
The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $15.30
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Kirby Heyborne
-
By:
-
Kristin Levine
About this listen
The last thing Harry Dit Sims expects when Emma Walker comes to town is to become friends. Proper-talking, brainy Emma doesnt play baseball or fish too well, but she sure makes Dit think, especially about the differences between black and white. But soon Dit is thinking about a whole lot more when the town barber, who is black, is put on trial for a terrible crime. Together Dit and Emma come up with a daring plan to save him from the unthinkable.
Set in 1917 and inspired by the author's true family history, this is the poignant story of a remarkable friendship and the perils of small-town justice.
©2010 Kristin Levine (P)2010 Listening LibraryListeners also enjoyed...
-
Bomb
- The Race to Build - and Steal - the World's Most Dangerous Weapon
- By: Steve Sheinkin
- Narrated by: Roy Roy Samuelson
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In December of 1938, a chemist in a German laboratory made a shocking discovery: When placed next to radioactive material, a Uranium atom split in two. That simple discovery launched a scientific race that spanned three continents. In Great Britain and the United States, Soviet spies worked their way into the scientific community; in Norway, a commando force slipped behind enemy lines to attack German heavy-water manufacturing; and deep in the desert, one brilliant group of scientists was hidden away at a remote site at Los Alamos.
-
-
Clear and Concise History of the First Bomb
- By Chrissie on 10-18-13
By: Steve Sheinkin
-
The Paper Cowboy
- By: Kristin Levine
- Narrated by: Lincoln Hoppe
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Though he thinks of himself as a cowboy, Tommy is really a bully. He's always playing cruel jokes on classmates or stealing from the store. But Tommy has a reason: life at home is tough. His abusive mother isn't well; in fact, she may be mentally ill, and his sister, Mary Lou, is in the hospital badly burned from doing a chore it was really Tommy's turn to do. To make amends, Tommy takes over Mary Lou's paper route.
-
-
Great but...
- By Sabrina Perkins on 12-12-16
By: Kristin Levine
-
The Fort
- By: Gordon Korman
- Narrated by: Christopher Carley, Michael Crouch, Nick Walther, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The morning after Hurricane Leo rips through the town of Canaan, residents awaken to widespread destruction—power outages, downed branches, uprooted trees, broken windows and damaged roofs. Four eighth-grade friends—Evan, Jason, Mitchell, and CJ—meet to explore the devastation. The tight-knit group is dismayed to find that Evan has brought along a stray—Ricky, who is new to their town and school, and doesn’t have any friends yet.
-
-
Stunning
- By Livie on 06-27-23
By: Gordon Korman
-
Allies
- By: Alan Gratz
- Narrated by: Jamie Cline, Vaneh Assadourian, P. J. Ochlan, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
D-Day, June 6, 1944: the most expansive military endeavor in history. No less than world cooperation would bring down Hitler and the Axis powers. And so people - and kids - across the globe lent their part. From the young US soldiers in the boats to spies in the French countryside, the coordination of thousands came together. Alan Gratz, author of the New York Times best-selling Refugee, explores the necessity of teamwork and heroism in dismantling tyranny in this epic, yet personal, look at D-Day in time for the 75th anniversary of the operation.
-
-
Wonderful!
- By Claire on 02-03-20
By: Alan Gratz
-
The Rithmatist
- By: Brandon Sanderson, Ben McSweeney
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Chosen by the Master in a mysterious inception ceremony, Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity's only defense against the Wild Chalklings—merciless creatures that leave mangled corpses in their wake. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles.
-
-
Laughed until I couldn't breathe
- By Trip Williams on 08-21-14
By: Brandon Sanderson, and others
-
Swipe
- Swipe, Book 1
- By: Evan Angler
- Narrated by: Jeff Stewart
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
United under a charismatic leader, every citizen of the American Union is required to get the Mark on their 13th birthday in order to gain the benefits of citizenship. The Mark is a tattoo that must be swiped by special scanners for everything from employment to transportation to shopping. It’s almost Logan Langly’s 13th birthday, and he knows he should be excited about getting the Mark, but he hasn’t been able to shake the feeling he’s being watched. Not since his sister went to get her Mark five years ago...and never came back.
