IMPULSE

The lives of three teenagers converge in a psychiatric hospital after they each attempt suicide. What's amazing is how the three narrators manage to tease out all the emotions from these two boys and one girl. Hopkins's gritty novels are written in free verse, which can act as a buffer to powerful material in print. This audio production is much more immediate. Readers Laura Flanagan, Jeremy Guskin, and Steve Coombs tap into the raw, overwhelmed feelings of abused adolescents and deliver such an honest performance that it's startling. They perform with a visceral complexity and perfect timing that are nothing short of masterful. You will come away from this disturbing yet hopeful production believing that you understand these kids, thanks to a work that gets under your skin and makes you feel it. D.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2009]