WONDERLAND

Sarah Coomes’s narration keeps listeners squarely in the point of view of shy 16-year-old Jude, who wants to respond to the urgings of her rebellious friend, Stella—yet doesn’t quite dare to. Coomes’s reading carries nuances that will alert discerning listeners to the many facets of Jude’s character. They’ll observe Jude’s alternating envy and fear of her saucy friend. And they’ll wonder who exactly Stella is—a real cigarette-toting, vodka-swilling role model or the personification of Jude’s desire to break out of her life in a stifling English town and become an actress, as her mother once was? Coomes dramatizes the torment of being caught between the drive to discover oneself and the desire to protect oneself from taking risks. S.W. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2011]