By Any Name

Fans of Cynthia Voigt, the Newberry Award-winning author of HOMECOMING and DICEY'S SONG, will welcome her venture into grown-up territory. Katherine Fenton's spirited narration gives zip to the indomitable central figure, Elfrieda "Rida" Smith. While trying to put some order to her chaotic family history, Rida's youngest daughter--she has four, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy--discovers that their mother was an orphan, abandoned at a California convent school. Further research reveals that brassy, avante-garde Rida danced with the USO overseas during WWII, where she met their father, the scion of an established Boston family. While Fenton's enthusiasm occasionally grows shrill, she handles the narrative without theatrics. Her narration is mostly appealing as the predictable plot unfolds and people of various classes clash. S.J.H. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine