A Wish For Wings by Robert Swindells (2005, Audio Cassette)

Before Jenna could even read, she knew she wanted to fly, and shortly before her 14th birthday she announced that she wished to become an airline captain. Her parents were unenthusiastic, but with the support of her grandfather, Jenna was to get a start on her dream: a flying lesson for her 14th birthday present. Meanwhile, Jenna’s older brother Ned had a dream of a different sort. He wanted to ingratiate himself with a charismatic newcomer at school, even if it meant stealing his grandfather’s old Army gun and aiding his new friend in the commission of a crime. Jenna discovers her brother’s plans, just as her brother discovers he’s in over his head with no clear way out.

Swindell’s strength is in realistically depicting both the competing interests that cause internal conflicts in young adults and the unsophisticated reasoning that keeps them from alerting the adult world of their difficulties. Narrator Kim Hicks can sound young enough to differentiate the voices of the teenagers as effectively as she performs those of the adults.