ALL THE LITTLE BIRD-HEARTS

Rose Akroyd narrates this Booker Prize-longlisted novel about an autistic woman who is navigating a neurotypical world as a single parent. Sunday Forrester lives a quiet life in rural England with her daughter. She has "quiet days" and most of the time eats only white foods. When a middle-aged couple moves into the neighborhood, Sunday and her teenage daughter become smitten with the sophisticated city people who seem to live much more glamorous and full lives. Akroyd captures Sunday's straightforward way of speaking while still imbuing her performance with the character's complex emotions, which she expresses differently from neurotypical people. Akroyd maintains this difficult balance in Sunday's voice throughout the audiobook, creating an intimate and beautiful performance. K.D.W. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2024]