LOOKING FOR JAMIE BRIDGER

At 14, Jamie is desperate to uncover the identity of her parents. Her "grandparents" are equally committed to concealing their identity as her parents. Springer's novel offers a significant challenge to its narrator, Alyssa Bresnahan. The third-person narration subtly shifts point of view several times. Bresnahan handles these changes so gracefully that the listener makes each transition comfortably. In addition, each of the characters rings true. Bresnahan subtly ages Grandma's tremorous voice with a slight rise in pitch. She creates a simmering violence in Grandpa with a touch of controlled rage. Most importantly, she offers an adolescent girl struggling with frustration, sadness, loss and love in her fresh and open reading of Jamie. T.B. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT 97]