THE STARBOARD SEA

After his best friend’s suicide, Jason, riddled with guilt, is expelled from boarding school. At Bellingham, a last-ditch school for wealthy screwups, Jason tries to start over. After the near drowning of another student, Jason, a strong sailor, quits the sailing team. Narrator Alexander Candese sounds oddly distant in this first-person narrative, leaving listeners on the outside of 18-year-old Jason’s emotions. Candese’s interpretation of other students is youthful, enthusiastic and believable, but the adults in the story all sound slightly constricted, conjuring stereotypes rather than real people. When Jason’s friend Aidan disappears, the truths he discovers change his life. Amber Dermont’s coming-of-age novel deals with the big issues teens face—personal identity, love, and loss—but Candese’s uninspired reading doesn’t do it justice. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2012]