Windfall

Narrator Tonya Cornelisse's gravelly voice captures the worldliness of Alice, a high school senior who was orphaned at the age of 9. Since then, she has lived with loving relatives. Cornelisse expresses the thoughtful tenderness of Alice's Latina aunt and contrasts this with her uncle's remoteness. She portrays the camaraderie Alice finds with her cousin, Leo, and his friend, Teddy, until the momentous night of Teddy's birthday. On that night, Teddy kisses Alice for the first time, and they discover he's won millions of dollars with the lottery ticket she bought him. As events transpire, Cornelisse reveals Alice's longing for her parents and evokes Teddy's painful past when his father, a gambler, resurfaces. Cornelisse gives full depth to the emotions in this story of gains and losses. S.W. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

July 31, 2017
Alice has been living with her cousin Jake’s family ever since her parents died. She and Jake are best friends with Teddy, who is also Alice’s secret crush. When Alice buys Teddy a lottery ticket as a joke for his 18th birthday, he ends up winning $140 million, which turns all their lives upside down. Narrator Cornelisse sounds like an actual teenager, with a refreshingly down-to-earth, slightly scratchy voice; she sounds like a regular kid you might know, which makes her a great fit for Alice. She doesn’t create character voices, but differentiates the characters by deepening her voice for the boys and adding a slight accent for Jake’s mother. It’s a perfectly suitable performance. Listeners will not be disappointed. Ages 12–up. A Delacorte hardcover.