April & Oliver

April and Oliver grew up as inseparable best friends whose lives took drastically different paths. The death of April's younger brother brings them back together, but long-buried family secrets and unresolved sexual tension complicate the reunion. In spite of the conflicts inherent in their unacknowledged attraction, complicated by Oliver's engagement to the saintly Bernadette, narrator Abby Craden's performance comes across as detached and lifeless. Only one character, the Spanish Nana, has a unique accent, and it doesn't sound authentic. The fault doesn't lie solely with Craden; Callahan's forced writing hints at electricity sparking between April and Oliver, but it never ignites. N.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

June 1, 2009
In this memorable debut, Callahan offers a uniquely funereal love story that focuses on a stagnant friendship-turned-untenable romance between unlikely life-long friends. To deal with the death of her immediate family, as well as the scars of childhood abuse, April assumes the role of the jaded wild child; Oliver, her once-inseparable childhood companion, has become her polar opposite, an engaged law student poised for success. Estranged during Oliver's college years, the two reconnect with troubling results. Callahan's descriptions are vivid, and often paired with charming flashbacks to more innocent times, providing stark contrast to the tumultuous course of April and Oliver's young-adult lives. Callahan's narrative takes some supporting-character detours from the principles' love-hate relationship, including an abusive boyfriend; a manipulative and dangerous family friend, and April's strong-but-slipping Nana. Callahan's poetic style and grasp of emotion gives proper weight to April's loss and Oliver's secrets, and is sure to engage, sadden, and enthrall readers, especially in a bittersweet, somewhat surprising finale.