Pirate Cinema

In Doctorow’s novel set in the not too distant future, 16-year-old Trent McCauley gets his family in big trouble due to his unrepentant Internet piracy. With things going badly at home and the family banned from the Internet, Trent opts to run away to London, where he learns to live on the streets. In this audio edition, narrator Bruce Mann—whose native British accent is ideal for the story—does his best to embody Trent but turns in a middling performance. Though his interpretations of the supporting characters, particularly Trent’s mother, are believable and understated, the majority of his reading sounds forced and unnatural. At times it sounds as if he’s reading rather than performing. Mann seems unable to really let himself get lost within the story, and because of his reading listeners will suffer the same fate. Ages 12–up. A Tor hardcover. (Oct.)