WILLA AND THE WHALE

Rachel Jacobs embodies young Willa in her thoughtful narration of this audiobook. Tragedy strikes, and Willa loses her mother. Even though she's been separated from her father by divorce and an ocean, she heads back to Washington to live with him and his new family. Jacobs handles the voicing of Willa with sincerity, expressing her love of the ocean and the sadness it also brings with appropriate pacing and inflections. As Willa reestablishes herself in her new life, and even starts to feel content, a blue whale washes ashore on a stormy night. Jacobs doesn't miss a beat, disappearing into the story as Willa comes to terms with death. S.K.G. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2020]