The Midnight Dress

Gr 9 Up—Nearly 16, Rose Lovell has spent the last 11 years drifting around Australia with her alcoholic father, never staying anywhere long and never forming any relationships. She assumes their time in Leonora will be no different. But Rose isn't in town long before she is befriended by idealistic, romantically minded Pearl, and she finds herself agreeing to see an eccentric old woman to have a dress made for the annual Harvest Parade. Week after week Edie Baker teaches Rose everything she knows about dressmaking while telling stories from her past. The unlikely and unexpected bonds Rose forms with Pearl and Edie are her first true relationships, yet tragedy looms. Olivia Mackenzie-Smith delivers a solid performance of this compelling story of friendship and loss. Her Australian accent firmly places listeners in the setting and she fully inhabits both the independent yet lonely Rose and the lively and naïve Pearl. Each chapter begins with details from the tragic night of the Harvest Parade and the subsequent investigation before returning to Rose's narrative so listeners never forget there is heartbreak in the very near future. MacKenzie-Smith adds a slight roughening and weariness to Edie's voice, conveying her age and experience. This vividly written mystery with its fully drawn protagonist will linger in listener's minds.—Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL