WATER STEPS

Despite its short length, this is a wonderfully rich tale of a girl who learns to overcome both her deepest fear and her long unaddressed grief. As narrator, Alexandria LaFaye seems to move effortlessly from character to character: the young, uncertain Kyna; the impulsive, riotous Tylo; and the lyrical-sounding adoptive grandparents, Mem and Pep. They must hide their own deepest secret when Tylo decides to investigate local rumors of a selkie, a creature that is half-seal, half-human. Though Kyna occasionally comes across as older than 11, her emotional journey is convincingly portrayed, and the entire tale is enhanced by snippets of Celtic folk music. J.M. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2010]