ELLA IN BLOOM

Ella's a late bloomer. She's in her forties. Her older sister's death in a plane crash leads her finally to understand that a world existed before she was born, that her parents were people she'll never know. Secrets fall away like petals on one of Ella's antique roses. Alyssa Bresnahan's accents shift from old Louisiana to Austin, Texas, in a comfortable, unhurried manner. She takes time to develop each character, especially the teenagers, Ella's daughter and her sister's sons. They are believable--likable and irritating. When Ella lies about her life to her socially conscious mother, Bresnahan's voice captures Ella's depression. Shelby Hearon handles the fragile thing we call relationships sometimes with kid gloves, sometimes with grimy gardening gloves. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 02]