ADAM CANFIELD: THE LAST REPORTER

After the school board bows to pressure from an influential family and shuts down the “Slash,” the Harris Elementary/Middle School's newspaper, coeditors Adam and Jennifer decide to publish it themselves. Patrick Lawlor gives a straightforward reading of this third Adam Canfield book. Winerip peppers his narrative with dialogue attributions, and Lawlor's tendency to emphasize these is annoying. Furthermore, the characters do not sound youthful. The most convincing voices are those of Phoebe, a third-grader who promotes her “Dear Phoebe” advice column in a squeaky, enthusiastic voice, and the entrepreneurial Ameche brothers, who have creative ideas for funding the paper but questionable journalistic ethics. The pacing conveys the thrill of tracking down news stories, and the humor of the novel comes across well. C.R.A. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2010]