The Cloud Chamber.

CLOUD CHAMBER. Joyce Maynard. 2005. Read by Joel Johnstone. 5 tapes. 5.5 hrs. Listening Library. 0-307-24618-3. $45.00. Vinyl; plot, reader, author notes. J*

From the KLIATT review of the book, July 2005: "This novel opens with 14-year-old Nate Chance and his little sister June being met at the school bus stop by police cars. There is a scene of their dad being helped across the pasture, blood streaming down the side of his head. Nate's dad is sent to a mental hospital for attempting suicide, and his mother is harassed for perhaps being the one who really pulled the trigger. The small town of Lonetree, Montana in the late 1960s is not an easy place to deal privately with such a public tragedy ... Nate becomes friends with classmate Naomi when they are assigned to do the science fair together. Naomi is also on the fringes of town society ... Their science project, a cloud chamber, serves as a focal point and a metaphor for the storm in Nate's life...."

Johnstone does an excellent job matching the voices to the characters and reading with emotion without overdoing it. His performance is moving and at times brought tears to my eyes. He has a nice pace and uses varied tempos to match the action in the story. While this will not appeal to a large number of middle/junior high school students, those who take to it are in for a treat. Sue Rosenzweig, Consultant, Lincoln, RI