HOW TO SAY GOODBYE IN ROBOT

Beatrice hits upon the idea of becoming "Robot Girl" when her mother chides her for not feeling emotion. Given her mother’s current bizarre behavior and her distant father, Beatrice longs to connect with someone. Like many of us, she finds an outlet in listening to a quirky late-night radio show called “Night Light,” recommended to her by another struggling outcast called “Ghost Boy.” Kate Rudd gives Beatrice just the right amount of sarcastic bleakness to make her painful awareness of being a lifelong outcast completely believable. A special treat is the multiple narrators who take on the eclectic and lonely group of late-night callers—each with a distinct, eccentric, and perfectly drawn personality. D.G. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2011]