Girl in Red.

GIRL IN RED. Gaye Hicyilmaz. 2000/2002. Read by Richard Aspel. 5 cds. 6 hrs. Bolinda Audio. (PO Box 307, Shelton, CT 07484). 1-74030-880-8. $40.00. Vinyl; plot notes. JSA 

Teenager Frankie lives with his single mother in the British equivalent of a high-rise, low-income housing project in Kent. England, in this coming-of-age novel. He is overweight, not too popular. a good student, and a poor athlete. His mother, a beautician, has a succession of male friends, whom Frankie resents. When Emilia, a lovely and mysterious girl with long golden braids, arrives in his class at school, Frankie is smitten. She is a Rumanian gypsy who speaks little English, and Frankie is inspired by her beauty to sweet dreams of glory. When a hate group from the neighborhood, led by his own mother, agitates to have the gypsies expelled from the area, Frankie defies her and refuses to join in her campaign. With his newly developing interest in and tolerance for others and willingness to stand up for what he believes is right despite his mother's anger, he is well on the road to maturity.

The first-person narrative is given a lively, semi-voiced reading in a distinctly Australian accent, which to untrained American ears suffices for urban Kent. Although Aspel's voice is a bit mature for a boy in his middle teens, his expressive tones capture Frankie's feelings authentically.

J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers.

S--Recommended for senior high school students.

A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.

Pat Dole, Richmond, VA