MY LOUISIANA SKY

The summer Tiger Ann finishes sixth grade in Saiter, Louisiana, is a season of awakening emotions. Tiger has always known that her parents are retarded, or "slow" as she likes to call them, but it has never mattered the way it does this summer. Suddenly adolescent discomfort makes her suspect that she has outdistanced her parents developmentally. Judith Ivey's thick Southern drawl imbues Tiger's first-person narration with such authenticity that the listener can feel the steamy Louisiana summer. Mama's voice, chirpy or childishly whining, is innocent or manipulative by turns. Aunt Dorie Kay's sophisticated voice is as smooth as her Baton Rouge lifestyle. And Daddy's slow and careful speech patterns emphasize his limits, as well as his emotional strength. Ivey brings great sensitivity to this powerful text. T.B. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 00]