HOW HEDLEY HOPKINS DID A DARE...

This offbeat coming-of-age story is Paul Jennings's first YA novel. Based on his own life, it portrays a boy's adjustment after he and his family emigrate from England to Australia. Hedley worries about what kind of dare he will have to do to be accepted at his new school, the possibility of someone discovering his " wicked deeds," and ways to avoid " the loonies," who come out to murder people on nights of the full moon. Jerome Pride, having trained in both the UK and Australia, has both the heart and accent to give Hedley his voice. Listeners will cheer as Hedley navigates the maze of puberty to find his place in the world. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/ JUL 07]