Sunday, October 17, 2010

book review: looking for alibrandi

I was told I'd cry and fall in love in Looking for Alibrandi.  Honestly, I didn't shed a tear, though I did develop a slight crush.  Literary boys are so brazen it's hard not to.  But clearly there's a bit more going on in it than teen flings.  Well, a little bit at least.

Looking for Alibrandi is one of those standard teen identity books critics love to recommend because they deal with adult issues such as condoms.  And while the issues in and of themselves are deep enough, it screams teen.  Not exactly in a bad way, but in a you-definitely-know-the-target-market kind of way.

I liked it, though, I really did.  It's fast and fun for the most part, and the best part is the narrator's voice.  She's concise and punchy and you don't feel cheated for having spent a few hours with her.  In fact, you begin to wish you were a bit more punchy, too.

Her self discovery's both melodramatic and oddly anticlimactic (you feel like the author, given a few years of college English, would be distraught and fervently rework the actual, highly foreshadowed ending), though I'm guessing most teens would be less critical.

It's a book that if it hits you at the right time in the right place I imagine will stay with you forever, but stumbling upon it fifteen years late will leave you dry eyed and slightly cynical.  Though thankfully not heartbroken.

2 comments:

Andrew said...

I read this book about 15 years ago as a school text in Year 10 or 11, and I remember the big theme we were constantly told about the book was 'crossing boundaries' (social, cultural, growing up etc). It's funny to read your review because it is definitely a teen identity book, and as you note perhaps a little less relevant once you are passed the teenage years.

Thanks though for the trip down memory lane.

Laetitia :-) said...

I've seen the movie but not read the book. The movie was good, maybe I will try the book one day.