Weightless

June 8, 2015
In this finely crafted debut, Bannan skillfully delivers a tale of modern-day bullying. When beautiful, sophisticated Carolyn Lessing relocates with her mother to Adamsville, Ala., she's a rare newcomer to the cloistered small town. At first, she's accepted, even admiredâuntil the pushed-aside popular high school girls turn vicious and engage in nightmarish torture of Carolyn via social media. The taunts grow progressively more cruel and even progress into physical violenceâuntil Carolyn finally breaks, with actions that will reverberate for years to come. Told in the first-person plural (the narrators are never named), this chilling story has a haunting sense of immediacy. "We felt such shame it could be hard to sleep at night," they muse toward the end of the tale. Bannan's provocative novel will stay with readers long after they finish it, and should be an especially effective read for teens.

Andi Arndt's skillful narration expresses the drama that follows in the wake of teenager Carolyn Lessing, whose arrival in Alabama from New Jersey shakes up the sleepy status quo at Adams High. Arndt superbly voices the reactions of Carolyn's peers to this attractive outsider. With a soft Southern drawl, she sketches the cast of the school, including male and female students, teachers, parents, and coaches. But the weight of the narration--and Arndt's most artful depiction--is carried by the "we" that voices most of the story. This innovative point of view captures the group of teenaged girls who witness--and, in a way, assist in--Carolyn's tragic downfall. Provocative and fully engaging, this is a production that will haunt listeners. J.C.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine