Reinhardt, Dana. A Brief Chapter in My Impossible

[Mary]

You might think that a book about a 16 year old adopted girl in a loving and well-adjusted family who finds her first boyfriend and connects with her birth mother would be silly and/or sentimental. Instead this is a very strong and believable portrait of a teenager’s growth and exploration of who she really is and in her belief systems. This book, a brief chapter in my impossible life, is very powerful. The characters are believable and showed growth. A sense of hope permeates the novel. For readers at the upper end of the Newbery readership, I believe this book belongs on the Mock Newbery reading list.

[HA]

I LOVED this book! I have little time to read, but finished it in one day. I laughed out loud and I cried. It is such an honest look at the life of a teenager; I wish that I could have read this in my teen years. Although a few friends that seemed important in the beginning dropped out halfway through, most of the characters were strong, even the adults. I just have to say again that I LOVED this book! Read it! Put it on the list!

[Becky]

Although I didn't cry (because I thought the really sad parts were predictable), I did burst into laughter often enough that my family wanted to know what I was reading. I really liked the book even though, like Simone's Dad, I'm "a bit of a prude in the language department."

It reads easily for a first person novel, and I thought that the author showed her literary sparkle when writing a pivotal scene between Simone and her able-to-cook dad in a productive interchange in which he pleas for contact between Simone and her birth mother, Rivka. As the conversation progresses, you know that Simone is really listening to his reasonable points and will eventually change her mind and call Rivka. The scene ends with a great line: “We put the final layer on the lasagna and it is done.”

I think that I referred to the above as a “scene” because the language is simple but so well-chosen that I visualized the entire book as I read – not something that I always do.

The discussion of religion at the beginning made me –well – angry at times. But I felt that the book as a whole handled Simone’s exploration of her spiritual side with careful and well-rounded honesty.

The only thing that bothered me was the evaporation of several of the group of important friends we meet at the beginning and the shallow treatment of the gay guy friend, James, (especially in comparison to best-friend Cleo and Jake, the little brother exactly like my own). James seems to show up only when something has or will happen with his gayness—I thought he could have been more important to the story than just that.

[Interested Reader]

Becky wrote: "I think that I referred to the above as a “scene” because the language is simple but so well-chosen that I visualized the entire book as I read – not something that I always do."

I agree COMPLETELY!

[Tess]

Excellent book. Well written, strong characterization, packed with issues that were handled interestingly and fairly sensitively. I respectfully disagree with Becky's point about the use of James's character being a shallow part of the story. I think it is a realistic portrayal of how a high school girl would describe someone else's experience as a part of hers in telling her story. I hope that makes sense. The evaporation of friendships is part of high school busyness. As each becomes busy with different class schedules, after-school activities and such, it's hard to get together with your old friends or to have the same interests.

I'm leaning toward it as a Printz more than a Newbery though.

[Becky]

I get your point Teresa – it’s true that friends come and go in high school (and in old people life also!). And I've thought about your interesting conjecture that, in the voice of the main character, the author is not obligated to give total pictures of every character in her life. But James comes very close to being a central character – he doesn’t drop away like the other friends mentioned at the beginning of the book.

I found myself saying to the author as I read: tell me more about his parents – like you did with Cleo’s Mom and Dad. And okay, I get that he’s had his first heartbreak – how are his grades? And every once in awhile, where’s James now? -- what does he think? -- And as Simone’s important male friend, how does he interact with Simone?—The author shows us that her best friend Cleo knows to just listen to Simone. I want to know how James compares. Only once (and I don’t remember where in the book it was) did I say to myself—there’s a little bit of extra information about James. I wanted to know more about their friendship. I hope he’s not being saved for a sequel!

[HA]

I have to weigh in about the friends. In my earlier comments I mentioned that it bothered me and it still does. I know that in high school friends come and go, but the way Simone's friends were written jarred me out of the story. I would have to think, okay, now WHICH friend is this? And I think I even had to thumb back through the book to figure out who they were.

I agree with Tess that it is probably more Printz.

[Estonian Dancer]

I finally finished this book....it was a slog for me as I found this book sooooo boring!

I found the characters very flat, predictable and very compartmentalized. One just knew that Simone would call her birth mother (her adoptive parents basically ring-fenced her into it!) and one just knew that she would eventually meet up with Rivka face to face (and on Thanksgiving too....ah, bless!)
There was a constant air of political correctness about the story that numbed the atmosphere in the book and made the writing stale.

If I could change the book:
1. I would have more narration from different characters, not just from Simone only continuously. I got tired of her constant perspective which never seemed to develop from start to finish.
2. I would have had Simone in front of stores like Wal-Mart or McDonalds or KFC to promoting the ACLU, rather than in front of a store called the Organic Oasis ( people who shop at a store called the Organic Oasis probably have a pretty strong social conscience to begin with, perhaps?)
3. I really hoped at the start of the story that Rivka would be Muslim....but she wasn't . I think the book could have been much much different with a Muslim character. I am always looking for stories with Muslim characterization, and I really hoped this story would have it when I started the book.

What do others think?

Also, this is definitely a PRINTZ book....it is certainly not for children under 14 years of age.

[Christi]

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the parents and thought Simone was a well-developed character. It didn't bother me that the friends disappeared shortly after the start of the book, because she had other things going on in her life.

I think that when a story is told from first person POV, it isn't necessary--or even believable--if the author gives a totally rounded, well-developed picture of every character or event. Unless the book is supposed to cover a small time period in excruciating detail, some cropping must be done. The narrator will naturally skip events that seem ordinary or unimportant to the story. For example, I see my co-workers several days a week, but if asked to tell the story of the first week of the summer reading program, many of them wouldn't be mentioned.

I think that what is left out of the narrator's tale tells us almost as much about the narrator as what is included. At the very least, it lets us know what the narrator thinks is important or interesting.

[Mary]

Today our Library held its annual Mock Printz election. I'm pleased to report that this book was one of the honor books selected by the group in attendance.