October 1, 2015
Gr 9 Up-Tricia is grieving her beloved grandmother's death, alienating her potter boyfriend Brian, and contemplating suicide. She makes a telephone call to her grandmother's old number and unexpectedly bonds with Emerson, a young man with a restless girlfriend, Angie. This call forever alters the course of their intertwined lives in the Washington Island and Sturgeon Bay sections of Wisconsin. They are connected in different ways to Brenda, an aspiring actress and screenplay writer haunted by a traumatic event from her past. Wiemer's debut is smart and character-driven. The five protagonists have distinct viewpoints and share them via different narrative styles: Tricia (prose), Brian (prose and drawings), Emerson (prose), Angie (free verse poetry), and Brenda (screenplay format). They are depicted as real teens living life on their own terms, making mistakes and learning and growing from them. Readers will appreciate literary references to Ralph Waldo Emerson, the 19th-century transcendentalist essayist and poet whom Emerson is named after. Chapters open with Emerson quotes. Savvy popular culture fans will savor references to everything from Frank Sinatra's signature songs to Led Zeppelin to films like Psycho and 500 Days of Summer. The author successfully ties these threads together without weighing down the narrative. VERDICT Recommended for readers who enjoy quirky coming-of-age stories and believe in the human connection.-Donald Peebles, New York Black Librarians Caucus
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