HOW TO FIND WHAT YOU'RE NOT LOOKING FOR

Priya Ayyar narrates briskly, making it easy for listeners to be captured by a story featuring 11-year-old Ariel Goldberg, who is growing up in the turbulent 1960s. Ayyar's youthful voice conveys the confusion and hurt Ariel feels when she's treated differently because she's Jewish and has learning difficulties. She finds comfort from her older sister, Leah, but then her beloved sibling falls in love. Ayyar differentiates characters with accents and emotions. Her tones reflect Ariel's parents' lack of acceptance of her, Leah's departure from home, and Ari's subsequent loneliness, which is compounded by her parents' financial struggles and secrecy. The story's second-person voice invites listeners into a closer experience of Ariel's determination to make sense of her world through poetry and taking action. S.W. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2021]