Exposure

YA author Dellaira’s (Love Letters to the Dead; In Search of Us) adult debut explores the twin meanings of exposure—first, as it relates to developing photos, and second, the state of having one’s past brought out into the open. The story moves in and out of the lives of four main characters—Annie and Juliette and Noah and Jessie—as the tragedies of their lives reveal life’s joys, sorrows, and complexity. A catastrophic event that touches all four serves as the story’s fulcrum, with the characters’ points of view and social media posts adding texture and grit. Narrator Erin Ruth Walker brings calmness and subtlety to the protagonists, smoothing their rough edges even as she exposes their flaws. Listeners will ache for them and want a satisfying ending for them all. Walker imbues cringeworthy vitriol into the social media posts, which rapidly fire through the zeitgeist.