Burning Eddy.

BURNING EDDY. Scot Gardner. 2003. Read by Stig Wemyss. 6 cds. 5.75 hrs. Bolinda Audio. 174093-608-6. $48.00. Vinyl; plot, reader notes. S*

"Get a life, fairy," rings in the 15-year-old ears of Daniel Fairbrother, teased by cretinous peers on the school bus. Dan is an inspiring protagonist, honest, caring, and shy. Somehow he must learn to stand up to bullies, including his own father, who is a grump with a bad temper. Help comes from an unexpected quarter when he meets 86-year-old Eddy, a Dutch woman for whom he does odd jobs. She's got a tattoo, a wonderful sense of humor, and can play musical tunes with her farts. Through her influence he acquires a car (which he is too young to drive), gets a girlfriend, and stands up to a bully with whom he suddenly has something in common--both of their fathers are in jail. Michael's father, a local fire chief, is a pyromaniac. Dan's father tried to steal from his employer and murdered a man who had sexually abused him. Dan also learns to deal with death when Eddy dies. Eddy steals every scene she's in, even at her own funeral.

Narrator Wemyss gives this lovely book a full-voiced treatment. Especially noteworthy are Eddy and Toby, Dan's five-year-old brother. Wemyss makes Dan's first-person point of view sing. This novel about growing up in Australia is heartwarming and full of hope. A few obscenities. Janet Julian, English Teacher, Grafton, MA