THE BIRD AND THE BLADE

Emily Woo Zeller narrates the story of Jinghua, a slave in the Mongol Empire, and Khalaf, the young prince with whom she finds friendship and falls in love. Set in the late thirteenth century, this young adult adaptation of Puccini's TURANDOT is full of heartbreaking realities of a war-torn region that reflect today's world conflicts. Despite beautifully spoken foreign words throughout the audiobook, Zeller's overall performance is uneven. Jinghua often sounds overly excited and anxious, her tone sounding like that of a contemporary teenage girl, while Khalaf sounds like the intelligent, kind thirteenth-century young man described in the text. Regardless, the ending will have the listener shedding tears of sorrow. A.L.S.M. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2018]