By: Evan Angler
-
Bomb
- The Race to Build - and Steal - the World's Most Dangerous Weapon
- By: Steve Sheinkin
- Narrated by: Roy Roy Samuelson
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In December of 1938, a chemist in a German laboratory made a shocking discovery: When placed next to radioactive material, a Uranium atom split in two. That simple discovery launched a scientific race that spanned three continents. In Great Britain and the United States, Soviet spies worked their way into the scientific community; in Norway, a commando force slipped behind enemy lines to attack German heavy-water manufacturing; and deep in the desert, one brilliant group of scientists was hidden away at a remote site at Los Alamos.
-
-
Clear and Concise History of the First Bomb
- By Chrissie on 10-18-13
By: Steve Sheinkin
-
The Paper Cowboy
- By: Kristin Levine
- Narrated by: Lincoln Hoppe
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Though he thinks of himself as a cowboy, Tommy is really a bully. He's always playing cruel jokes on classmates or stealing from the store. But Tommy has a reason: life at home is tough. His abusive mother isn't well; in fact, she may be mentally ill, and his sister, Mary Lou, is in the hospital badly burned from doing a chore it was really Tommy's turn to do. To make amends, Tommy takes over Mary Lou's paper route.
-
-
Great but...
- By Sabrina Perkins on 12-12-16
By: Kristin Levine
-
The Fort
- By: Gordon Korman
- Narrated by: Christopher Carley, Michael Crouch, Nick Walther, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The morning after Hurricane Leo rips through the town of Canaan, residents awaken to widespread destruction—power outages, downed branches, uprooted trees, broken windows and damaged roofs. Four eighth-grade friends—Evan, Jason, Mitchell, and CJ—meet to explore the devastation. The tight-knit group is dismayed to find that Evan has brought along a stray—Ricky, who is new to their town and school, and doesn’t have any friends yet.
-
-
Stunning
- By Livie on 06-27-23
By: Gordon Korman
-
Allies
- By: Alan Gratz
- Narrated by: Jamie Cline, Vaneh Assadourian, P. J. Ochlan, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
D-Day, June 6, 1944: the most expansive military endeavor in history. No less than world cooperation would bring down Hitler and the Axis powers. And so people - and kids - across the globe lent their part. From the young US soldiers in the boats to spies in the French countryside, the coordination of thousands came together. Alan Gratz, author of the New York Times best-selling Refugee, explores the necessity of teamwork and heroism in dismantling tyranny in this epic, yet personal, look at D-Day in time for the 75th anniversary of the operation.
-
-
Wonderful!
- By Claire on 02-03-20
By: Alan Gratz
-
The Rithmatist
- By: Brandon Sanderson, Ben McSweeney
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Chosen by the Master in a mysterious inception ceremony, Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity's only defense against the Wild Chalklings—merciless creatures that leave mangled corpses in their wake. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles.
-
-
Laughed until I couldn't breathe
- By Trip Williams on 08-21-14
By: Brandon Sanderson, and others
-
Swipe
- Swipe, Book 1
- By: Evan Angler
- Narrated by: Jeff Stewart
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
United under a charismatic leader, every citizen of the American Union is required to get the Mark on their 13th birthday in order to gain the benefits of citizenship. The Mark is a tattoo that must be swiped by special scanners for everything from employment to transportation to shopping. It’s almost Logan Langly’s 13th birthday, and he knows he should be excited about getting the Mark, but he hasn’t been able to shake the feeling he’s being watched. Not since his sister went to get her Mark five years ago...and never came back.
