The Alex Crow

MacLeod Andrews navigates listeners through a plot that frequently shifts viewpoints and time frames. Ariel is a teen refugee who is spending his first summer in the U.S. at a sleepaway camp with his foster brother, who resents him. Listeners never learn Ariel's country of origin, but Andrews gives him a slight accent and speaks at a pace that emphasizes the teen's observant and careful nature. Andrews also creates distinct voices for other characters, including a British doctor on a doomed Arctic voyage in the late 1800s, an insane man building a bomb in the present day, and the rest of the boys at camp. His narration captures the absurdities that are part of the story while connecting listeners to its powerful emotional core. A.F. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

Starred review from January 19, 2015
Smith (Grasshopper Jungle) turns in another audacious performance, this time a wild tale of summer camps, adoptive families, mad bombers, masturbation slang, illegal biological research, and an icebound 19th-century ship. Ariel, a 14-year-old orphan caught up in a civil war in an unnamed foreign nation, has been brought to the U.S. by an executive from the mysterious Merrie-Seymour Research Group. Soon after, Ariel and his new stepbrother, Max, are shipped off to Camp Merrie-Seymour for Boys, “a sort of disciplinarian’s boot camp—a detox center for kids who were unable to disconnect from cell phones and technology.” Ariel and Max aren’t tech addicts, but their father is one of the Merrie-Seymour’s chief scientists so the camp is free, and Ariel’s stepparents hope it will help the boys bond. Meanwhile a deranged bomber meanders across the U.S. in a van holding a dangerously radioactive homemade bomb, and a horned monster, the Dumpling Man, is rumored to haunt the woods outside the camp. Fans of Smith’s raunchy, profane, and provocative work will find this funny but morally serious tale deeply appealing. Ages 14–up. Agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

Starred review from April 27, 2015
Careful listening reveals connections between the four disparate stories in Smith’s latest. First is that of a 14-year-old boy, Ariel, who survives the bombing of his home amid a civil war (in an unnamed country) and is bought to America as a refugee. Then there is the tale of the 19th-century Arctic expedition on the ship The Alex Crow and what the crew finds in the ice along the way. There are the travails of Leonard Fountain, an insane man driving across the American South on a mission of destruction. And finally the story of Ariel, now in America (in the present), and his new brother, Max, at the odd Camp Merrie Seymour for Boys. The text could make for an audio nightmare: four different stories, each with multiple characters, taking place in diverse locations and times, as the narrative jumps between them. But Andrews avoids confusion by immediately grounding the listener in the proper place. He does amazing vocal gymnastics, creating voices that are frightened, bold, cocky, confident, confused, charming, formal, warm, and dangerous. Listeners will easily find themselves immersed in the story. Ages 14–up. A Dutton hardcover.