THE GIRLS OF AUGUST

The book opens with Madison, one of “the girls of August,” acknowledging the title as "a silly name for four women adrift in middle age." If the "girls" acted like women of substance, the listener might agree. With the lack of fully fleshed-out characters, narrator Kate Reading's experience and honest voice carry the story and enliven the insipid girls. She adroitly handles the disclosure of intimate details. Her portrayal of Baby, the newest member of the group, has a whine that truly reflects her personality. Overall, Reading gives the characters some dynamism as she captures each woman’s life crisis. M.N.T. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2014]