WHEN WE WERE THEM

With an urgency that takes listeners into her confidence, narrator Gail Shalan captures the anguish of Willa as she recounts the events leading to a break in her once tight friendship with Luz and Britton. Performing a braided narrative of past and present that spirals toward the crucial moment of betrayal that Willa regrets, Shalan deftly shifts between characters, building drama in this story centered on the meaning of loyalty among friends. Against the backdrop of San Diego, the author's lyrical language wraps around the novel as Willa experiences trauma, loss, and grief, and ultimately confronts the choices she has made. Shalan's authentic narration takes listeners on an intimate journey with Willa as she grows to the edge of adulthood. D.H.R. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2022]