avengingsybil

My Summer of Musicals... (I'd Seriously Advise Skipping Camp Rock)

Last night I finished Marc Acito's Attack of the Theater People, the follow-up to How I Paid for College, which I adored. Good news - I loved this one just as much, if not more. Not only does it boast the same fabulous cast of characters but there are several new and memorable ones (Acito infuses the least of the characters with a protagonist's worth of richness and detail), and the plot is an outrageous adventure that includes drama school expulsion, insider training, a Bruce Springsteen cover band, a Marxist theater group that rehearses in a Catholic church, a deaf man playing Harold Hill and the decadent bar/bat mitzvah scene of the mid-1980s. Oh, and so much more, not the least of which is the AIDS crisis which looms large in the mind of gay protagonist Edward Zanni. Just brilliant. Still and all, like the first book, my favorite part was the tight and wonderful friendships woven and maintained among Edward and his core crew. Unforgettable.

I notice that the copy of the book I requested is shelved in YA. I don't think the first book was considered YA - is it left up to library's discretion? I'd be curious to know, especially since this book touches on some complex things that might go over a contemporary teenager's head and the very graphic sexual situations. Not that I don't think an older teenager could handle it, I just wonder if it's sent anyone up in arms of if it's too far under the radar to be controversial.

Here was my favorite quote from the book:

"It's like Marcus says--if you're an artist, create art. Don't sit around waiting for someone to give you permission."

Yes!!!! I think I'm going to get that printed on a tee shirt.

Before Attack, I wrapped up Suite Scarlett which I found to be so much fun! It also hit me on a personal level because, as I've written in here before, I lost a sibling to cancer when I was very young and Maureen Johnson really hits the nail on the head as far as what it's like for families who are hit with a childhood illness, all the sacrifices and the financial toll, the tiptoeing around the stricken child. It's a very authentic portrait, particularly among the siblings. What she does with Marlene, the cancer survivor, and her personality and relationships is so interesting and I appreciate that she doesn't sugar coat anything. The scene with Scarlett and Marlene near the end is cutting and perfectly believable. Great work, and I look forward to the sequel. Will Mrs. Amberson return? What about Eric? I can hardly wait to find out.

And since I apparently cannot get enough of theatrical teenagers in New York City, I am currently being enchanted by Maryrose Wood's My Life, The Musical.

In less-urban, less-fictional teen news, I have obviously heard all the brou-ha-ha over the Gloucester High School "pregnancy pact" (what up, Gloucester? I got married there!). I just feel it's been too sensationalized for me to even want to take a stab at weighing in, but here's a very thoughtful series of posts from Liz over at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy which I think cuts to the heart of the matter. She asks all the right questions.

How timely that The Secret Life of the American Teenager is scheduled to begin its run. I'm still very wary of this series, but at the very least I have something to use my DVR for besides So You Think You Can Dance (GO JOSHUA!). Ahem.

Written material copyright 2008 Dawn Emerman

Que Rico

I was hearing a lot about Mayra Lazara Dole's Down to the Bone so I decided to check it out for myself. There's a part of me that's still very much over the "coming out" story.  Not to belittle anyone's experience, I just have an idealistic streak that wants to move to integrated gay characters whose gayness is not the primary issue. I see evidence of this all over the place, but we're not all the way there yet. That said, Down to the Bone is indeed a coming out story, and one that I enjoyed.

It started out rough for me, to tell the truth, because stories told in the present tense they way this one is tend to grate on my nerves. Also Laura, the protagonist, is all over the place. But I got used to the tense, and Laura, aka Scrunchy, aka Looly really won me over because she is such a fun and joyful character. I adored her relationships, the way she treated her family and friends, her sass and her nicknames for everyone. Her typical, occasionally annoying angst and denial and misguided attempts at changing for the sake of her mother's love (tragic and over-the-top, yet believable) is tempered by her innate ability to suck the marrow out of life. She is a feminist and an environmentalist and an artist and a creation of pure love and what's to hate about that? I ended up really wanting to hang out with her and Soli and Tazer and Viva and Gisela and the landscaping crew and little Pedri (whom I hope is not ultimately turned against her).

