FIERCE PEOPLE

Finn Earl's father is a famous anthropologist living in the Amazon jungle among the Yanomamo (the "Fierce People"). His promiscuous mother is addicted to blow and booze. She and Finn move to ritzy Vlyvalle, New Jersey, to help her kick her bad habits. Scott Shina's portrayal of Finn provides an ingenuous, smirking, wisecracking narrative style with just the right insouciance for a bright 15-year-old. When this offbeat, outrageous story takes a nasty turn, Shina turns with it, and we learn what we always suspected, that the filthy rich are more savage than the Yanomamos. In this often bizarre, sometimes disturbing, coming-of-age story, Scott Shina gives a fiercely funny performance. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 05/ JAN 06]