HOT FUDGE SUNDAE BLUES

The voice of Layla, the Mississippi-born narrator of this audiobook, features not a drawl, but a sweetness and earnest innocence that captivate the listener from the opening line. Liz Morton infuses the young speaker with an eager-to-please purity and clarity, maintaining a balance between Layla's open personality and the cruelties of the world. Throughout the dramatic events that unfold in her life, Layla blends optimism with wisdom to overcome, or at least accept, the pain she encounters. Morton's reading of the central character is an ideal performance of that role--she captures the contrasts that exist between a child's world and the world at large. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/ JUL 06]