ALL THE RIGHT STUFF

Narrator Brandon Gill thoroughly embraces the role of 16-year-old Paul Dupree, who takes on two summer jobs: one, as a slightly intimidated and self-conscious basketball mentor to a determined 17-year-old single mom and the other as a contemplative cook serving up food and theory in a soup kitchen. Gill’s pacing and intonation are especially powerful as the wise and thought-provoking Elijah, who encourages Dupree’s discussion of philosopher Rousseau’s “Social Contract.” Gill also effectively brings out the other characters such as Dupree’s cocky peers and the tough and streetwise Sly. Gill’s youthful voice will make it easy for teens to identify with the story and with Dupree’s naïveté and eagerness to make more sense of his life. M.F. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2012]