MEANT TO BE

When 13-year-old PJ begins to lose faith in God, she prays to her deceased grandmother for guidance. Hannah returns to earth to guide her granddaughter to maturity. The use of two narrators is highly effective with this text. The chapters alternate between the earthbound and heavenly characters, so the two narrators never interact. Susan Spain is excellent as PJ and a multitude of other characters. Lizan Mitchell is less successful as Hannah. While Mitchell's voice is age-specific, her vocal idiosyncrasies are irritating. P.R.
(c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 04]