OK Story, Terrible Narration!

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No, I would not. This felt like a 'filler' book to me that bridged the gap between others in my library. The narrator was without doubt the worst I have heard in all the many audio books I have listened to. Strangely high pitched and. Every. word. was. so. drawn. out. and. over. articulated. I did wonder at one point if the speed I was listening to it at was wrong. it was like listening to a whining teenager talking to someone of a different language, crossed with a primary school teacher telling a story to children. Its a shame actually because I now associate the main character to this voice and found myself frustrated with her whining as a result.

What did you like best about this story?

In spite of the narration I did find myself pulled into the story somewhat, through gritted teeth at times though. At the heart of this story is that of young love, which is sweet, and I would imagine most people can relate to this concept. However the main character seems to flit between typical teenager with typical thought processes to one that seemed to be far more mature in its emotions and thoughts. Far from this creating a more complex character, or an interesting example of how we at 18 can be childish but yet have flashes of maturity, it left me feeling jarred by these opposing states. Almost like the adult author was seeping through the teenage character and left me feeling disappointed by these inaccuracies.
I also found the main characters continual need for a male rescuer to be a sad indictment of how women are demonstrated in popular culture, why cant she rescue herself I kept wondering? She certainly is a survivor, why didn't the author allow her to reach her potential without the crutch of her male characters.....?

How could the performance have been better?

Different narration, lower pitch with more depth and less sickly-sweet talking to children tones. In. such. an. exaggerated. way....This book explores all manner of dark subjects, from alcoholism and the impact on children by alcoholic parents, children in care, sexual abuse and murder. These subjects require more than a narrator whose tone and pitch would be better suited to the vampire diaries or young adult books.

Could you see Songbird being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?

No and nope.

Any additional comments?

I have no idea where the title 'Songbird' comes from, or the image of musical notes on the book image. Neither of these things bear any relation to what I heard I am afraid. I don't expect the images to tell the story or be any more than a visual label, but with all the other jarring aspects this is one other to add to the list.

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