The Far Away Brothers

Cassandra Campbell brings her full complement of narrating skills to this challenging and provocative audiobook. Her style suits the seriousness and frustrating action of this story of twin brothers who escape hardship and danger in El Salvador to make a new life as undocumented immigrants in Northern California. Campbell's performance is both intelligent and understated. Even the dramatic scenes of the brothers' harrowing travel with "coyotes" through Mexico and detainment in the U.S. by the border patrol are read evenly. Her transition from the narrator's educated and informed tone to the twins' patois works well. The audiobook's long asides on immigration policy and how it affects the poor and desperate are handled gracefully. A.D.M. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine