SOMEBODY UP THERE HATES YOU

Seventeen-year-old Richie is suffering from SUTHY (Somebody Up There Hates You) syndrome; hospice expects he won’t live longer than a month. Narrator Noah Galvin doesn’t hold back on Richie’s dark, sarcastic tone, especially as he sneers at the sappy harpist whose music “seems a bit premature,” especially for dying teenagers like him and Sylvie. When fifteen-year-old Sylvie tells him she doesn’t want to die a virgin, a smile hovers in Galvin’s voice as Richie realizes it’s never too late to turn into the popular guy and life is “all about surprises.” Galvin also portrays the tender Sylvie and the nurses who care and grieve for the dying, but they form an emotional backdrop. Galvin keeps Richie in the foreground, noting his wonder, and anger, with heartbreaking intensity. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2014]