Kids of Appetite

Starred review from June 13, 2016
Arnold (Mosquitoland) again showcases a memorable cast of outsiders carving out space for themselves. Bruno Victor “Vic” Benucci III, a 16-year-old Jersey kid born with a rare condition that leaves him unable to use most of his facial muscles, is reeling from his father’s death two years earlier. After his mother’s new boyfriend proposes to her, Vic bolts from the house with his father’s ashes. Vic’s destiny is changed when he meets 17-year-old Madeline “Mad” Falco, who is part of a gang of semihomeless kids who vow to help Vic decipher his father’s final note, which dictates various places to spread his ashes. Told through Vic and Mad’s alternating narratives, interspersed with police interviews centered around the murder of Mad’s abusive uncle, the story focuses on the unbreakable bonds of these forgotten, mistreated kids—who include two brothers born in the Congo and a brilliant, sharp-tongued 11-year-old—as well as Vic’s enduring loyalty to his father’s memory. Arnold writes with a Hinton-esque depth and rawness, building Mad and Vic’s stories with practiced patience. Ages 14–up. Agent: Daniel Lazar, Writers House.

Narrator Michael Crouch's portrayal shows the many facets of 16-year-old Vic's sorrow. Vic's father's death and his mother's new relationship leave him feeling alone in coping with his Mobeius syndrome, which paralyzes his face. Miserable Vic runs away with his father's urn and meets Mad and three other homeless kids who are cared for by Baz, a kindly Congolese young woman. Phoebe Strole captures Mad's strident tones and, gradually, the hidden vulnerability she bears from an abusive home. As Mad's harshness turns to warmth, Vic's hope of love is realized. Interspersed in their alternating chapters are Ryan Vincent Anderson's accented comments as Baz. Anderson's deep, sonorous voice reflects Baz's experiences and contrasts with the youthful timbres of Vic and Madeline. S.W. � AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

February 27, 2017
When grieving teenager Vic flees his home to disperse his father’s ashes, he finds solace with a motley crew of semihomeless teens led by Baz, a Congolese refugee who is being accused of a New Jersey murder, and falls in love with Mad, an intrepid bookworm. Stage actor Strole captures Mad’s biting wit, and Crouch nails Vic’s wistful optimism. (Crouch also gamely tries his best with a sequence that likely worked well in print but is almost unbearably awkward for the listener, in which Vic recites his mantra one hundred times in rapid succession. Points to Crouch for his attempts to vary the delivery.) Where the audiobook falls short is in failing to utilize the talents of Anderson, an experienced audiobook performer who is woefully overlooked here as Baz, mostly serving as a scene-setter at the start of each chapter while Strole and Crouch coarsely attempt to read Baz’s dialogue in their respective sections of the story. A Viking hardcover. Ages 14–up.