sonia_reppe's reviews
1293 reviews

Katy has to stay with her rocker Dad in LA for the summer while her mother does research in Peru. A mature fifteen yr-old, she "prefers silence."

So often in YA books the parents are disappointingly bland, but not in this book. The dad is very well written as a cool musician trying to stay a recovering heroin addict.
Katy is also well-written. We know where she is coming from: as a reaction to her parent's extreme lives, she is not interested in partying or playing punk music. She really misses her Mom, and feels abandoned by her. A friendship with Lake, a daughter of her dad's band member, enables her to see the release and expression that can come through music.
Each chapter heading is a song from Katy's mix cD, if you're interested in a soundtrack.

Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler put the “zip” in zip-a-dee-doo-dah

Teen identity crisis against a backdrop of fairy tales and make-believe is what we get in Barkley and Hepler’s newest YA novel, Dream Factory, about teenagers who take temporary jobs at Disney World. The Disney World setting is an ironic contrast to teen angst, but this book isn't all about disillusionment. Nor does it go into familiar thematic formula—which one might associate with Disney—a villain, a hero, and a predictable ending. Barkley and Hepler don’t need to rely on this format. They give us an entertaining summer fling book in which, instead of fighting “bad guys,” their characters are dealing with the more personal trouble of “finding themselves.” The sunny Disney World backdrop is just that: a fun backdrop, and it helps guide the story’s theme of following one’s dreams.

The point of view flips each chapter between two aimless teens, Luke and Ella. Luke doesn’t want to follow his dad into the world of corporate careers and grown-up haircuts. For now, he’s happy dressing up as Dale (you know, the chipmunk) and playing make-believe; but Cassie, an ambitious beauty and his counterpart—Chip—can’t understand why he avoids a perfectly packaged future. They become a couple, but it becomes clear that his true counterpart is Ella, the only one who seems to get him. They joke and share quirky ruminations about life. But since Luke can’t seem to make up his mind about anything, he dallies between the two girls. His conflicting feelings between Ella and Cassie are real, and I like that true-to-life aspect. I didn’t get as much honest realness from Emma, who recently lost her brother to a car crash. We get her skepticism on the happily-ever-after tagline, but the book glosses over her feelings. When she starts to cry, the scene cuts away; we’re not taken into her moments of grief.
All the better for keeping an upbeat feel to the story. Every teen in the book spews witty dialogue smoothly and readily, and the rhythm of the narrative is as light and jaunty as a horse-drawn carriage on its way to a ball. My favorite supporting character is Mark, a good-hearted, sincere Disney devotee who is as princely as the Prince Charming character it is his job to play, opposite Ella’s forlorn Cinderella.
I like that the story’s main conflicts are internal; Luke and Ella wrestle with themselves and their choices, although there are some inflated, abstract analogies throughout the book when these two get introspective. Life is like a snow globe? I don’t know. But I enjoyed the book all the same. At the end I was expecting Luke and Ella to discover what it is they want to do with their lives, but no such convenient ending. We don’t get to go back with them to the real world. But why would we want to?

HIlarious.

I am reading this book and I'm laughing. The 1st person, present tense narrator is great. Troy observes his life in a funny way. No--in a real, truthful way that is so funny. This book flies by. It gets poignant, without getting mushy. I don't know whether to like this character Curt, a homeless teen who befriends Troy and recruits him for his band. Hmm, Curt. He is a musician and a pill addict. Troy, in all his obesity, is pulled along by Curt. Curt awakens something in him; but Curt is a mess, and Troy sees this. Curt is written so well. Often drug-addict characters are sentimentalized for their lost potential, but I'm glad Curt is not. He is just real. He is who he is. Troy has to go through some painful things, but his dad helps him, and he really becomes a drummer. He did it. FAT KID ROCKS.

A 17-yr-old asperger's boy works in a law firm the summer before his senior year. He is in the real world now, very different from his special needs school.

This plot could've worked even if Marcelo was written as a normal boy. (Normal--is there such a thing--but you know what I mean).

Actually, I think I would've preferred it that way: 17-yr-old boy is working in the real world for the first time. All the awkwardness that Marcelo goes through, and his moral dilema would still pertain. As it is, I felt this book tries too hard to present Marcelo as different and special, because he didn't understand things that most people would. Yet, it seems like he understands a lot; he seems more aware of his surroundings than I was at that age, and he definitely has better social skills and manners than I did as an awkward teen.

He's practically got a halo on his head. Yes, he's special, but he has no faults?

I thought the other characters weren't developed, especially Jasmine. I got annoyed that Marcelo keeps explaining himself; he has to make an effort to look people in the eye, but he can look someone in the eye and tell them it's hard to look them in the eye. I didn't like Marcelo's way of speaking really stiffly and I didn't buy that he couldn't tell if a woman was beautiful. But, I guess this made for some good dialogue, like when he's talking with Wendell. I can see the appeal. All the girls in my YA lit class really liked this. I was into to it at some points but mostly I wasn't.

I usually love coming-of-age stories with a moral dilema, and I know this is not meant to be a typical one.

You should know there's a lot of child abuse in here, and it doesn't say anything about this in the book jacket description. Child/domestic abuse is a huge theme in this book, yet the jacket describes only the swim team aspect. So I would mention this to prospective readers.

I would also, as a positive note, mention the pretty unique voice of the protagonist. Usually in YA books, the protagonist really wants to fit in, but TJ wants to stay out; he's a rebel by choice, he's making a statement. This has to do with his being part black, which was made into a big deal by this book (racial hate also a theme) since it takes place in an area in Washington state that is really white. But, TJ is only 1/4 black, yet such a big deal is made with the N word all over this book. I'm wondering why Crutcher couldn't make TJ at least 1/2 black--really, 1/4 black is not going to be dark.

TJ also feels for outsiders because he is adopted and had a traumatic babyhood. He is athletic and could be a star jock in his high school, but he doesn't like how the jocks push around everyone else and think they're gods, so he doesn't parttake in school sports until he starts a school swim team of misfits and outsiders. This storyline was hopeful and redemptive with the teammates finding a place to belong and accomplishing their goals, but mainly this book was disturbing for me.