For every Francisco (Laura's would-be boyfriend who devolved from a chill, gay-friendly dude into a stereotype of the male double standard) there is a nuanced gay or gay-friendly character. I really appreciated that Dole offered a wide representation of what "gay" and "lesbian" and "identifying" can mean, not just one portrayal. So many communities overlap here, gay and straight, and many different shades of culture exclusive to the Miami Cubana, Dominicana and other types of Latina community which I thought was particularly interesting because here is where a whole subset exists that can be credited with pulling Laura up as well as bringing her down. I think the Latina angle is what makes this book stand out for me, that and the irresistible main character. I thought that I was underwhelmed but the fact that I'm still thinking fondly of the book more than a week later indicates otherwise.

As for today I am just about done with the absolutely fabulous Suite Scarlett and will follow it with not one but two novels concerning theater-loving young adults. Oh summer reading, I could eat you with a spoon.

Written material - 2008 Dawn Emerman

Depeche-Toi... and Read this Book

About Debbie Harry Sings in French by Meagan Brothers:  I love that this book exists. It wasn't perfect, I thought the story was rushed in places and some parts of the story line were a bit glossed over, but overall it was an entertaining read. The thing I absolutely adore about it is the way that Johnny, the main character, defies categorization. He is a true original, and it's lovely to be along for the ride while he learns how to fit into his skin. He knows he is not gay, but just about everyone in his life thinks he is, including the wild and beautiful Maria, who eventually becomes his girlfriend. It certainly doesn't help his case that he discovers an affinity for cross-dressing, but everyone around him, to their credit, learns to deal, even if they don't quite understand.

This thoughtful and complex handling of sexuality and its many colors seems to herald what I hope is an era where the default setting is for stereotypes to be given a rest, and for characters to experience the facts of their lives without automatic angst. I get the feeling that even if Johnny were gay, he'd be just as at peace with himself. The only problem he had with being called a 'faggot' had to do with his frustration with the inaccuracy of people's perceptions, not his own homophobia or self-loathing. And his real friends and family came across as on board no matter what, which is refreshing.

I don't mean to be cutesy or reductive, but it seems clear that wearing a dress marks John's true liberation - that, in a way, emulating a woman is what he needed to become a man, and this would be so if he were gay or straight. I just appreciate that this is a story that explores the idea of living beyond assumptions. Great job, Meagan Brothers.

I also liked that Debbie Harry was set in the early-and mid-1990s, because that's when I was coming of age. Has anyone out there read I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone by Stephanie Kuehnert (I haven't yet written about it because I'm waiting for it to be in wide release - I don't want to be unnecessarily spoilerific)? It's also set in this time period. I know two books do not a trend make, but it's a funny coincidence and I'm wondering if a grunge-era renaissance is nigh. The thought should make me feel old, but instead it makes me giddy.

Written material 2008 Dawn Emerman

Why Don't You Just Dedicate an Entire Blog To It?

I couldn't help gobbling up Forever Rose (OMG Caddy!). What to do now that the saga has concluded, read them all again? OK!. Phew, that's settled. It is very heartening to find that Rose has her own blog which is even updated on occasion, so that provides a little Casson fix now and then at least.

I took a detour after that and read a non-YA, non-middle-grade book, Jennifer Weiner's Certain Girls. It was actually my very first Weiner book. I really enjoyed it, and I'm trying to figure out why I was so resistant to reading her books in the past. Probably it's because I'm contrary by nature and I liken bestseller lists to being told what to do.

I'm definitely closer in age to the main character in the book than to her young teenage daughter, and I suppose it can be attributed to my reading so much YA that I was downright surprised at relating so much more to Cannie. I found Joy, the daughter, to be a super pill through most of the book, but her storyline was still interesting to me, particularly when she became obsessed with her mother's novel and the ensuing speculation about Cannie's sexual past. Realizing that parents have lives in any way independent from their own is a rite of passage in itself, but when sexual awareness starts surfacing--especially in this case, where she's too afraid to ask her mother how close a resemblance her sex-studded work of fiction bears to her real life and the circumstances of Joy's illegitimate birth--it particularly fascinates me. There are adults who haven't come to terms with their parents as sexual beings, preferring to live in denial, and obviously there's a blind spot when it comes parents to their growing children. What is it about sex that is so divisive and makes people so squeamish? That's a real question, I'm genuinely always thinking about it. I'll just leave that thought dangling, as it's unlikely it will ever be finished.

Next in the rotation: Debbie Harry Sings in French. Ooh la la!

Written material © 2008 Dawn Emerman