Running Scared

Published originally as WISHES, this rereleased Jackson novel is a predictable love story. Widow Kate Summers is given a baby with one condition--she must disappear with him and never tell anyone about adopting him. Now her 15-year-old son, Jon, struggles with teenage angst compounded by a special psychic gift. Enter Daegon O'Rourke, a mysterious, brooding man who also has the gift and who finds himself romantically drawn to Kate. Narrator Jack Garrett does an admirable job for the male characters, using an edgy, gruff voice for Daegon and a gentler, more youthful but still masculine voice for Jon. For Kate, Garrett chooses a higher-pitched style that can be mildly distracting at times. In addition, Garrett's slow narration pace exacerbates the predictability of the story, and the novel fails to fully engage. A.R.H. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine