This title fills a spot on the audiobook shelf: a supershort, full-cast recording to hook both reluctant and eager listeners. The story is a realistic, intelligent take on a teen-angst love triangle. In their senior year of high school, Dana escapes from her queen-bee best-friend Avra's dance of domination, while Avra's boyfriend, Emil, releases himself from his dronelike devotion, choosing to share the taste of first love with Dana. Narrators Gorman (Dana), Adam George (Emil), and Kathleen Wrinn (Avra) provide authentic teen voices that reflect the pain and passion of life in the high-school hive. The actors portraying more minor characters reflect an accurate mix of age and gender, allowing the elegant language to shine through. Subtle alteration of sound levels and brackets of musical motifs allow listeners to realize chapter headings, quotations, telephone conversations, and notebook entries. Give this to listeners seeking a "good romance."

Gr 7 Up-Dana, an introverted high school senior, speculates about how her life will change upon graduation as this novel (Farrar Straus, 2007) by Kathe Koja opens. As part of her senior project for biology class, Dana is studying the colony traits of bees. She draws many comparisons between their behavior and the dynamics of her own little "hive"Dana, Avra (the queen bee), and Emil, the boy they both love. Each chapter begins with excerpts from her biology project. Koja deftly presents Avra's family problems, her drinking issues, Dana's unspoken love for Emil, Emil's uncertainty about his future with Avra, and the fallout when everything comes out into the open. The excellent full-cast narration is perfectly paced. Sarah Gorman as Dana, especially, is able to convey wonder, the delicacy of first love, passion, hesitancy, anger, and alienation. There is elegantly haunting music that plays between chapters which enhances the mood of the whole experience. Some teens may have trouble getting past the science theme, but the interaction between the teens themselves will resonate with all young adults. This novel of teen friendship and love would be an excellent choice for libraries with large circulating audiobook collections. Jessica Miller, New Britain Public Library, CT