VALENTINE

Narrators Cassandra Campbell and Jenna Lamia portray protagonists recovering from a horrific crime perpetrated upon the women of a Texas oil town in the 1970s. Wetmore's story of racial inequity, class prejudice, and violence illuminates this time and place. Campbell and Lamia deftly trade points of view as the brutal details unfold. The repercussions of an attack on a Hispanic girl reveal the societal cracks that will eventually open the town's eyes to the need for equal rights among all its citizens. Campbell's lower register contrasts with Lamia's younger timbre and folksy tone. Campbell and Lamia's emotional narrations connect listeners with a time long past that echoes in today's news. R.O. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2020]