19 June 2001 SEEK by Paul Fleischman, Cricket Books, September 2001

"Rob [reading] ' September 25th. Mystery of radio: only know your voice going out, can't know who's hearing it. Conversation through a wall: neither side can see other. Radio listeners are voyeurs: lurking, invisible, eavesdropping. Broadcasters the opposite: You're onstage, but can't see who's in the audience. Auditorium: a place for listening. With radio, seats sprinkled around city, listeners have no idea of seatmates...'"

I'm sitting in the back of our still-new black '63 Rambler wagon. It's a hot breezy late-summer Sunday afternoon. WABC Musicradio 77 is playing "Where Did our Love Go?" as we drive west down the Southern State Parkway.

I remember a few years later, lying in my bed, the lights out, just past midnight. I'm tuned to WNEW-FM. Alison Steele (The Nightbird) is premiering a new song called "American Pie" (the album version). I'm totally blown away by it.

I could go on for pages about all those moments over four-plus decades that have made radio such a memorable part of my life. Indeed, my fascination with, and love for, radio led me to actually take some broadcasting classes at the Junior College and work briefly as a part-time DJ. Thus, I actually know the steps involved in recording SEEK, an incredible new book by Paul Fleischman, as a radio play, the form in which it is written.

SEEK is a love story about radio, as well as the story of a boy, Rob Radkovitz. Rob is given an assignment to write his autobiography. He completes the assignment by giving us a sound collage of his life. There are some great fall-on-the-floor laugh-out-loud moments mixed into the many poignant recollections of the boy who has never met his father. The father has left behind for him a sound-effects record and a tape of his on-air broadcasts. Rob's search to find his father (that voice on the tape), and to find himself, is a sensitive, unforgettable story.

The form and pace of the book is utterly enjoyable. As an old fan of Firesign Theater, I waited for Fleischman to tip his cap to Radio Oz, which he eventually does. This is the lead title for Cricket Books first YA list. It's certainly a spectacular beginning for them--it's going to be a hard one to top.

Richie Partington

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