SONGS FOR THE MISSING

Emily Janice Card helps us zoom in on the family and friends left behind when 18-year-old Kim disappears. Her mother, Fran, is capable and busy, and Card gives her an almost-professional terseness that cracks occasionally when she turns to her husband for comfort. Husband Ed has a gruffer voice, but there’s more tenderness and sensitivity in Card's expression of him. Their 15-year-old, Lindsay, uses IM and computer games to stay aloof, but Card conveys her internal feelings of emptiness and confusion. With tension pervading all the story’s viewpoints, Card voices the characters as they adjust to grief and sadness, and attempt to resume their lives as best they can. S.W © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2008]