WHAT HEARTS

Asa's story, complex, heart-breaking and quietly inspiring, is given a characteristically gentle, leisurely reading by John McDonough, which both enhances and complements the text. The novel offers a quartet of snapshots of the circumstances of a young boy's life and his hard-won emotional development from first through seventh grade. The close third-person narrative of this Newbery Honor Book requires a reading reflective of Asa's own unfolding awareness and growing wisdom as the structure of his life repeatedly collapses through two divorces and more moves than he can count. The strength of McDonough's reading comes from the unfailing equanimity in his voice, so reflective of Asa's own even temperament and open heart. T.B. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: JAN 98]