The narrator, Andy, is a personable and humorous high school sophomore dealing with the coming of age issues of popularity and relationships. As the back flap mentions, this is a familiar trope, but Allen Zadoff presents the issues with a twist, but we still leave with a very after school special ending for the hero.
Andy is the second fattest boy in the sophomore class and has just one close friend. His main objective is to fly under the radar away from bullies. That is, until he meets April at a wedding his mom caters the day before school starts. Andy believes he will never see her again and that it is useless to obsess over the memory of their encounter, but as you can probably predict, April is there on the first day of school.
In an effort to impress her when they first met, he had lied about being a jock. April believes she can't trust Andy when she finds out he lied to her and stops talking to him. To win her heart, he tries out for the football team when he notices April at the cheerleading auditions.
Andy becomes the team's center and popular for the first time. His status does help in getting closer to April, but only because April is using him to get closer to the quarterback, who she has a crush on, even though he's dating someone.
Andy catches the quarterback and April in a kiss and he questions what he really wants in life at that moment. Everything he had done up to that point was to please others or gain attention, but didn't align with what he was interested in.
After a climactic football game, Andy decides that he doesn't want to be a part of the popular crowd. He realizes that they were using each other and he wasn't really a part of the group. He also starts to see April for who she is; a girl maneuvering her way through high school to be popular.
The reader leaves Andy pursuing clubs that interest him and pursuing a girl who was waiting for him all along.
I would recommend this book for boys in 9th or 10th grade. There are a few curses (one character uses b* three times as an exclamation) and drinking in a party scene.
If it were a movie: PG
Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Saturday, July 18, 2009
"Shine, Coconut Moon", Neesha Meminger
A few days after 9/11, Samar (Sam) arrives home to find a strange man in a turban on her doorstep. It turns out to be her uncle, whom she hasn't seen since she was two years old, due to her mother severing ties with her family. Sam has grown up with her mother as her only family, and as the American media nurtures the hatred and fear of South Asians, she is challenged with a part of her identity that she'd ignored until now.
As she gets to know her Uncle Sandeep, her desire to know her family and cultural heritage grows, despite the racial slurs and looks she receives from being seen with him. She challenges her mother on the issue of remaining estranged from her parents and denying her the chance to have a relationship with them. Her mother reveals after a disastrous visit that she was trying to protect Sam from the racism that exists within Indian culture; as a darker skinned Punjabi, her mother was never fully accepted for who she was.
A scare occurs for the family when Uncle Sandeep is attacked trying to protect Sam from racist boys at a school dance. This event opens her mother up to the idea of giving Sam regular visits to her grandparents' house and tells her their history. Sam is able to embrace both aspects of her identity and seeks to further understanding of Indian-Americans by studying Sociology at Sarah Lawrence.
Negative coming of age elements:
*Sam and her friend Molly have been thinking about the night they will lose their virginity beginning at age 15 and start collecting sexy underwear in preparation for the event (The girls are 17 in the story). One of the characters talks about how it is the experience that makes you a 'real woman'. Sam thinks that having sex would be fine with her mom, she would only freak out if she ended up pregnant.
*Underage drinking - the girls do tequila shots, and Molly has a 'fun' drink that is alcoholic but looks like orange juice that she hands out to other teens at her great Aunt's birthday party.
*Sam's ex-boyfriend calls her a b*, Sam is almost sexually assaulted by two of his friends
If it were a movie: PG-13
As she gets to know her Uncle Sandeep, her desire to know her family and cultural heritage grows, despite the racial slurs and looks she receives from being seen with him. She challenges her mother on the issue of remaining estranged from her parents and denying her the chance to have a relationship with them. Her mother reveals after a disastrous visit that she was trying to protect Sam from the racism that exists within Indian culture; as a darker skinned Punjabi, her mother was never fully accepted for who she was.
A scare occurs for the family when Uncle Sandeep is attacked trying to protect Sam from racist boys at a school dance. This event opens her mother up to the idea of giving Sam regular visits to her grandparents' house and tells her their history. Sam is able to embrace both aspects of her identity and seeks to further understanding of Indian-Americans by studying Sociology at Sarah Lawrence.
