AFTER ZERO

Narrator Jesse Vilinsky gives voice to a selectively mute tween in this story about crippling anxiety. Elise started eighth grade as a normal but sheltered homeschooler who was entering public school. After some cafeteria and classroom slips of the tongue, she decides it would be better to say nothing at all and begins keeping a daily tally of words spoken, striving for zero. The crushing internal logic of her fear is palpable in Vilinksy's strained, panicked tones. The voices of feisty classmates and varied adults round out the story's realistic aspects. The power of this much-needed perspective on mental illness is undercut by a melodramatic plot with some fantasy twists. Still, the listener is left with new empathy for the quiet ones. S.T.C. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2018]