HOW TO BUILD A HOUSE

Harper's father and stepmother are getting divorced, and relations are strained with her stepsister and best friend, Tess. In an attempt to escape her life, she volunteers to spend her summer with a group of teens helping a family in tornado-ravaged Tennessee rebuild their home. Caitlin Greer gives the teenaged Harper a fast-paced but strangely unemotional voice. She sounds like she's in a race whose outcome is of no interest. As in Reinhardt's previous novel, A BRIEF CHAPTER IN MY IMPOSSIBLE LIFE, the impact of the positive values of family, friendship, teamwork, and social responsibility are devalued by the excess of casual, emotionless sex, which is portrayed as the norm. This makes the book inappropriate for any but the most mature teen listeners. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2008]