Traffick

Ellen Hopkins's distinctive characterizations of five teens who are in recovery from the effects of sex trafficking are given equally distinctive voices by five adept narrators. In this follow-up to Hopkins's 2009 novel TRICKS, listeners benefit from the uniqueness of each narrator as the story shifts between changing points of view. The different narrators' voices assist listeners who are new to the series to keep the characters straight. Straightforward deliveries work well as the narrators voice the traumatic pasts and painful rehab of the teens without resorting to melodrama or coming off as self-pitying. Overall, a weighty and difficult novel and an ensemble of highly nuanced and varied performances. E.M.C. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine