The Little Giant of Aberdeen County

Saddled with an untreated pituitary gland abnormality, Truly is a giant of a girl. Shunned by the townsfolk of Aberdeen, New York, she finds alternative homes with the hopeless Dyerson family and, later, with her dastardly brother-in-law, Dr. Robert Morgan. Carrington MacDuffie blesses Truly with a sweet, lilting voice, a quality replicated in several characters. She struggles with characterizing some of the males but nails Dr. Morgan with a suitably gruff tone. MacDuffie's finest vocalization belongs to the speech-impaired Amelia Dyerson, Truly's lone companion. In the Morgan household, Truly discovers a set of legendary herbal treatments, setting her on a redemptive, yet tragic, course. Listeners will be moved by this remarkable story of love, loss, and ultimate triumph. J.J.B. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

Starred review from September 8, 2008
Baker's bangup debut mixes the exuberant eccentricities of John Irving's Garp
, Anne Tyler's relationship savvy and the plangent voice of Margaret Atwood. In an upstate New York backwater, Truly, massive from birth, has a bleak existence with her depressed father and her china-doll–like sister, Serena Jane. Truly grows at an astonishing rate—her girth the result of a pituitary gland problem—and after her father dies when Truly is 12, Truly is sloughed off to the Dyersons, a hapless farming family. Her outsize kindness surfaces as she befriends the Dyersons' outcast daughter, Amelia, and later leaves her beloved Dyerson farm to take care of Serena Jane's husband and son after Serena Jane leaves them. Haunting the margins of Truly's story is that of Tabitha Dyerson, a rumored witch whose secrets afford a breathtaking role reversal for Truly. It's got all the earmarks of a hit—infectious and lovable narrator, a dash of magic, an impressive sweep and a heartrending but not treacly family drama. It'll be a shame if this doesn't race up the bestseller lists.

March 30, 2009
Carrington MacDuffie brings Baker's sprawling debut title to life with a thorough attention to detail and excellent ability to convey the rustic local color of rural upstate New York without falling into stock caricatures. Protagonist Truly Plaice—whose size and stature isolate her from daily social life in the provincial community—never loses her grit and determination in spite of all the heartache she endures. MacDuffie's talent shines in her portrayal of Truly's childhood friend Amelia Dyerson, whose mute interactions with the outside world belie her scrappy survival skills and emotional depth. MacDuffie also brings skill and insight to the male figures, particularly Truly's menacing brother-in-law, Doctor “Bob-Bob” Morgan. The transitions make for a sometimes challenging listening experience, but MacDuffie does justice to the ambitious project. A Grand Central hardcover (Reviews, Sept. 8).