Adult Assembly Required

Waxman (The Bookish Life of Nina Hill; The Garden of Small Beginnings) and narrator Emily Rankin return to the Nina Hill Universe with this lovely listen. Laura Costello moves from New York to Los Angeles for grad school, but a debilitating car accident and PTSD leave her scarred. She’s hesitant to branch out on her own but desperately needs the time and space away from her overbearing ex-boyfriend and overprotective family. When Laura finds herself homeless after her apartment building catches on fire, she stumbles into the perfect place, where she meets a cast of quirky characters, including Impossibly Handsome Bob. Rankin’s performance has a comforting quality while still capturing the emotion and unique personalities of the characters. She gives Laura and Bob even-keeled voices that match their personalities, but she performs the rest of the characters with appropriately off-beat, unpredictable tones.