CANDELARIA

Listeners will enjoy this deliciously twisted tale dynamically narrated by the author. Lozada-Oliva explores intergenerational trauma as three generations of women find themselves caught up in a zombie apocalypse. Elderly Guatemalan immigrant Candelaria kills her octogenarian boyfriend. Surrounded by chaos in Boston, she desperately and inexplicably tries to get to the Old Country Buffet over the objections of her daughter, Lucia. Unbeknownst to Candelaria, her three adult granddaughters have set the entire apocalypse in motion. Lozada-Oliva expertly manipulates her tone, cadence, and pacing to distinguish each character. Her emotional range fully conveys the predicament the women find themselves in. Using a deadpan tone, Lozada-Oliva adds levity to paradoxical situations and to witty dialogue as the audiobook touches on motherhood, familial relationships, career ambition, and male/female tension with humor and thoughtfulness. A.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2024]