ANGEL’S REST

Eleven-year-old Charlie York loves his home at the foot of Angel's Rest, the highest mountain around Sunnyside, Virginia. When Charlie's father is killed by a shotgun blast, Hollis Thrasher, an emotionally damaged, reclusive Korean War veteran, is a suspect, but it is Charlie's mother who is tried for murder. Charlie is left in the care of a black man who is a storyteller. Christian Rummel nicely reflects Charlie's coming-of-age as his eyes are opened to an adult world of dark secrets, loss, and the evils of racism and prejudice. In this gentle story of a boy's awakening, Rummel doesn't overdo accents or voices, keeping true to Charlie's ingenuous nature in an understated, matter-of-fact style listeners will appreciate. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 07]