AND BOTH WERE YOUNG

L’Engle, most known for her WRINKLE IN TIME trilogy, uses her own childhood experiences in her first novel. At 12 her father was ill, and she was sent to a Swiss boarding school. In this story, Philippa (Flip) Hunter has lost her mother, and her father’s travels necessitate placing her in a Swiss boarding school. Ann Marie Lee’s ease with multiple accents gives a strong sense of the school’s diversity, and she provides a credible portrayal of Flip’s anxiety, alienation, and isolation. The post-WWII European setting adds to characters’ complexity, and Lee accurately expresses their many painful emotions. Listeners witness Flip’s struggle to reach out to her fellow students, along with her growing confidence and her fondness for the mysterious Paul. S.W. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2011]