A pugnacious, profane YA novel set in a Christian boys’ home.
Frantal and Munro spin a love story set against the backdrop of the 1990s “troubled teen” industry in this debut YA novel.
Ever since his mom died, Will Douglas has been getting into trouble. When he’s caught stealing a t-shirt at a concert, a judge sentences Will to 90 days at a Southern Baptist home for troubled boys. The institution is called Victory Ridge, and it’s located in Nowhere, Mississippi—that’s the town’s actual name, denoting a tiny settlement of trailers and dirt roads set deep in the pine forests of the Magnolia State. There Will finds himself under the heel of Brother Bennett, a sadistic man of God committed to instilling discipline in his charges through brute force. His preferred tactics are “dishin’ out licks” (beatings), and “yucks” (even worse beatings). Pretty much the only thing that Will has to keep him going are his weekly sightings of “Metallica Girl” (so-called because he sees her with the cassette sleeve of the band’s album …And Justice For All) in church. “Judging by her sullen expression and the way she tugs at her ankle-length skirt,” observes Will, “she would rather be anywhere but here, too.” Obviously, trying to spend time with Metallica Girl entails breaking all kinds of rules; normally, it would be a no-brainer, but in a place like this, getting caught sneaking around could very well mean a death sentence. The authors vividly capture Will’s sometimes vulnerable, always rebellious voice as he navigates the prison-like conditions of Victory Ridge. Here, he recounts an ill-advised fight with a boy known affectionately as Big Dumb Oaf: “A red mist falls over me. I barge past Angelo, drawing back my arm and swinging a punch toward Oaf’s sneering mouth…but it never connects. Oaf’s meaty fist reaches me first, socking me right in the eye and knocking me to the floor.” Though not as inventive or big-hearted as the similarly-premised Holes, the plot moves well while critiquing the mindless cruelty of such disciplinary settings.
A pugnacious, profane YA novel set in a Christian boys’ home.Pub Date: May 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781941907610
Page Count: 396
Publisher: Sovereign Media
Review Posted Online: Oct. 9, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A contemporary hero’s journey, brilliantly told.
The 17-year-old son of a troubled rock star is determined to find his own way in life and love.
On the verge of adulthood, Blade Morrison wants to leave his father’s bad-boy reputation for drug-and-alcohol–induced antics and his sister’s edgy lifestyle behind. The death of his mother 10 years ago left them all without an anchor. Named for the black superhero, Blade shares his family’s connection to music but resents the paparazzi that prevent him from having an open relationship with the girl that he loves. However, there is one secret even Blade is unaware of, and when his sister reveals the truth of his heritage during a bitter fight, Blade is stunned. When he finally gains some measure of equilibrium, he decides to investigate, embarking on a search that will lead him to a small, remote village in Ghana. Along the way, he meets people with a sense of purpose, especially Joy, a young Ghanaian who helps him despite her suspicions of Americans. This rich novel in verse is full of the music that forms its core. In addition to Alexander and co-author Hess’ skilled use of language, references to classic rock songs abound. Secondary characters add texture to the story: does his girlfriend have real feelings for Blade? Is there more to his father than his inability to stay clean and sober? At the center is Blade, fully realized and achingly real in his pain and confusion.
A contemporary hero’s journey, brilliantly told. (Verse fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-310-76183-9
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Blink
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
PERSPECTIVES
Commendable ambition that may help readers look forward.
Already reeling from loss, a Black high school senior brings her OCD, anxiety, and depression into March 2020.
In the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, Gethsemane Montego is a musical-theater–loving, BTS-fangirling, 16-year-old senior at New Rochelle High School. She and her two best friends—Jewish Korean valedictorian Tovah and Cuban American star quarterback Diego—attend the same high school where Geth’s security guard father died tragically three years ago during a shooting. Geth resents how quickly her mother has moved on—with a White man, at that—but, as best they can, her friends help her manage the increases in her anxiety and compulsions as well as her stifling grief. Awaiting admission results from Columbia is an added stressor, but as the coronavirus case numbers quickly shoot up, Geth faces multiple burdens and traumas. Police violence, racial inequity, hyperpartisanship, immigration, economic anxieties, and a complicated coming-out story all pile on top of the pandemic’s hefty body count. Geth is a likable, smart Gen Z protagonist in this modern epistolary work that combines diary entries, text messages, news reports, emails, and English lit essays to immersive effect. Wringing so much content, so much hurt, into a YA novel is a tall order that yields very mixed results. Still, whether through cutting humor or disparate political perspectives, Farley offers readers undeniable value in this retelling of recent, unforgettable history.
Commendable ambition that may help readers look forward. (Fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-61775-975-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Black Sheep Press
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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