MY WAR WITH GOGGLE-EYES

by Anne Fine ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1989

Another funny, perceptive look at parents and children working out new patterns after a divorce, from the author of Alias Madame Doubtfire (1988). Fine uses a clever framing device: at a wise teacher's instigation, Kitty comforts Helen, a hysterical classmate. The two hide in a school closet while Kitty tells how she too was outraged at her mother's boyfriend. Gerald (""Goggle-Eyes"" because of his obvious admiration for Mum), 50-ish, seems elderly to Kitty; worse, his conservative notions extend from the minor (turning out lights and thinking Kitty should help Mum more) to the major (articulate disagreements with Kitty and Mom's anti-nuclear activism). Though Kitty responds in the usual way, she can't help observing that her little sister adores Gerald; that Mum is happier now; that Gerald's home repairs are a convenience; and that some of his ideas are not only reasonable but fair. When Gerald and Mom split--he is furious because she has deliberately gotten arrested at a peaceful demonstration, with no provision for child care--Kitty is startled to discover she misses him. With her usual wit (notably displayed at the farcically friendly demonstration), Fine holds attention; she also raises this above formula by giving a fair, dramatic presentation of both sides of the nuclear deterrent debate and making Gerald a three-dimensional, sympathetic character who refuses to be converted (though he does offer useful advice to the cause). Well-crafted, good fun, thought-provoking.

Pub Date: May 1, 1989

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 160

Publisher: Joy Street/Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1989

Categories: CHILDREN'S