This week we have the most mature installment of Mildred Taylor’s saga of the Logan family, a futuristic exploration of life after climate change, and a look at the early days of adoption in this country. All titles are available at your local bookstore or library.
All the Days Past, All the Days to Come
Mildred D. Taylor; read by Allyson Johnson
Listening Library, 14 hours and 30 minutes, 12 CDs, $60/www.audible.com, $42
In her 10th book, Taylor continues her story of the Logan family, whom we most famously met in her second installment, “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.” More intense and dramatic than her earlier work, this is aimed at grown-ups and more mature teens, as the material is quite adult. Cassie Logan, now 19, embarks on a life that brings her across the country, to law school, civil rights protests, marriage and eventually back to Mississippi, where the saga began over 45 years ago. Johnson is a delight to hear, serving up a variety of voices, timbres, genres and regional accents. This is intense and gratifying to hear. Grade: A
The End of the Ocean
Maja Lunde; read Jane Copland and Jean Brassard
Harper Audio, nine hours and 53 minutes, eight CDs, $39.99/www.audible.com, $30.79
Climate change is seen through the eyes of a father and daughter who are stranded in drought-stricken Europe about 20 years in the future. While scavenging, they come upon a sailboat stuck in a parched garden miles from the shore. A second story of lost amour amid a growing water crisis connects us to the boat. Both stories unfold in a chilling tale of climate change and unrest, though love and forgiveness remain at the heart of the story. Brassard has an engaging French accent and a firm command of the story, while Copland’s British accent is refined and her performance is nuanced and rich. Grade A-minus
Before We Were Yours
Lisa Wingate; read by Emily Rankin and Catherine Taber
Random House Audio, 14 hours and 29 minutes, 12 CDs, $24.99/www.audible.com, $35
The early and unregulated days of adoption in this country are explored in this historical novel set in Tennessee, beginning in the 1920s. The story of a family of orphaned children is tied to a modern-day tale of romance and mystery. Unfortunately, the historical aspect of the novel far outshines the modern-day investigation of a politician’s daughter into her past, which is ho-hum at best. The backstory, however, is both fascinating and horrifying. Both narrators embrace appropriate Southern accents, are age appropriate for their characters and bring energy to the story. Grade: B