By: Evan Angler
-
Love, Aubrey
- By: Suzanne LaFleur
- Narrated by: Becca Battoe
- Length: 6 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"I had everything I needed to run a household: A house, food, and a new family. From now on it would just be me and Sammy - the two of us, and no one else". A tragic accident has turned 11-year-old Aubrey’s world upside down. Starting a new life all alone, Aubrey has everything she thinks she needs: SpaghettiOs and Sammy, her new pet fish. She cannot talk about what happened to her. Writing letters is the only thing that feels right to Aubrey, even if no one ever reads them. With the aid of her loving grandmother and new friends, Aubrey learns that she is not alone.
-
-
Seeing the child’s POV
- By Peyton on 04-08-24
By: Suzanne LaFleur
-
Moon Over Manifest
- By: Clare Vanderpool
- Narrated by: Jenna Lamia, Cassandra Campbell, Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was. Having heard stories about Manifest, Abilene is disappointed to find that it's just a dried-up, worn-out old town. But her disappointment quickly turns to excitement when she discovers a hidden cigar box full of mementos.
-
-
AWESOME book! LOVED it!
- By Rae on 06-23-11
By: Clare Vanderpool
-
Bud, Not Buddy
- By: Christopher Paul Curtis
- Narrated by: James Avery
- Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s 1936, in Flint Michigan. Times may be hard, and ten-year-old Bud may be a motherless boy on the run, but Bud’s got a few things going for him. 1. He has his own suitcase full of special things. 2. He’s the author of Bud Caldwell’s Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself. 3. His momma never told him who his father was, but she left a clue: flyers advertising Herman E. Calloway and his famous band, the Dusky Devastators of the Depression!!!!!! Bud’s got an idea that those flyers will lead him to his father.
-
-
Great Family Audio
- By Dionne on 02-21-09
-
Restart
- By: Gordon Korman
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross, Laura Knight Keating, Ramon de Ocampo, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times best-selling author Gordon Korman harkens back to his No More Dead Dogs days in this stand-alone that takes a tone more serious than you've ever heard from him before. A boy who's been a bully and hanging out with the wrong friends gets a new start after a memory-loss-inducing accident. But can someone really change who he is, or will the old him merely come back over time?
-
-
Ehhhh
- By James ODonnell on 07-03-18
By: Gordon Korman
-
Out of My Mind
- By: Sharon M. Draper
- Narrated by: Sisi Aisha Johnson
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Melody is not like most people. She cannot walk or talk, but she has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She is smarter than most of the adults who try to diagnose her and smarter than her classmates in her integrated classroom - the very same classmates who dismiss her as mentally challenged because she cannot tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by cerebral palsy.
-
-
♡
- By KiNg35 on 11-17-16
By: Sharon M. Draper
-
Hiding in the Light
- Why I Risked Everything to Leave Islam and Follow Jesus
- By: Rifqa Bary
- Narrated by: Rifqa Bary
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rifqa Bary grew up in a devout Muslim home, obediently following her parents' orders to practice the rituals of Islam. But God was calling her to freedom and love. He was calling her to true faith. He was calling her to give up everything.
-
-
Excellent!
- By Enrique Mata III on 05-24-15
By: Rifqa Bary
-
Keeper of the Lost Cities
- By: Shannon Messenger
- Narrated by: Caitlin Kelly
- Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twelve-year-old Sophie has never quite fit into her life. She’s skipped multiple grades and doesn’t really connect with the older kids at school, but she’s not comfortable with her family, either. The reason? Sophie’s a Telepath, someone who can read minds. No one knows her secret - at least, that’s what she thinks.... But the day Sophie meets Fitz, a mysterious (and adorable) boy, she learns she’s not alone. He’s a Telepath too, and it turns out the reason she has never felt at home is that, well...she isn’t. Fitz opens Sophie’s eyes to a shocking truth....
-
-
Amazing!
