Jason Reynolds’ audiobook Soundtrack will be published in a print edition, Crown Books for Young Readers announced in a news release.
Reynolds’ young adult novel, released as an audio original in June by Listening Library, follows Stuy Grey, a Manhattan teenager whose mother was once the drummer for a punk band. Stuy leaves his mother and her abusive boyfriend and moves in with his uncle, then starts playing drums with four friends, who find success as a band after busking in subway stations.
Writing about Soundtrack in Kirkus Reviews, contributor Kirby McCurtis called it a “masterpiece of both storytelling and sound design.” The audiobook narrators include Nile Bullock, Mekhi Hewling, Jade Williams, and Brandon Miles.
Reynolds, the author of books for young readers such as Long Way Down and Twenty-Four Seconds From Now…, said in a statement, “It excites me to know that this audio experience can now be read. So many of my interests are in presenting stories in different forms and mediums. In this instance, the medium is a book, but the form is a script, which, to me, continues to stretch what we think of as it pertains to contemporary children’s literature.”
Phoebe Yeh, vice president and editor-at-large for Crown Books for Young Readers, said that Soundtrack “is a gift to teens, musicians, and readers who love New York. It’s about creating art, being seen, building community. Once again, Jason Reynolds delivers a novel that celebrates young people and their passions.”
Soundtrack will be published in hardcover and paperback editions on April 14, 2026.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
