So how’s the summer going so far? I’m covered in mosquito bites, cuts, bruises, and a sunburn - in spite of many layers of SPF 70. What’s up with that, anyway? All in all, though, it’s been a pretty good week.
This week I have already managed something that you might find astonishing: I finished a summer reading book. Yes children; for those of you who have not even thought about reading, time is a-wastin’. Get to it. Why not start with The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl?
My experience with students is that even the ones who say they hate reading, are happy to read a graphic novel. Enter “Fanboy,” so-named because he is a tremendous fan of graphic novels and all things comic book. He is so much in love with the genre, in fact, that he is constantly at work creating his own graphic novel, Schemata.
I’m glad Fanboy has a hobby because he doesn’t have a life. “I’m a computer geek, a comic book geek, a study geek,” he says of himself. High school is, as it is for many people, Fanboy’s version of hell. The jocks and assorted popular kids seem to love tormenting him and he expects a kick, a punch, or an all out beating at every turn. His pregnant mother has an incredibly weird paranoia about allowing him to have friends over, so, even if he did find someone to hang out with, it wouldn’t be easy. Fanboy’s step-dad, Tony, speaks in monosyllables between beers. Even his one and only friend, Cal, a closet nerd member of the lacrosse team, often lets him down in favor of the jocks. Sounds pretty crappy, huh? Or is it? Do you think maybe it could be that Fanboy exaggerates everything? Do you think maybe if he stopped assuming everyone was against him, he might find out they’re not? It’s something to think about.
Enter Goth Girl, the title’s other hero. I have to be honest: even I’m more interested in Goth kids than comic book nerds - although I am quite proud to be nerdy. I mean, I may dress like a Lands End catalog, but I can appreciate the Goth look without actually attempting it. Goth Girl, Kyra, is, in my opinion, the really interesting character of the book. She’s pretty much crazy, running over anyone who gets in her way, and her entry into Fanboy’s life is the beginning of great things for him.
The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl is a great summer read; that is, it is definitely not lame. Fanboy got on my nerves sometimes and Goth Girl needs about five years’ worth of detention, but I cried at the end and that’s a good thing.
LAME FACTOR: In spite of Fanboy’s often irritating whining about the misery that is his life, I give it a 0 for lameness.
YOUR PARENTS WILL FREAK FACTOR: Uh, this time, they actually might. Have you ever taken a look at comic book heroines? Their disproportionate proportions will give you insight into what many comic book boys (OK, boys in general) are thinking about. The book isn’t too graphic, but might be over-the-top for sensitive parents.
BRAIN POWER: The book is well-written with an excellent vocabulary. I think I even looked up a word. That’s what you do with words you don’t know, children, you look them up.
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