmly-in-cheek narration, this new series is sure to be a hit with young superheros everywhere.
©2009 Wendelin Van Draanen (P)2009 Listening Library
The Gecko and Sticky: The Power Potion
Summary
Dave Sanchez (aka The Gecko) and his pet gecko (aka Sticky) are back in their fourth dangerous encounter with the dastardly treasure hunter Damien Black! Thirteen-year-old Dave Sanchez is a daytime student, an after-school courier...and a secret superhero! So far Dave's been able to juggle his different roles. But in Dave's hands is the scariest package he's ever been asked to deliver. It's a tube, sealed on each end with wax, and addressed to...Damien Black. Holy tacarole! He can't just hand over a package to the most devious criminal in the city! Who knows what's in there? So Dave breaks a cardinal rule of mail carriers everywhere—he opens the package. Inside is a small bottle that's labeled: one drop, two at most, tested, works. The potion in this bottle is blue and sparkly and oozy and smelly—but what does it do? Ah, poor Dave. He has opened a Pandora's box of trouble. Your classic can of worms. And as a result, he'll find himself facing off with six-horned goats, terrifying tarantulas, a java-junkie monkey—and, of course, Damien Black.
©2010 Wendelin Van Draanen (P)2010 Listening Library
The Gecko and Sticky
Summary
Dave's most despised teacher, a gleeful frog dissector named Ms. Veronica Krockle, is absent. Her students are psyched! But Sticky is suspicious. Especially when the substitute teacher turns out to be strangely interested in geckos. Or rather, boys with pet geckos. Thats no substitute! Thats Damien Black, dastardly treasure hunter and master of disguise! If Damien Black is in school, does that mean he's behind Ms. Krockles absence? Could she have been kidnapped? And does that mean Dave has to rescue her? Ay chihuahua! The caped crusader is (reluctantly) on the case.
©2010 Wendelin Van Draanen (P)2010 Listening Library
Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary
Summary
In this fifth Sammy Keyes mystery, the normally unflappable heroine encounters a corpse, an arsonist, and an irate policeman - and her first real experiences with adolescent angst.On a quiet weekend in the country, Sammy and her friends meet Lucinda Huntley and her 200-pound pig, and become involved in a centuries old family feud involving Lucinda's great grandma Moustache Mary. When Mary's pioneer cabin burns to the ground, it's up to Sammy to dig up the cause as the past collides with the present in this highly combustible mystery!Download another Sammy Keyes puzzler.
©2000 Wendelin Van Draanen Parson (P)2001 Live Oak Media
Sammy Keyes and the Kiss Goodbye
Summary
In the final mystery of this series, one of the bad guys has finally caught up with the skateboarding sleuth of Santa Marina and worse, landed her in the hospital out cold. This time Sammy’s family and friends must solve the crime - who did this to her and why? In a heartwarming, fitting finale the people whose lives she has impacted over the years come together to help uncover the truth and save their beloved Sammy.
©2018 Wendelin Van Draanen Parsons (P)2019 Live Oak Media
The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones
Summary
Award-winning author Wendelin Van Draanen gives us a fresh and funny story about a boy learning to become the brave hero of his own life. Perfect for fans of Counting by 7s and The Fourteenth Goldfish. My secret life is filled with psychic vampires, wheelchair zombies, chain-rattlin' ghosts, and a one-eyed cat. But they're nothing compared to my real-life stalker: a sixth-grade girl named Kandi Kain. Lincoln Jones is always working on the latest story he's got going in his notebook. Those stories are his refuge. A place where the hero always prevails and the bad guy goes to jail. Real life is messy and complicated, so Lincoln sticks to fiction and keeps to himself. Which works fine until a nosy girl at his new school starts prying into his private business. She wants to know what he's writing, where he disappears to after school, and why he never talks to anybody. The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones is a terrifically funny and poignant story about a boy finding the courage to get to know the real characters all around him - and to let them know him.
©2016 Wendelin Van Draanen (P)2016 Listening Library
Sammy Keyes and the Killer Cruise
Summary
To celebrate her 14th birthday, Sammy’s newly found, long-lost father takes her and best friend Marissa on a cruise. As Sammy navigates her feelings about this new relationship, she and Marissa become involved in another family’s bizarre drama which includes the mysterious disappearance of the wealthy matriarch and suspicious activity by the greedy heirs. The 17th mystery in the wildly popular series combines exciting high-seas adventure with the touching emotional journey of this irresistible teen sleuth.
