Whirligig

A young man is humiliated at a party and attempts suicide behind the wheel of a car in heavy traffic. In a dreadful accident, a young girl dies instead. Four readers bring to life the tragic story of 16-year-old Brent Bishop and the people affected by his reckless action. Robert Field, reading Brent, offers the least appealing delivery. His clipped, sometimes overly dramatic, reading lacks authenticity. An emphasis on the odd preposition or verb, together with frequent, unexpected pauses, separates the reader from the inner life of the character and the flow of the story. Significantly inaccurate (and worthy of note in a recording by a Maine publisher) is the Downeast accent of the campground owner. The other voices are appealing and well suited to the text, particularly those read by Lily Christian. T.B. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine

November 8, 1999
After a drunk teenage boy kills a girl while driving, his life is transformed by fulfilling a request of the girl's mother. PW's boxed review called Fleischman's novel "stellar." Ages 12-up.