BRIGHTLY SHINING

Jesse Vilinsky is exceptional at sounding like a kid who is excited about Christmas and sees the best in everyone. Ronja, age 10, is growing up in Oslo with her older sister, Melissa, and an alcoholic father. Ronja's dad gets a job selling Christmas trees but quickly loses it to the call of the pub. When Melissa takes over his job, Ronja uses her waif-like appearance to sell decorations to benefit "children in need." Vilinsky embodies Ronja's hope and gratitude at the kindness of others. Ronja's neighbor feeds her extra breakfasts, irons her costume for her school play, and shows up for her performance. But this is no happy Christmas story, and as circumstances overwhelm the girls, Vilinsky ensures that their despair becomes clearly apparent. A.B. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2024]