THE MOTHERS

Do the decisions we made in our youth shape the rest of our lives? Brit Bennett's absorbing debut novel, set in Southern California's black community, gets a sensitive narration by Adenrele Ojo. The lives of three damaged teens intertwine and reconnect when they meet again as adults. Nadia, Aubrey, and Luke have a secret. "All good secrets have a taste before you tell them, and if we'd taken a moment to swish this one around our mouths, we might have noticed the sourness of an unripe secret, plucked too soon, stolen and passed around before its season." Ojo's voice is smooth as honey and prickly as thistles when portraying the gossipy mothers who relentlessly poke at the secret until nothing remains hidden. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2016]