Neal Barton is miserable. It's his first year of high school, and not only has his best friend been sent away to military school, but his favorite book series is being attacked by a local group of religious fundamentalists who aim to ban it from the local library, his home away from home. What's a nerdy guy to do? It's time to take a stand.
As a librarian, this one got me where it counts. I completely identified with Neal's obsession with the Apathea Ravenchilde series (Song of Ice and Fire junkie here!) as well as with the amazing librarians he befriends. Being from a relatively small and very religious town, it was very easy to imagine this situation occurring here. I couldn't ask for a comrade more dedicated than Neal. I would recommend this book strongly to the tween crowd, as a good way to learn about freedom of speech and how to stand up for what you believe in. Adolescence is all about rebellion, but some forms are more constructive than others. Americus shows how to do it right!
Meanwhile, in Kinetic, another coming-of-age teen tale, Tom Morell is also having a hard time of it. A very hard time. Born with a barrage of debilitating medical conditions, Tom has always lived in the shadow of death. After his father abandons them, his mother must pick up the slack, becoming paranoid about his safety and health, which effectively drives a wedge between him. She fears he may die any moment, he just wants to live a normal life. His weakness makes him the laughing stock of the school, and the resulting emotional turmoil makes him lash out at all those around him. One night, after a particularly brutal embarrassment, Tom decides to end it all, and steps into the path of a semi. This is where it gets interesting.
In his condition, his body should have shattered, but instead Tom survives intact, leaving a sizable dent ion the truck instead. He wanders home in a daze and puts himself to bed, waking up the next morning thinking it was only a dream. But over the next few days, it quickly becomes obvious that the dream is very real, and surviving the crash was only the beginning. Not only is Tom completely healed of his conditions, he is also super strong and invulnerable! But although his body might be much better, his attitude takes a turn for the worse, leading Tom to wonder if it is really all worth it.
Kinetic is kind of a...weird book. On the one hand, it's nice to see a story where the suddenly super-powered character doesn't automatically go for the super hero thing. On the other hand, none of the characters in this book are very likable. I mean, I understand why the characters act the way they do (constant fear/stress makes Mom not-so-nice, a life of humiliation and abnormality has made Tom jaded), but geez, how am I supposed to root for a guy who stalks the girl he likes and curses at his mother. I need more than that from a leading character. Guess that's why it was cancelled. I give it a C+.
No comments:
Post a Comment