Negative coming of age elements:
*Sam and her friend Molly have been thinking about the night they will lose their virginity beginning at age 15 and start collecting sexy underwear in preparation for the event (The girls are 17 in the story). One of the characters talks about how it is the experience that makes you a 'real woman'. Sam thinks that having sex would be fine with her mom, she would only freak out if she ended up pregnant.
*Underage drinking - the girls do tequila shots, and Molly has a 'fun' drink that is alcoholic but looks like orange juice that she hands out to other teens at her great Aunt's birthday party.
*Sam's ex-boyfriend calls her a b*, Sam is almost sexually assaulted by two of his friends
If it were a movie: PG-13
"lock and key", Sarah Dessen
Ruby is a 17-year-old girl who grows up with an alcoholic mother. She is the liaison between her mother and the rest of the world until the day her mother disappears, leaving her alone. Six months from her 18th birthday, Ruby takes care of herself quietly, continuing her mother's job and going to school. When the washing machine breaks down and the landlord investigates, Ruby is sent to live with her estranged sister and her husband.
Used to depending only on her self, Ruby is not happy to be separated from the only world she knows; a world that included a drug habit, a "Could Care Less" battle/relationship with her boyfriend, roommate of her friends' drug dealer. She remains aloof in the rich neighborhood she is transplanted into (her brother-in-law is the creator and CEO of a social networking website), refusing to befriend anyone at school. Her defenses are challenged by her popular classmate and neighbor Nate, who rescues her from herself a few times. Ruby does gradually learn to trust others and makes friends with a few people at her school and begins a dating relationship with Nate. When he refuses to confide in her about the abuse he receives from his father, they break up.
Near the end of the novel, Nate disappears, the abuse finally reaching a point that he can't ignore it any more, and he confides in Ruby and they get help together. He moves to Arizona and they continue dating long-distance.
On her graduation day, Ruby throws away the key to her old house, which she had worn on a chain around her neck, as a literal letting go of the past and embracing the love and trust she's discovered in her new family, friends, and future.
If this were a movie: PG-13 for the scenes of Ruby's old life- drugs, drinking, her boyfriend and herself getting dressed after a sexual encounter.
Used to depending only on her self, Ruby is not happy to be separated from the only world she knows; a world that included a drug habit, a "Could Care Less" battle/relationship with her boyfriend, roommate of her friends' drug dealer. She remains aloof in the rich neighborhood she is transplanted into (her brother-in-law is the creator and CEO of a social networking website), refusing to befriend anyone at school. Her defenses are challenged by her popular classmate and neighbor Nate, who rescues her from herself a few times. Ruby does gradually learn to trust others and makes friends with a few people at her school and begins a dating relationship with Nate. When he refuses to confide in her about the abuse he receives from his father, they break up.
Near the end of the novel, Nate disappears, the abuse finally reaching a point that he can't ignore it any more, and he confides in Ruby and they get help together. He moves to Arizona and they continue dating long-distance.
On her graduation day, Ruby throws away the key to her old house, which she had worn on a chain around her neck, as a literal letting go of the past and embracing the love and trust she's discovered in her new family, friends, and future.
If this were a movie: PG-13 for the scenes of Ruby's old life- drugs, drinking, her boyfriend and herself getting dressed after a sexual encounter.
"Something, Maybe", Elizabeth Scott
Something, Maybe is the story of 17-year-old loner Hannah James who attempts to live through her teenage years in the most invisible way she can, escaping the notoriety forced upon her by her irresponsible parents. Her father, who she hasn't seen in five years, is a Hugh Hefner-type womanizer with his own Playboy house and reality television show. Her mother Candy was one of the "special girls" in the house for two years, kicked out at 21 and pregnant with Hannah. Hannah struggles to separate herself from the lives and images of her parents by trying to attract the attention of a popular, society-conscious boy at her high school.
The story has two love arcs; Hannah's relationship with her parents, mostly her mother, and her relationships with her co-workers, Josh and Finn, at a Burger World call center (drive-thru calls get out-sourced).
