SMALL STEPS

Curtis McClarin takes no small steps in his energetic reading of Sachar's sequel of sorts to HOLES (1998). He gives a distinctly African-American voice to this story of ticket scalping, teenage love, crime, and redemption. Two years after their release from a juvenile detention camp, Armpit and X-Ray meet up to join in a ticket-scalping venture. Armpit has no idea that he's taking the first steps on an adventure that will lead him into the worlds of entertainment, intrigue, romance, and heartbreak and will put his own life at risk to foil a plot to murder a teenage diva, Kaira DeLeon. McClarin gives honest, believable voices to Armpit, Kaira, and the rest of the characters. In particular, he gives a touching portrayal of Armpit's neighbor Ginny, a 10-year-old white girl with cerebral palsy. S.E.S. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/ MAY 06]