CITY OF SAINTS & THIEVES

Tina is a 16-year-old Congolese refugee turned Kenyan street gang member and thief. Narrator Pascale Armand's convincing portrait captures Tina's many contrasts--her toughness and tenderness, duplicity and honesty, questioning and certainty. Armand also makes clear Tina's unswerving determination to care for her half-sister, Kiki, and to discover who murdered her mother. Armand depicts secondary characters just as strongly, particularly Greyhill, the wealthy American who fathered Kiki. He seems kind to Tina's face and callous during overheard conversations. And his son, Michael--is he a love interest, or an enemy? As Armand switches easily between both accents and personas, the story's tension remains high amid scheming, sleuthing, and Tina's confusion about personal and political situations that surround her. Throughout, Armand's pacing, character dramatizations, and emotional notes never fail. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2017]