Revolver

Gr 7 Up—Narrator Peter Berkrot chillingly and expertly brings to life Marcus Sedgwick's short, yet intense mystery (Roaring Brook, 2010). Pitch-perfect voicing, suspenseful and satisfying pacing, and spot-on character portrayals draw listeners inside the cold and brutal atmosphere of a lonely cabin 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle in 1910. Sig, the 14-year-old son of a practical and proud man, is alone in a small, dark cabin with his father's dead body awaiting the return of his sister and his stepmother who have gone to find help after his father was found frozen to death. But he doesn't have long to grieve alone before a large and fearsome man enters the cabin claiming that the boy's father had cheated prospectors out of gold. As Sig tries to reconcile this confusing news with pieces of his past, listeners will do the same along with him and two inanimate objects that take on character roles within the story—the old Colt revolver his father taught him to shoot and the Colt revolver belonging to the ominous stranger. The backstory is told through flashbacks to the 1899 Alaska gold rush in alternating segments. Berkrot's fully-voiced and emotive telling will keep listeners on the edge as they visualize Sig, his surroundings, and every moment in time from beginning to the satisfying and climactic end. An excellent choice for school and public libraries and an ideal selection for reluctant readers.—Stephanie A. Squicciarini, Fairport Public Library, NY