The name of the game in SYNC’s 13th week is giving outsider characters new powers through subtle twists of fantasy. Thanks to HarperAudio and Dreamscape, your free audiobooks provide stories that tug at reality a bit here and there, feature authors, narrators, and characters of color, and are performed by consummate voice actors.

SISTERS OF THE SNAKE comes to listeners through the ever-flexible voice of Soneela Nankani, pulling us into the imaginative possibilities created by Canadian co-novelists (and twins) Sasha Nanua and Sarena Nanua. Identical in appearances and coming from opposite ends of the status spectrum, protagonists Rani and Ria take to the extreme of swapping life stations to aid their home’s wartime efforts. Let Nankani tell you about the magic she found in this tale:

Past and present collide—over and over—in YESTERDAY IS HISTORY by Kosoko Jackson, and narrator Ron Butler keeps listeners straight on when each event happens. Butler also provides clear voicing to differentiate main character Andre’s outward persona from his internal confusion. Complicating Andre’s 21st-century teen life are three major factors: He’s experiencing feeling well after years of serious illness; he keeps slipping between present-day Boston and his neighborhood as it was more than 50 years ago; and there are love interests in both of those time periods. Butler guides us through all of these matters seamlessly.

Download Week 13’s free audiobooks and listen anytime. Of course, you may find that there are time slips and identity switches as you’re listening. No worries. These are just stories, right?

Sasha and Sarena Nanua photo courtesy of the publisher, Soneela Nankani photo by Jody Christopherson, Ron Butler photo by Brian Parillo, Kosoko Jackson photo courtesy of the publisher.