Step on a Crack by Mary Anderson, Narrator: Xe Sands

Step on a Crack
Mary Anderson
Narrator: Xe Sands
Publisher: Atheneum Books
4 hours 36 mins.
Young Adults

                                                           

Narrator Xe Sands

XE Sands, has a marvelous reading voice, I had to smile when she did the Queen of Hearts, it was awesome. All of her Alice in Wonderland character voices were outstanding. Ms. Sands has such an amazing range of voices that it's very impressive. Xe Sands sounds very different narrating Thrill of the Chase by Christina Crooks. Now that is talent, Which is also an excellent narration. I love listening to her mellow and rather sensuous voice.To me there is a great difference between a sexy voice and a sensuous voice. Ms. Sands does the young girl Josie so convincingly you'd never think it wasn't a young girl speaking. If you haven't listened yet to any of the books that Xe Sands has narrated, then you're in for a treat.

Sarah, our young heroine has recurrent dreams that she's kept secret for most her life. Stealing something eases her anxiety and makes the dreams stop for a while at least. The dreams so terrify her and have gone on for most her life that she keeps them secret from everyone, including her mother. She knows stealing will eventually get her in trouble. Unknown to her, a school friend Josie, sees her stealing a scarf from a department store display. Josie is a brilliant girl with a photographic memory, but she's still too young to harness the powers of this talent. She runs across a psychology book in the school library with notations on the sides of significant paragraphs and recognizes that it has to be Sarah's notations. She approaches Sarah about seeing her steal the scarf, shows her the book notations, and offers to help her solve her problem if she will just tell her in more detail about it.

Sarah at first rejects Josie's offer and denies making the notes or stealing but later relents and tells her about the horrible dreams and how stealing something makes them stop, for awhile at least. Josie turns out to be a good partner, and leads them on a harrowing path of discovery. All is not as it seems on the surface with Sarah and her mother and her Aunt Cat. The girls uncover the truth and maybe wish they had not. This is a very provocative book if your an older reader as it will give you pause for thought about your own teenage years and relationships with your mother and close female relatives. If your a young adult the book is an exciting adventure that will give hope that no matter what, there are solutions to most problems. This was a good listen/read if you're an adult or a teen. You will really enjoy listening as Xe Sands does all the various voices so well that you immediately identify each person. Her narration is smooth and age appropriate. A real pleasure to listen to.