CALIFORNIA

Narrator Emma Galvin's earnest tone and youthful timbre are not well matched to this story of a couple trying to survive in a dystopian world that has surrendered to severe weather, scanty electricity, and a crumbling infrastructure. Looking for safety, Cal and Frida leave run-down Los Angeles to homestead in the wilderness. When Frida discovers (in the first minutes of the audiobook) that she's pregnant and that they aren't alone in the woods, the couple must make some tough decisions. Using a repetitive cadence, Galvin drives home the intensity of life in the new California, leaving little room for listeners to develop their own reactions. More disconcerting, she inserts pauses in unconventional places, distracting listeners from the story. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2014]