Black, White, Other

Fifteen-year-old Nina struggles with her mixed-race identity. Her classmates want her to choose to be black or white, but that makes Nina miserable. Worse yet, her parents are divorcing over that very issue. Nina finds solace in stories of her ancestor Sarah's escape from slavery. Bahni Turpin brings Nina's problems to life in a jazzy, energetic voice. Her even pacing is a nice foil to Nina's youthful fervor. Nina sounds lively and musical, going from despair to delight with believable emotion. Turpin is equally comfortable with Sarah's slave narrative, including a Southern dialect. As Turpin differentiates the characters with unique voices, her male voices are as strong as her female ones. Listeners will connect with Nina's search for understanding and direction. C.A. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine