Listening for Lucca

When Siena and her family move from Brooklyn to the Maine shore, she and her little brother, Lucca, find that their house has ghostly traces of the family that used to live there. Ariadne Meyers portrays Siena in a pragmatic tone. While she has a youthful pitch and rhythm to her voice, Meyers depicts her in a way that makes her sound fairly unflappable, whether she's dealing with ghostly visits or the need to make new friends in a new town. Meyers also transitions smoothly from the contemporary Siena to the more childish voice of Sarah, the girl who used to live in Siena's house, as well as the shell-shocked, deeper voice of Joshua, who invades Siena's dreams. When listeners finally hear the voice of Lucca, his childlike pitch and pronunciation, so different from Siena's careful words, are well worth the wait. E.N. (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

November 25, 2013
Everyone in the family blames themselves when three-year-old Lucca stopped talking for no apparent reason. The family moves from Brooklyn to an old house in Maine hoping that the change will help the young boy. But Lucca’s sister Siena soon discovers that the family’s new house holds amazing secrets dating back to Word War II. Narrated by Ariadne Meyers, this charming tale will please listeners of all ages. Meyers’s characters come to life through a series of inspired and well-developed portrayals. And despite Lucca’s lack of speech, Meyers is able to interpret and render his character in a way that will resonate long after the book’s final lines. Ages 8–12. A Wendy Lamb hardcover.