HOPE AND GLORY

Narrator Kelechi Okafor's melodious voice brings the British-Nigerian characters in this beautiful debut novel to life. She gives Glory, the daughter who comes home to London for her father's funeral, a voice that can be defensive, confused, angry, or compassionate as she becomes aware of long-buried family secrets that are slowly revealing themselves and upending everything she thought she knew about her parents and siblings. Big sister Faith is evasive as she tries to dissuade Glory from questioning her mother. Mother Celeste's voice is sometimes judgmental, sometimes needy as she evades Glory's questions about the past. Julian, a friend from her school days, offers a supportive sounding board that gives Glory the courage to insist on the truth of her family's story. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2022]