WE CONTAIN MULTITUDES

This epistolary audiobook is told through the letters of Kurl and Jo. Kurl, portrayed by Matthew Gouveia, is a football player who is repeating twelfth grade when he is assigned a tenth-grade pen pal by his English teacher. Jo, portrayed by Tony Kim, is an openly gay Walt Whitman fanatic who is mercilessly bullied at school. Gradually, they fall in love and support each other through dramatic revelations to family. The author was clearly inspired by Whitman; the writing is poetic, and both narrators deliver their lines passionately. Gouveia's Kurl is pensive, with a deep, resonant voice and occasional heavy breathing that adds to the audiobook's steamier scenes. Kim's Jo sounds hopeful, with a bright, youthful voice. S.P. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2019]