LITTLE MERCIES

Telling the story from dual points of view, Kate Rudd and Tanya Eby narrate alternating chapters, each giving emotional depth to Gudenkauf's characters. After Ellen, a social worker, accidentally locks her child in a car on a hot day, Rudd evokes the utter exhaustion and bewilderment that she faces as she battles to save her job, her family, and her sanity. Rudd's emotionally wrought reading is well balanced with Eby's reserved portrayal of 10-year-old Jenny, who suffers mentally after a horrific childhood beating. Eby's youthful voice embodies Jenny's ingrained distrust of authority and incongruous maturity as she attempts to survive on her own in an unfamiliar city. Together, both narrators weave a tense and heartbreaking story. J.M. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2014]