The Scar Boys - Len Vlahos

In attempting to describe himself in his college application essay--help us to become acquainted with you beyond your courses, grades, and test scores--Harbinger (Harry) Jones goes way beyond the 250-word limit and gives a full account of his life.

The first defining moment: the day the neighborhood goons tied him to a tree during a lightning storm when he was 8 years old, and the tree was struck and caught fire. Harry was badly burned and has had to live with the physical and emotional scars, reactions from strangers, bullying, and loneliness that instantly became his everyday reality.

The second defining moment: the day in 8th grade when the handsome, charismatic Johnny rescued him from the bullies and then made the startling suggestion that they start a band together. Harry's description of his life in his essay is both humorous and heart-wrenching. (Description courtesy of Goodreads)

 I wasn't sure what to expect with this book. I saw the cover on the shortlist for the Morris Award, and I knew I had to check it out as part of my shortlist read-through. Earlier in the year I reviewed two others on the shortlist, including The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim and The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender. Three books down, three to go.

 The story concept is interesting, being written by Harry as a college application essay. Granted, it's an essay that would never be accepted, but it makes for a unique way of telling Harry's story and for explaining his motivations to readers. It was nice to find a story that also did not follow a more traditional high school to college trajectory, but rather one that is more a story in two parts: the first part is Harry's past, and the second part focuses on the summer after high school graduation (at least, for three of the four members of the band.)

 Harry is a tormented, shy, and sheepish individual. Who wouldn't be after being tied to a tree and then struck by lightning, suffering from burns and disfigurations on his face and neck. As he becomes close to Johnny, he becomes more and more of a follower, allowing those around him to dictate his life and his decisions, at least until things start to unravel during the band's cross-country tour. Harry's development throughout the novel is bumpy, by design, showing his reluctance to move away from his safe life following others.

 And speaking of following others, the secondary characters are quite intriguing. Harry's mother and father, though not present to a large degree, give reason for many of Harry's strengths and weaknesses. Ever since the lightning strike, the mother has become incredibly protective, while his father has become more absent and combative. Another fabulous character is Harry's therapist. He is a bit unorthodox, but he is effective. It's nice to see a therapist who isn't being used in stereotypically troubling ways; he is a capable counsellor and is not a total douche, either.

 Cheyenne, Johnny, and Richie, are a great cast of supporting characters as well. Johnny is a bit annoying, and possibly the least rounded character (at least until the very end of the novel), but his strong personality works well as a counter to Harry's weaker character. Their friendship is manipulative in many respects, but by the end of the novel, readers will see Harry slowly come to an understanding with the help of his therapist.

 He had a steeper road to climb than the average kid, but he ends up learning something about personal power, friendship, first love, and how to fit in the world. While he's looking back at the moments that have shaped his life, most of this story takes place while Harry is in high school and the summer after he graduates. (Description courtesy of Goodreads)

 Recommended

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Living - Matt De La Peña

Image
The Living  recently received an Honor from the Pura Belpré committee. The award recognizes of a work which best portrays the Latino cultural experience in a work of literature for children or youth. As I was at the awards announcements, and having known people who served on the committee in the past, I was intrigued. I had read the winning title and the other honor titles, and was impressed with the choices. So here's my review of The Living : The novel begins with Shy, a young guy working for a snazzy cruise line, offering water to people on the Lido Deck of the ship to combat the heat. Everything is going pretty well until an older gentleman comes out and starts spouting of weird, disconcerting phrases: "You have seen the face of evil."Shy doesn't quite know what to think, so he moves on to a couple of ladies on the other side of the deck. Just as he's handing them their water bottles, he sees movement out of the corner of his eye and realizes the old guy h...
Read more

The Music of What Happens - Bill Konigsberg

Image
Max: Chill. Sports. Video games. Gay and not a big deal, not to him, not to his mom, not to his buddies. And a secret: An encounter with an older kid that makes it hard to breathe, one that he doesn't want to think about, ever. Jordan: The opposite of chill. Poetry. His "wives" and the Chandler Mall. Never been kissed and searching for Mr. Right, who probably won't like him anyway. And a secret: A spiraling out of control mother, and the knowledge that he's the only one who can keep the family from falling apart. Over the course of one summer, two boys will have to face their biggest fears and decide what they're willing to risk -- to get the thing they want the most. This is a phenomenal book, in my humble opinion. There aren't too many books dealing with male sexual abuse, particularly in YA. Sex and sexuality are messy parts of young adulthood, but what this book does really well is discuss consent and the ways in which physical cues can be misinte...
Read more

Girls Like Us - Gail Giles

Image
I have now gone out and made sure that I have all of the books longlisted for the National Book Award. I read and reviewed a number of these previously, so now I have five left to read and review. This is one of those five (but would I expect anything less from the fabulous team at Candlewick?) Girls Like Us  is a unique novel in a number of respects, most notably in the fact that both protagonists are identified (and self-identified) as mentally disabled in some way. Biddy has a learning disability that she was born with, while Quincy is a young girl who is disabled due to the fact that her mother's boyfriend hit her in the head with a brick, disfiguring her and damaging her brain. Once the two girls graduate from school, they move into a house together, becoming caregivers for both each other and an older woman, Elizabeth. The two must rely on each other for comfort, knowledge, and emotional strength, and Elizabeth manages to help them along the way. While I had moments of wo...
Read more