Gloam

Gr 3-7–Gr 3-7–What might be just scary on the static page of British writer/theater-maker Mackay’s debut transforms into true terror, thanks to Sanderson’s glorious aural range, as she effortlessly encompasses six-year-old twins, an ancient tree, and worst of all, an ailurocidal and arboricidal maniacal monster. To (late) grandmother’s house on Gloam Island, Sanderson takes listeners, where, after the death of their beloved mother, 13-year-old Gwen, 10-year-old Roger, and the above-mentioned “identical to the pore” Hazel and Hester have moved with their stepfather Henry. Henry, to whom parenthood is still relatively new, hires Esme Laverne as their seemingly perfect babysitter. But, of course, she isn’t. Only Gwen seems to recognize Esme’s simmering evil, leaving Gwen to be her own—and everyone else’s—lifesaving hero. Sanderson is a marvelous cipher, completely embodying bold Gwen, sensitive Roger, gullible Henry, and concerned Tree; especially noteworthy are the heart-pullingly frightened twins and the skin-crawlingly treacly Esme.