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The Best Girl  By  cover art

The Best Girl

By: Joan Hicks Boone
Narrated by: Marnie Baumer
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Publisher's summary

Joan's neighborhood is filled with kids of all ages, but even her closest friends don't know how violent Joan's dad is or how difficult it is for her to navigate the troubled waters of her homelife. Joan becomes adept at reading her dad's mood and trying to prevent him from inflicting harm upon her mom. But time and again, her dad succeeds in his mission. As the violence escalates, Joan is plagued with the constant fear that her mother may die. Repeatedly she asks the same questions: Why is her dad so violent, and why can't he be stopped?

Throughout the course of her childhood, several heroes enter Joan's life. Listeners will cheer for each as they offer Joan gifts of validation, acceptance, and hope. Joan's exceptional yet frank storytelling brings the listener directly into her home, providing unembellished awareness of the multiple issues that encompass domestic violence. The Best Girl is a story of resilience and survival, and as the book concludes, listeners are left with feelings of possibility and hope: It appears that 16-year old Joan is going to make it.

©2018 Joan Boone (P)2018 Joan Boone

What listeners say about The Best Girl

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Very powerful and gripping

This story was amazingly sad, but also amazingly hopeful. Many days I stayed in my car for way too long to hear more. The performance was outstanding from a voice standpoint, the only thing I found distracting relatively often was some of the phrasing, but it is entirely possible that was intended to work with the child’s voice. I highly recommend this book, particularly if you know or love someone who has been affected by childhood trauma - hearing a first person child’s account was heartrending and frustrating to say the least.

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The Best Girl

I listen to about 2 books a month and the first thing I do before I purchase the book is listen to the narrator. The author may have a wonder story, but the narrator is the one that makes the book come to life.
The Best Girl was narrated by Marnie Baumer and she does a wonderful job of pulling you right into the story. Every emotion that a little girl named Joannie is feeling you can feel, even when Joannie sings you hear beautiful singing.
I really can't say enough. it's a remarkable story of a brave little girl told by a magical narrator.

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1 person found this helpful