Review of Queerleaders by M. B. Guel, Audiobook narrated by Chloe Cannon
I normally don’t read young adult books but I’ve been curious about this short novel because of its title and cover. I’m glad that I’ve waited for the audiobook because the narration improved the written text.
Mackenzie Gomez is having a hard time in her senior year of high school apparently being the only queer person in a Catholic school. After an unfortunate incident in which she’s outed in front of the whole school, she suddenly starts to become popular among the cheerleaders to the chagrin of her best friend Lila and the rest of the school. Is Mack being set up for fail or will she find love in the process?
This debut novel by M. B. Guel was published by Bella Books as part of their contest “fan fiction to published author” which this author won. It’s a light and funny account of the typical lives of high school students, awkward teenagers who are experiencing their first relationships.
The book is written in third person from the sole point of view of Mack, a very reserved lesbian who is learning to navigate relationships with other girls and handling her own feelings and confusion. The story is very light and humorous and shouldn’t be taken too seriously despite the teenage angst and mortification. I particularly liked that even though there is a romance, there wasn’t an obvious direction to where it was heading.
The audiobook was read by Chloe Cannon who is a seasoned narrator but doesn’t seem to have done any other lesfic. I am really fascinated by Ms. Cannon’s narration as she’s got everything right: the pace, the distinctive voices by age, gender and even personality, and the expression of emotions. Color me highly impressed. Here is hoping that someone convinces her to do more lesfic and she joins the group of great voice actors that the genre has. The written text would have probably got a 3 or 3.5-star rating but Ms. Cannon’s
superb performance made me upgrade it to 4 stars.
Duration: 4 hrs and 8 mins
