cover image Smoke

Smoke

Ellen Hopkins, read by January LaVoy and Candace Thaxton. Simon & Schuster Audio, unabridged, seven CDs, 8.25 hrs., $29.99 ISBN 978-1-4423-6808-8

In this sequel to Hopkins’s Burned, the story of Pattyn Von Stratten continues as she struggles to start anew after the deaths of her abusive father; her lover, Ethan; and their unborn child. On the run, Pattyn winds up in California and takes work on a ranch as she works to overcome her isolation and rebuild her life. Hopkins’s novel comes to life here thanks to the team of LaVoy and Thaxton. Each narrator ably captures the essence of the book, infusing the prose with emotion and providing unique and appropriate voices for the characters. A Margaret K. McElderry hardcover. (Sept.)