CHANDA'S SECRETS

At 16, Chanda has a life in a sub-Saharan African township filled with heartbreak and disappointment. Her father and older brothers have been killed in a mining accident. “Stepfather” #3 is an alcoholic womanizer who leaves the teen to make funeral arrangements for her baby sister. Chanda gives up her dream of getting an education to become caretaker to her own dying mother and younger siblings, who suffer from AIDS. Suzy Jackson’s narration is appropriately youthful and accurately mines the depths of Chanda’s despair. However, Jackson sounds like a white American teenager, not like a black African teen. When the text mentions a British accent for the funeral director, there is none. This powerful story would have been better served by a more culturally authentic narration. S.G. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2011]