WITHIN ARM'S REACH

A star-studded cast masterfully performs Napolitano's debut novel. Her recent success with HELLO BEAUTIFUL has brought this long out-of-print title back. And this stellar audiobook demonstrates its worth. It's hard to limit praise to just a few of the half-dozen sparkling narrations. But Brittany Pressley as Gracie, the lost-soul writer who works as a kind of "Dear Abby," gives an empathetic and knowing reading; Marin Ireland captures the laconic tone of Gracie's brilliant sister, Lila; and Cassandra Campbell admirably delivers the tightly wound personality and conflicted soul of their mother, Kelly. But all the narrators are excellent. This is a finely crafted generational story of an Irish American family and their discontents. Napolitano reads a postscript detailing the novel's long road to publication. A.D.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2024]