In the first arc, Hannah is the responsible member of the mother-daughter duo, making sure their bills get paid and her mother takes care of herself, in one scene, she tugs down her mother's skirt while they are grocery shopping. The two had had a chance at a normal, happy life with a the love of her mother's life, Jose, a tow truck driver who had rescued her mom on an Los Angeles highway. A few years into their marriage, Jose dies of cancer and her mother has a breakdown. They move to Slaterville, and her mom returns to making money the only way she knows how (chatting via webcam in her lingerie about her life in the Playboy house), and ignoring her pain. When she is confronted suddenly with Hannah's love life, she breaks down, cautioning Hannah against love because of the pain she experienced losing her soulmate.
Hannah and her father haven't spoken in five years, since she asked to move into his house after the death of her stepfather and he refused, via his secretary, who handles all his interactions with people while he listens on a third line. He forces himself back into her life, promising time "just the two of them" to right the past, but it turns into a publicity stunt to raise the ratings for his television show. Broken-hearted, Hannah returns home and hides in her room for the weekend.
This incident does provide an "in" for Hannah in the second arc. Her crush on her co-worker Josh is fruitless until this point, when he encourages her to blow off work with him and hang out at her house. When he comes over, her world is flipped again when she finds out that he isn't interested in her, but her mom. She runs away from the awkwardness of it all by going to work and confiding in Finn, her other co-worker, whom she has been gradually noticing in a more romantic way through the book. They end up making out on the floor and caught by someone else they work with. They avoid talking about what happened, and Hannah runs out as soon as their shift is over. Finn visits her later that night, where they talk briefly about their feelings for one another and get caught making out by her mother.
The last chapter shows a Hannah no longer duped by appearances as she has been by her father and Josh and ready to start a relationship with Finn, whom she describes as "real" in the conversation with her mother.
If this were a movie: PG-13 for cursing from football player characters, nudity, sensuality of Hannah's parents lifestyles, make out scenes with Hannah/Finn
The story has two love arcs; Hannah's relationship with her parents, mostly her mother, and her relationships with her co-workers, Josh and Finn, at a Burger World call center (drive-thru calls get out-sourced).
In the first arc, Hannah is the responsible member of the mother-daughter duo, making sure their bills get paid and her mother takes care of herself, in one scene, she tugs down her mother's skirt while they are grocery shopping. The two had had a chance at a normal, happy life with a the love of her mother's life, Jose, a tow truck driver who had rescued her mom on an Los Angeles highway. A few years into their marriage, Jose dies of cancer and her mother has a breakdown. They move to Slaterville, and her mom returns to making money the only way she knows how (chatting via webcam in her lingerie about her life in the Playboy house), and ignoring her pain. When she is confronted suddenly with Hannah's love life, she breaks down, cautioning Hannah against love because of the pain she experienced losing her soulmate.
Hannah and her father haven't spoken in five years, since she asked to move into his house after the death of her stepfather and he refused, via his secretary, who handles all his interactions with people while he listens on a third line. He forces himself back into her life, promising time "just the two of them" to right the past, but it turns into a publicity stunt to raise the ratings for his television show. Broken-hearted, Hannah returns home and hides in her room for the weekend.
This incident does provide an "in" for Hannah in the second arc. Her crush on her co-worker Josh is fruitless until this point, when he encourages her to blow off work with him and hang out at her house. When he comes over, her world is flipped again when she finds out that he isn't interested in her, but her mom. She runs away from the awkwardness of it all by going to work and confiding in Finn, her other co-worker, whom she has been gradually noticing in a more romantic way through the book. They end up making out on the floor and caught by someone else they work with. They avoid talking about what happened, and Hannah runs out as soon as their shift is over. Finn visits her later that night, where they talk briefly about their feelings for one another and get caught making out by her mother.
The last chapter shows a Hannah no longer duped by appearances as she has been by her father and Josh and ready to start a relationship with Finn, whom she describes as "real" in the conversation with her mother.
If this were a movie: PG-13 for cursing from football player characters, nudity, sensuality of Hannah's parents lifestyles, make out scenes with Hannah/Finn
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