JOHNNY TREMAIN

Forbes’s 1944 Newbery Medal-winning novel of a fourteen-year-old silversmith’s apprentice chronicles the beginnings of the revolution in the American Colonies. In these days of quick-paced action, the multi-layered story may not be fast-moving enough for some listeners. Cassidy gives a rather pedestrian reading though the dialogue is quite sprightly. Her pauses separate each speaker so that changes of intonation are unnecessary. A more dramatic reading might easily destroy Forbes’s delicate pacing. This introduction to American history is a classic and Cassidy’s rendition is acceptable. S.B.S. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT 94]