JULY 2013 - AudioFile
Xe Sands has a talent for capturing the essence of the characters in Leavitt's story of tightly held secrets, betrayal, and reconciliation. In 1956, Lewis befriends other fatherless youths on his suburban Boston block, but when 12-year-old Jimmy disappears, Lewis and his mother, Ava, find themselves ostracized for petty and unfounded reasons. Sands’s performance subtly evokes the varied personalities of adolescent boys, the wistful longing of a youthful divorcée, the lazy drawl of a jazz musician, the anxiety of frantic parents, and the judgmental overtones of nosy neighbors. Leavitt's lyrical prose weaves backstory into present time seamlessly. The mystery of the missing child is resolved a decade later in a way that touches each of the damaged lives with startling consequences. A.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
Riveting.”
—Vanity Fair
“Xe Sands has a talent for capturing the essence of the characters in Leavitt’s story. . . . [Her] performance subtly evokes the varied personalities of adolescent boys, the wistful longing of a youthful divorcée, the lazy drawl of a jazz musician, the anxiety of frantic parents, and the judgmental overtones of nosy neighbors.”
—AudioFile [Earphones Award Winner]
“The audio version . . . enhanced the tension and anticipation.”
—Mixed Media Reviews
Mixed Media Reviews
Compelling work explores how a tragedy casts a shadow. . . . Life isn’t always what we expect, a fact that is thoughtfully explored in this beautifully rendered tale.”
—BookPage
Vanity Fair
This tale of domestic suspense builds to a shocking climax and will appeal to anyone immersed in suburban lore.”
—Library Journal [HC starred review]
BookPage
Compelling work explores how a tragedy casts a shadow. . . . Life isn’t always what we expect, a fact that is thoughtfully explored in this beautifully rendered tale.”
—BookPage
Booklist
Leavitt has a way of crafting the loveliest novels out of tragedy. . . . It’s her examination of loss, grief, and disappointment that will engross readers.”
—Booklist
Library Journal
Leavitt (Pictures of You) sets this novel in Eisenhower-era Massachusetts. On a fateful day in 1956, 12-year-old Lewis has a dentist appointment. Later that afternoon, he meets his neighbor 13-year-old Rose, and they are very late in coming home. When they arrive, the police are there. Everyone is at first relieved that the kids are safe, but then they realize that Rose’s 12-year-old brother Jimmy is missing. Narrator and voice artist Xe Sands brings a rather husky, careworn quality to this narration. The book has an unfinished feel to it as the young protagonists have only just started their adult lives at novel’s end.
Verdict Of interest to Leavitt fans and those who enjoy the challenges of fiction portraying dysfunctional families. [“Leavitt sets out to portray a repressive society and the way it stifles a sympathetic heroine who is oblivious to the social ramifications of her string of former boyfriends. Although the backstory at times dissipates the tension, this tale of domestic suspense builds to a shocking climax and will appeal to anyone immersed in suburban lore,” read the starred review of the Algonquin hc, LJ 4/1/13.—Ed.]—David Faucheux Louisiana Audio Information & Reading Svcs., Lafayette
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