The Sweet Relief of Missing Children

Sarah Braunstein's debut is a beautifully written novel of three interconnected characters and their stories, which deal with family, sex, parenthood, and reinventing oneself. Each of the three characters--12-year-old Leonora, 16-year-old Paul, and teenaged Judith--goes missing. The plot has the potential to be convoluted, but both Braunstein and narrator Xe Sands make the stories and relationships easy to follow. Sands's empathetic delivery makes this often disturbing work a pure joy. Listeners may be put off by the seemingly stilted quality of the narration at the outset, but before long the result is truly amazing. J.L.K. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine