THE TINY MANSION

Listeners are introduced to 12-year-old Dagmar, who is stuck in a tiny house in California's redwood forest with her father, stepmother, and 5-year-old half-brother, Santi. Narrator Kristen DiMercurio does a fantastic job of bringing several unique personalities to life. Young Dagmar expresses exasperation with pesky Santi, boredom with her summer of isolation, curiosity about the eccentric family that calls the forest home, and confidence when she finds a path through a wildfire. Santi has the whiny voice of a little brother desperate for attention. Spoiled rich boy Blake's voice loses its snottiness as he finds a way to be a friend. Vlad, Blake's "manny," brings comic relief with his accent and mangled English. This is a timely, entertaining story dealing with the environment, technology, and family dynamics. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2020]