©2013 Curtis Brown Inc (P)2018 Live Oak Media
Sammy Keyes and the Runaway Elf
Summary
It's Christmas, but leave it to Sammy Keyes to find trouble even in the midst of the holiday parade. Trying to help a friend, she reluctantly volunteers on the Canine Calendar float, only to have the famous cover dog dog-napped on her watch! The animal's owner orders Sammy to find the dog before the $50,000 ransom being demanded comes due. But all that Sammy can uncover is a little elflike girl named Elyssa, whose problems seem more important than a missing dog. Still, Sammy does her best to round up the dog-nappers, while forming a bond with the mysterious elf girl. Clever clues and characters abound, making this satisfying mystery unforgettable at Christmas or anytime.
Download another Sammy Keyes puzzler.
©1998 Wendelin Van Draanen Parsons (P)2001 Live Oak Media
The Gecko and Sticky
Summary
Could you choose between a superpower and a friend? The evil treasure hunter Damien Black needs some quick cash so he robs the local bank. But Damien Black didn't figure Dave Sanchez into his plan. Dave's been itching to try out the Invisibility Ingot in his magical wrist band, and here's the perfect opportunity to make like a superhero! So Dave and Sticky set off after the robber, determined to retrieve the bank's money. The Black mansion is a house of hysterical horrors, but somehow he and Sticky manage to navigate the maze and escape with the cash. Asombroso!Dave thinks he's home free, but Damien Black isn't one to give up easily: more than the cash, he wants Dave's wrist band, and he's got a dastardly devious plan that even an invisible boy won't be able to slip out of.
©2009 Wendelin Van Draanen (P)2009 Listening Library
Swear to Howdy
Summary
Recipient of the Edgar Allan Poe Award for best children’s mystery, author Wendelin Van Draanen has written several acclaimed children’s books. In Swear to Howdy, she crafts the story of two mischievous boys, Joey and Rusty, who share a good friendship and a bunch of secrets. Jeff Woodman’s playful narration enhances this colorful story of friendship and trust.
©2003 Wendelin Van Draanen Parsons (P)2004 Recorded Books
Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash
Summary
In her latest mystery, Sammy Keyes feels responsible for the death of an old man whom she discovers on the fire escape and who, with his dying breath, begs her to take his wads of cash and throw them away!
©2008 Wendelin Van Draanen Parsons (P)2009 Live Oak Media
Shredderman
Summary
Tired of the abuse that he's suffered because of bully Bubba Bixby, fifth-grader Nolan Byrd allows his inner super hero to emerge, inspired by a class project. Shredderman is born, and Nolan springs into action, armed with a computer, a cleverly concealed digital camera, and his own top-secret Web page: Shredderman.com. This clever story kicks off a series of fun-filled books. Listen to more adventures of Shredderman.
©2004 Wendelin Van Draanen Parsons (P)2006 Live Oak Media
Sammy Keyes and the Wedding Crasher
Summary
In this 13th mystery, Sammy is entering eighth grade with more than the usual angst - add to it being a bridesmaid in Officer Borsch's wedding, dealing with the break-up of her friend Marissa's parents, and her own mother dating the father of arch-enemy Heather. How will she be able to solve the mystery of who's making death threats against the history teacher that nobody likes (especially with her name at the top of the suspect list)? With wit, style, and spirit as usual!
©2010 Wendelin Van Draanen Parsons (P)2012 Live Oak Media
Hope in the Mail
Summary
Want to write a novel? This book is the motivation you need! Part writing guide and part memoir, this inspiring audiobook from the author of Flipped and The Running Dream is like Bird by Bird for YA readers and writers. Wendelin Van Draanen didn't grow up wanting to be a writer, but 30 books later, she's convinced that writing saved her life. Or, at least, saved her from a life of bitterness and despair. Writing helped her sort out what she thought and felt and wanted. And digging deep into fictional characters helped her understand the real people in her life better as well. Wendelin shares what she's learned - about writing, life, and what it takes to live the writing life. This audiobook is packed with practical advice on the craft: about how to create characters and plot a story that's exciting to read. But maybe even more helpful is the insight she provides into the persistence, and perseverance, it takes to live a productive, creative life. And she answers the age-old question Where do you get your ideas? by revealing how events in her own life became the seeds of her best-loved novels. Hope in the Mail is a wildly inspirational listen for anyone with a story to share.
©2020 Wendelin Van Draanen (P)2020 Listening Library
Shredderman
Summary
This is the third entry in the Shredderman series, which features short chapters and lighthearted, fast-moving stories, starring Nolan Byrd, cyber-hero.When his favorite television superhero, The Gecko, comes to town, Nolan not only befriends the star but helps him expose a sleazy tabloid reporter known as the Mole.Listen to more adventures of Shredderman.
©2005 Wendelin Van Draanen Parsons (P)2007 Live Oak Media