McBride's (The Color of Water) new novel is dedicated to "Ma and Jade, who loved a good whopper," and this book is that, indeed. Among other things, McBride takes outrageous liberties with his portrayal of Frederick Douglass and delivers listeners into the unreliable hands of a ten-year-old narrator who lives his life as a girl after abolitionist John Brown mistakes him for one. Along the way, listeners are treated to epic adventures told in wonderfully entertaining and often comic language. The real feat -McBride has pulled off, however, is to make his yarn as moving and thoughtful as it is, delivering convincing emotional truths about life in slavery and the impact both freedom and captivity can have on identity. Michael Boatman reads this audio version, delivering a masterly performance that lives up to all the power and humor of McBride's words. Verdict This audiobook deserves a wide audience, regardless of the strict accuracy of the historical facts within. ["McBride's faux memoir...presents a larger-than-life slice of an icon of American history with the author's own particular twist," read the review of the Riverhead hc, LJ Xpress Reviews, 7/19/13.]-Heather Malcolm, Bow, WA (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.