Still Summer

Susan Ericksen masterfully portrays childhood friends Tracy, Holly, and Olivia and their enduring friendship. The story of their joyous 20-year reunion on a tropical cruise is delivered in an engaging style. Ericksen's voice becomes somber at the description of Olivia's husband's recent death and her subsequent mourning. But the women's personal lives take a backseat as their luxury sailboat is threatened by pirates and debilitating ocean storms that challenge each woman's strengths, weaknesses, and allegiances. Ericksen's vocal personality captures the spirit of danger and excitement on the high seas and makes the story believable. An excellent portrayal of devoted friendships will win Mitchard fans. G.D.W. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

July 30, 2007
Ericksen gives an appropriately taut, tense reading of this gripping novel about four women on a sailing vacation who end up fighting for their lives when their ship is disabled, food is running low, and they're beset by modern-day pirates. Ericksen doesn't create actual character voices, but she does a great job voicing snobbish Olivia and sarcastic, emotional teenager Cami. (The voices of the two down-to-earth characters, Tracy and Holly, tend to blur.) Michel, a young Frenchman, sounds just as sexy as he should, while criminal Ernesto is appropriately menacing (although Ericksen's attempt at a Spanish accent leaves something to be desired). Ericksen is best at voicing the climactic emotional confrontation between Olivia and the rest of the group that will leave listeners on the edge of their seats. Random-seeming musical background is unwisely used; it probably indicates either places where text was abridged or beginnings of chapters, but either way, it's distracting and unnecessary. Minor quibbles aside, this is a brisk, fast-paced and suspenseful audiobook. Simultaneous release with the Grand Central hardcover (Reviews, Apr. 9).

Jacquelyn Mitchard gives the "reunion" novel a dark twist in this story, which takes four women on a dream vacation that goes very, very wrong. As the group is sailing in the Caribbean, a storm leaves their sailboat adrift, and the women must battle dwindling food supplies, sharks, and, worst of all, pirates. Kirsten Potter's narration handles the action and suspense, as well as the romance, smoothly, with appropriate emotion and pacing. Her attempt at accents for some of the characters is a bit strained, but she still provides the listener clear differentiation between speakers and distinct character development. Potter's presentation of this fast-paced story is enjoyable and easy to follow. M.O.B. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

October 29, 2007
Ericksen gives an appropriately taut, tense reading of this gripping novel about four women on a sailing vacation who end up fighting for their lives when their ship is disabled, food is running low, and they're beset by modern-day pirates. Ericksen doesn't create actual character voices, but she does a great job voicing snobbish Olivia and sarcastic, emotional teenager Cami. (The voices of the two down-to-earth characters, Tracy and Holly, tend to blur.) Michel, a young Frenchman, sounds just as sexy as he should, while criminal Ernesto is appropriately menacing (although Ericksen's attempt at a Spanish accent leaves something to be desired). Ericksen is best at voicing the climactic emotional confrontation between Olivia and the rest of the group that will leave listeners on the edge of their seats. Random-seeming musical background is unwisely used; it probably indicates either places where text was abridged or beginnings of chapters, but either way, it's distracting and unnecessary. Minor quibbles aside, this is a brisk, fast-paced and suspenseful audiobook. Simultaneous release with the Grand Central hardcover (Reviews, Apr. 9).

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 9, 2007
Bestselling Mitchard offers the harrowing tale of four women lost at sea and pitted against nature and a cohort of contemporary pirates. Tracy, Holly and Olivia have known each other since high school, when they were glamorous, popular troublemakers. Twenty-five years after graduation, the three women, plus Tracy's 19-year-old daughter, Camille, set out on a "reading, sunning, gossiping" trip aboard a luxe sailboat helmed by a two-man crew. But a storm leaves the women adrift with no sail or engine and their co-captains gone overboard. With limited sailing experience, failing radio equipment and a rapidly diminishing cache of food and water, the women are vulnerable to the worst threats the Caribbean can offer—the elements, sharks and, most troublesome, pirates. This fast-paced novel borrows qualities from several genres—suspense, survival epic, coming-of-age—and mostly succeeds in melding the better aspects of each, though Mitchard has a surer hand in creating women characters than men. Mitchard's fans will appreciate this high-stakes adventure.