Lips Touch

Gr 9 Up—Three exquisitely crafted short stories (Arthur A. Levine Books, 2009) by Laini Taylor, National Book Award finalist and author of the Dreamdark books, are brought vividly to life by Cassandra Campbell in this excellent recording. Each of these dark, delicious tales resonates with the incontrovertible longing for connection. In "Goblin Fruit," Kizzy desperately wants to be noticed by a boy and is found, instead, by a goblin. Estella struggles with a demon over the value of souls in "Spicy Little Curses Such as These," and Anamique pays the price. In "The Hatchling," an immortal queen who no longer eats or has use for an innocent touch of lips keeps a human pet for reasons she has long forgotten. Campbell conveys an astonishing depth and complexity of character by employing accents and inflections that showcase these bittersweet supernatural tales.—Charli Osborne, Oxford Public Library, MI