I read about two
or three YA books every week and I seem to blog about zero of them. I attribute that to my being a full
time teacher, an as full-time-as-you-can-get volunteer EMT, and an aspiring
writer. Mostly, though, I think
I’m just lazy about writing for my blog.
So this morning,
while my students have their heads in laptops and headphones supposedly working
on a reading program I’m required to have them do (but sometimes watching
professional wrestling videos instead), I thought I would use my time wisely
and review one of the books I enjoyed most recently. The book is 100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith.
First off, I am
a sucker for books with male narrators, as is the case with 100 Sideways Miles.
I’m not exactly sure why that is, but I’ve noticed it’s a pattern, such as my
love for the Beautiful Creatures series.
This particular narrator is especially appealing as he’s such a nice
guy.
Finn Easton
sometimes thinks he’s nothing more than a figment of his father’s imagination –
literally. Finn’s dad is an author
and the main character of his most popular book sounds a lot like the writer’s
only son, right down to his name and heterochromia (I’m not going to tell you
what this is. Let’s just say that
if you had studied your Greek and Latin roots the way your teacher told you, you would
know).
The real Finn,
the one outside the book, is sweet and smart and a gentleman even while being a
teenage boy. He lives with his
dad, stepmom, and stepsister in a beautiful setting and spends his time playing
baseball with his best friend Cade, and his relationship with all of them is a
reflection of his gentle nature.
Finn manages to
be a super likeable guy in spite of some significant challenges. First, there’s the fact that his mother
was killed, and he was badly injured, in a freak accident when he was very
young. Then, there are the
seizures that sneak up on him unexpectedly and, generally, at the most
inopportune times, often leaving him unable to control his temper (something he
normally never displays) or his bodily functions.
As the school
year draws to a close, Finn and Cade discuss their plans for the summer, the
most important of which is a road trip from California to Oklahoma to visit a
college they’d like to attend. For Finn, it’s the first step toward
independence. Before he can escape
his father’s book, though, a new chapter opens for him: the arrival of Julia
Bishop, a transfer to his school. Julia
isn’t put off by Finn’s ill-timed seizures or what happens after he experiences
one and soon, the two fall in love.
Which would be
great if Julia’s parents didn’t live in Chicago.
Will Finn ever
see Julia again? Will he ever
become his own person and not just a character in a book?
I’m not going to
tell you.
LAME
FACTOR: I thought this was a great
book, largely based on Finn’s personality, an engaging story, and, well, frankly
the EMT in me was interested in the details of the seizures. I give it a 0 on the lame factor scale.
YOUR PARENTS
WILL FREAK FACTOR: Cade is not
Finn. He is gross – but then so
are lots of teenage boys. The
grossness is appropriate to the story, but if your parents are sensitive about
that kind of thing (lots of references to sex), you should probably check with
them to see just how freaked out they would be.
BRAIN
POWER: The book is extremely
well-written but within the abilities of the average YA reader.
