FLORES AND MISS PAULA

Gisela Chípe and Liliana Montenegro provide nuanced alternating narrations in this contemporary audiobook about a strained mother-daughter relationship. Chípe portrays 30-something Monica Yolanda Flores, who shares a Brooklyn apartment with her recently widowed Peruvian-born mother, Paula. Chípe adeptly conveys Flores's sorrow and longing for deeper connections beyond her friendships at her finance job. Montenegro employs a mature, sensible tone for Paula, who is finding her feet at her job at a dollar store and in a possible relationship with an old friend, who is married. The transitions between the first-person perspectives of Flores and Paula are eased by the narrators' relaxed pacing. After the novel's early focus on workplace environments, patient listeners will discover the complexities of Flores and her mother's history and present life. M.J. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2024]