Souvenir

This tearjerker will appeal to fans of Nicholas Sparks and the Lifetime Network. When Doctor Meg Powell discovers she's suffering from a debilitating disease, she's forced to slow down and reflect for the first time in years. Soon the flaws in her marriage and her relationship with her daughter come glaringly into focus, and she sets out to reconnect with family and an old love while re-establishing her bonds with those closest to her. A subplot involving daughter Savannah's free-fall into a dangerous relationship heightens the tension. Narrator Kimberly Farr does a solid job with this material. Using a gentle minimalist touch, she saves this story from sinking into melodrama. D.G. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

October 1, 2007
The melodrama is thick and heavy in Fowler's debut. Meg Powell turned her back on the love of her life, Carson McKay, to marry Brian Hamilton, the scion of a banking family who saved her parents' farm from foreclosure in exchange for her hand. Now, 16 years later, Meg and Brian are so busy with their careers that they overlook their 16-year-old daughter, Savannah, who has typical adolescent concerns about being pretty and popular. Carson, meanwhile, has become a rock star and is now on the verge of marrying a much younger surfing champion, but he's never gotten over Meg. Trouble comes as Meg is diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease and Savannah meets an unsavory 23-year-old man online who woos her with the kind of positive reinforcement she wants to hear. Unfortunately, Fowler does little to create narrative tension or well-rounded characters: Meg and Carson reunite before Meg's health declines, Brian is a predicable schmuck, and Savannah gets a rough comeuppance at the hands of her bad news beau and his pals. The bungled handling of saccharine material limits this would-be tearjerker.

When Dr. Meg Powell is diagnosed with ALS, an incurable disease with a dire prognosis, concern for her 17-year-old daughter, Savannah, forces Meg to make peace with her past and to make courageous decisions about her own future. Her decisions will affect her husband, Brian, and her lost love, Carson McKay. Narrator Jen Cohn's versatile range and skill portray Meg and Savannah with empathy and sensitivity. She delivers textured characterizations of Savannah's teenage struggles and Meg's impossible choices, and matches voice to mood to deliver a story of family tensions, second chances, and youthful choices. Cohn's seamless narration delivers the high emotional pitch of a story that teaches that we all should live as if each day were our last. G.D.W. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine