THE MAID AND THE CROCODILE

Adetinpo Thomas narrates the story of 17-year-old Small Sade as she leaves the orphanage in the magical city of Oluwan to find work. She accidentally binds herself to a powerful god called the Crocodile, who hopes Small Sade's Curse Eater abilities can save him. But all she aspires to is keeping her head down as the humble worker bee she was raised to be. While occasional lines spoken with hesitancy could use a retake, Thomas does some heavy lifting with all the impromptu songs and the way each character's social background can be heard in their speech. The sound of her natural voice, heard in the acknowledgements, offers a comparison for listeners to hear all the vocal work she performs in this African-inspired fantasy. S.S. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2024]