DAYS OF WONDER

Stephanie Willing, Xe Sands, and Steve Quinn work together beautifully to bring forth the emotional vibrancy, complicated family dynamics, and romantic entanglements in Leavitt's latest novel. With a youthful, textured intonation, Willing captures what it feels like to be Ella, a young woman who is coming out of a fraught situation in search of a fresh start. Sands's low, emotive register and careful pacing splendidly convey the loneliness tinged with hopefulness of Ella's mother, Helen, who has also traveled a challenging path and needs to keep going. Quinn adeptly portrays Ella's former boyfriend, Jude, who is navigating marriage and fatherhood after a difficult upbringing. While the novel contains moments of implausibility, overall, it is a poignant story of loss and redemption. M.J. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2024]