Layla

By: Celine Keating

Narrated by: Sarah Pavelec

A young woman embarks on a life-changing cross-country trip to face a family secret rooted in America's most turbulent decade.

Layla James, a recent graduate and budding photographer, never knew anything about her father except that he named her for the iconic song by Eric Clapton. Her mother - steeped in a political activism that Layla rejects - kept their past shrouded in secrecy, and when she dies of cancer, she leaves only an enigmatic letter - the first in a series that will lead Layla through a cross-country network of '60s radicals and closer to the bombshell at the heart of her parents' past.

As Layla makes her way from the East Coast to a commune in the California desert, she discovers more about friendship, love, forgiveness, and the personal repercussions of political activism than she could ever have imagined. A stirring and panoramic story, viewed through the lens of the next generation, this exceptional debut audiobook brings the gestalt of the '60s into focus and sheds new light on the era's legacy in the new millennium.

©2011 Celine Keating (P)2014 Celine Keating

So Good!

This is such a great storyline. Very original and believable. Layla James is sent on a cross country trip to find out the truth of who she is. Very well written with lots of mystery and a bit of romance. There is a lot of rich dialogue in this story, and the narrator, Sarah Pavelec, does a such an excellent job of bringing emotion and individuality to each character. Ms. Pavelec's voice is perfect for Layla and she reads each character so beautifully, you feel you are part of the story and the character is having a conversation with you! Layla's final speech was read with such emotion that I was crying. Give this book a listen, you will not be disappointed.

Pavelec's performance helps

Although this is categorized as historical fiction, the historical elements are rather weak. This is very much a character-driven story. The action and suspense is low key. I don't feel particularly sympathetic towards these characters, but I do like them, especially Layla. And Sarah Pavelec's performance of Layla is spot on.

NOTE: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Sometimes your roots go in unexpected directions

First of all, let's get the legal stuff out of the way: "This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review."

All right, so what did I think of Layla?

There were a lot of things that I liked about the book. First of all, the voyage aspect is done well. It's very believable that Layla's mother would send her out on a journey like this, to reconnect to the past and the people who knew her father, who she never knew. I like the way she adapted to the new people and places, and learned a little from each stop on the journey. I won't spoil anything by going into too much detail, but the end of the book definitely goes in a different direction than I suspected. I like the way it ended, with equal parts of reality and idealism.

The narration was pretty well done on the audiobook. The sound quality was excellent, with no background noise, audio errors, or rough transitions to be found. The narrator did a pretty good capturing and portraying the drama and tension in the story.

One thing that bugged me (and this is something that I find occasionally in audiobooks, and it bugs me every time) was that exactly one character in the book was portrayed with an accent. The son of one of the couples that she stays with has a thick Boston accent, which is very well done, but still seems really odd because no one else speaks with any kind of accent. Which is unusual, since she literally traverses the entire country in the course of the novel.

Overall, this was a good book which addresses some important issues and real-life topics. I'd recommend it for anyone who enjoys a family drama with a little mystery or tension, or a story about someone trying to connect to their past.