RIVER BOY

Jess's whole life is Grandpa and swimming. It always has been. So when her parents plan a family holiday to Grandpa's boyhood home, Jess is game to go. There's a river for her to swim in, and she'll enjoy long days with Grandpa while he finishes his painting, "River Boy." Emilia Fox delivers a taut reading of this mysterious tale, ushering the listener into the eerie setting and the initially frightening, but ultimately captivating, encounter with the enigmatic boy who appears repeatedly in the river. Fox's pacing is superb, urgent at times of high tension, impelling the action forward, gliding into hushed pauses in moments of incredulity. Grandpa's petulance, when he falls ill on the trip, is played off against the loquaciousness of Grandpa's boyhood friend, Alfred. A superb reading of the Carnegie Medal winner! T.B. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award © AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 99]