TELL US SOMETHING TRUE

Narrator Lincoln Hoppe's slow pace perfectly expresses the personality of 17-year-old River Dean as he tries to meet the challenges in his life. River is stunned and overwhelmed when his girlfriend, Penny, breaks up with him because he "doesn't think." Hoppe's unhurried narration emphasizes River's torpor, a dullness resulting from his emotional pain. But River is enlivened when he wanders into Second Chance, a group for teens who suffer from addiction. Intrigued by their dynamics and stories, he invents a drug problem and joins them. So begins his stumbling, faltering journey from passivity to self-determination. Hoppe's reading becomes more animated as River struggles to develop a fuller view of the world and his own truth. In addition, Hoppe vividly portrays the friends and family who buoy River at difficult moments. S.W. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2016]