THE BANDANA REPUBLIC

The energy and emotion in this anthology are maintained throughout the production in a myriad of ways. The mix of vocal talent adds to this collection of essays, poetry, fiction, and memoirs on what it means to survive in the world of gangs, violence, and drugs. Many of the narrators are activists, survivors, and icons from within the community, thus legitimizing both the book and audiobook. With dozens of pieces, the matching of individual narrators with particular pieces seems curious yet successful since the ethnicity or gender of the performer is not always linked with that of the author. This effect can be startling at first but still impressive, since so often the writers' words speak beyond these matters. L.E. 2009 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2009]