DREAMLAND SOCIAL CLUB

Jane is a teenager who has traveled the world but has never had a place to call home until she moves to Coney Island with her father and brother after inheriting a house from a grandfather she never met. The story moves slowly as it is full of Jane’s memories of her mother, and narrator Erin Moon competently conveys the dreamlike quality of these recollections and fantasies. Moon reads from Jane’s point of view in a natural tone and differentiates the voices of Jane’s classmates through the use of New York accents and a variety of different tones and pitches that connect Jane’s impressions of them to their characters. But Moon’s portrayal of Jane lacks expressiveness, and the even pacing she employs doesn’t help move the story along. E.N. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2011]