GOOD KINGS, BAD KINGS

The winner of the 2012 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction examines the workings of an institution for disabled teens run by a corporation that is more interested in profit than providing patient care. Collusion between doctors and hospitals, sadistic guards, and neglect resulting in a young man's death are only some of the horrific revelations. Written as a series of narrative monologues, this is a wonderful vehicle for audio, with engaging, heartrending performances by a talented cast of actors. Listeners meet Yessenia, a feisty wheelchair-bound teenager; Mia, who is being sexually abused by a "houseparent"; and Joanne, Ricky, and Jimmie, caring staff members. The villains are really bad, the heroes are overworked, and the kids are at the mercy of a corrupt system. Enlightening listening. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2013]