Nina

From the first few minutes of this audiobook, the listener will be riveted. A family tragedy leaves the title character riddled with guilt, and now, as a 15-year-old, Nina wears that guilt like a second skin. Nina's artist mother works through her grief by creating a series of nude portraits of her daughter; the plot follows the events that surround the showing of the paintings. Mia Barron reads with a sweet, precise voice that suits the melancholy tone of Hassinger's novel. The listener can sympathize with Nina and reflect on her question: How far must one go to set things right? This is a beautifully written novel that is touchingly performed. L.B.F. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine