AUDIO

Songs of Willow Frost

by Jamie Ford
10 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 12½ hrs. Books on Tape. 2013. ISBN 9780307876232. $40; digital download. F
COPY ISBN
In 1934, all the boys from Seattle's Sacred Heart Orphanage take a trip to the movies. On the way, 12-year-old William Eng sees a movie poster featuring the famous singer and actress Willow Frost. He becomes convinced that she is the mother he thought was dead and immediately sets out to find her. Flashbacks to his mother's past explore being a Chinese woman—and a single mother—during the Depression. William learns that in order to protect him, his mother made heartbreaking choices. While the story is dramatic and emotional, Ford's (Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet) characters seem somewhat melodramatic, and his explanations for their various plights are uneven. For example, he explains paternal rights, but not why Willow was sterilized after her miscarriage.
VERDICT Still, this book, well read by Ryan Gesell, will appeal to fans and listeners of general fiction.
Reviewed by Joanna Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Libs., Providence , Apr 25, 2014
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