FINISHED:

Harmon, Michael. (2008). The last exit to normal. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

[ACL review to come...

Voila:

In an effort to escape the troubles he’s gotten into in Spokane, 17-year-old skater punk Ben, his father, and his father’s boyfriend, Edward, travel to tiny and backward Rough Butte, Montana, where they move in with Edward’s cantankerous mother. There, Ben learns the value of a hard day’s work, saves the life of an old man and then falls in love with the man’s niece, tries to befriend and help the young boy next door whose father is horribly abusive, and becomes the target of a psychopathic teen. With all he learns in this small town, Ben ends up toning down his impulsive, insufferably brash exterior and gains a new acceptance of his homosexual father whom he initially saw as a wimp who couldn’t face himself. While the gay angle is handled appropriately with a minimal amount of fanfare (thus normalizing the fact), some of the conversations between Ben and his father seem a bit forced and ones that they likely would’ve had a long time ago. Some teen readers may appreciate and identify with the fact that Ben is SO impudent, but because of this character trait, which he flexes quite often, others may find that he frequently comes across as just a thoughtless, disrespectful brat. By the end, Ben does seem to have made some strides, though the fact that SO much happens to him in such a short amount of time is unrealistic. This is, however, an enjoyable read with a good amount of humor and lessons of family, respect and understanding of others which are quite well handled. It should be noted that due to a significant amount of “objectionable” language, this is one that would best be put in the Teen section.]

STARTED:
DuPrau, Jeanne. (2008). The diamond of Darkhold. New York: Random House.

[WHOO-HOOO! Can't believe that we got it in at the library since it only came out a few weeks ago!! Hope it's good (I have high hopes), it's the last in the series.]

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