- By Anonymous User on 11-26-18
-
Bloodroot
- By: Amy Greene
- Narrated by: Lorna Raver, Kirby Heyborne, Jessie Bernstein, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Named for a flower whose blood-red sap possesses the power both to heal and poison, Bloodroot is a stunning fiction debut about the legacies - of magic and madness, faith and secrets, passion and loss - that haunt one family across the generations, from the Great Depression to today. The novel is told in a kaleidoscope of seamlessly woven voices and centers around an incendiary romance that consumes everyone in its path.
-
-
Amazing story
- By MJ on 02-16-10
By: Amy Greene
-
I Will Always Write Back
- How One Letter Changed Two Lives
- By: Martin Ganda, Caitlin Alifirenka, Liz Welch
- Narrated by: Chukwudi Iwuji, Emily Bauer
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New York Times best-selling true story of an all-American girl and a boy from Zimbabwe and the letter that changed both of their lives forever. It started as an assignment. Everyone in Caitlin's class wrote to an unknown student somewhere in a distant place. Martin was lucky to even receive a pen-pal letter. There were only 10 letters, and 50 kids in his class. But he was the top student, so he got the first one. That letter was the beginning of a correspondence that spanned six years and changed two lives.
-
-
Got a pen pal?
- By THoward on 03-19-17
By: Martin Ganda, and others
-
Code of Honor
- By: Alan Gratz
- Narrated by: Dan Bittner
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When 17-year-old Iranian American Kamran Smith learns that his brother has been labeled a terrorist, he knows something isn't right. In a race against time, it is up to Kamran to prove his brother's innocence, even as the country has turned against him and his family. With the help of a ragtag team of underground intelligence professionals, Kamran must piece together the clues and the codes that will save his brother's life - and save his country from possibly the largest terrorist attack since 9/11.
-
-
Great JBA nominee
- By Kristen on 10-25-17
By: Alan Gratz
-
Front Desk
- By: Kelly Yang
- Narrated by: Sunny Lu
- Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mia Tang has a lot of secrets. Number one: She lives in a motel, not a big house. Every day, while her immigrant parents clean the rooms, 10-year-old Mia manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel and tends to its guests. Number two: Her parents hide immigrants. And if the mean motel owner, Mr. Yao, finds out they've been letting them stay in the empty rooms for free, the Tangs will be doomed. Number three: She wants to be a writer. But how can she when her mom thinks she should stick to math because English is not her first language?
-
-
Expands Compassion & Understanding (Kids&Adults!)
- By R in Oak Park on 10-12-19
By: Kelly Yang
-
The Darkest Child
- By: Delores Phillips
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1958 Georgia, the shade of a 13-year-old black girl's skin can make the difference in her fate. Tangy Mae is the smartest of her mother's 10 children, but she is also the darkest complected. The Quinns - all different skin shades, all with unknown fathers - live with their charismatic, beautiful, and tyrannical mother, Rozelle, in poverty on the fringes of a Georgia town where Jim Crow rules. Rozelle's children live in fear of her mood swings and her violence, but they are devoted to her. Rozelle pulls her children out of school when they are 12 years old so that they can help support her by going to work.
-
-
The Darkest Child
- By Beguiling on 04-02-18
By: Delores Phillips
Critic reviews
"[An] energetic, seamlessly narrated first novel.... Levine handles the setting with grace and nuance.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)
"Readers will find humor in his candid account, universality in his dilemmas and blunders, and inspiration in his friendship with Emma and their mutual desire for social justice." (School Library Journal)
"Levine’s story treats racism frankly and with no mincing of words. The highlight of this coming-of-age journey comes from watching the two kids learn about the world and come to care about each other in the way of 13-year-olds." (Booklist)
Amazing amazing awesome amazing amazing awesome amazing
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Wonderful story
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
great read
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Terry from Texas
Reminds me of Huckleberry Finn
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
PERFECT
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Would you listen to The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had again? Why?
Yes, because it moved me.What did you like best about this story?
That they got away with it;)Which character – as performed by Kirby Heyborne – was your favorite?
The protagonistIf you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
The same as the bookFabulous listen!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Amazing book!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.