PLANET EARTH IS BLUE

Narrator Dylan Moore's slow, even pacing gives voice to 12-year-old Nova, a nonverbal foster child on the autism spectrum who is counting down the days to the promised return of her runaway sister, Bridget, on the day of the space shuttle CHALLENGER's launch. In flashbacks, listeners hear Bridget's fierce, protective love for Nova in her tough tone, which is sharp with the anger of someone who is forced to grow up too quickly. Moore gives memorably distinct voices to each of the students in Nova's special needs classroom, as well as to Nova's new foster family. Moore's portrayal of Nova is wonderfully nuanced, realistically voicing her attempts at speech, her happiness as she begins to thrive in her foster home, and her mounting unease as the story moves toward its heartrending climax. S.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2019]