Tuesday, April 2, 2013

B is for Boy21!


Welcome to Day 2 of the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge here at Reading on the F Train.  Today's topic is Boy21!
I realized that, while I got to read several great books as a Cybils judge, I never shared my thoughts about them here (with the exception of Code Name Verity, which I have discussed at length.)  So as their titles come up in the alphabet, I'll post the notes I wrote up after reading each one.

Today's title is Boy21:

 Boy21Boy21 by Matthew Quick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I can’t remember the last time a book slammed against me like this, knocked all the air out of my lungs, made my ribcage sore from the impact. I mean, yes, it made me cry (in a lot of ways all at once) but more than that, it just blindsided me with how much I cared about everyone in it. It didn’t meet any of my expectations--I don’t know why, after a summer of sobbing over five seasons of Friday Night Lights, I didn’t expect to be blown away by a sports story--but it was nothing like I thought it would be. Basketball is there, but it’s there as something to work for, something to focus on, a ticket out of town and out of the terrible things that have happened to Finley and Russ. But the relationships--Finley’s family, his guidance counselor, his coach and teammates, and most of all Russ and Erin--those are what really make this book stand out. I am somehow invested in every character. Matthew Quick has an uncanny ability to show exactly what a character is feeling with just a few words. And it is worth mentioning, in light of much hand-wringing over the lack of “boy books” (a dopey concern, in several ways, the translation of which is “books with boy protagonists”) as well as the completely legit concern about a lack of POC in YA fiction and especially on book covers, this is a book with a male protagonist, and while Finley is Irish-American, many of the other characters (including the title character, Boy21 aka Russ) are African-American. This is the kind of book that I just want to wave around in public places until everyone reads it. I would hand this to any of my students--it’s well-written enough, and packs enough of an emotional punch, that my students who are avid readers of dystopia and romance might actually go for it, while it has enough grit and action that the very picky readers might give it a go as well. I would love to see this in classrooms alongside other recent classics like Monster and The Outsiders.



View all my reviews

10 comments:

  1. Nice review. Though outside of my normal genres, you tempted me enough to consider picking up a copy. Thanks for the recommendation. ~~Emmly Jane @ Unconditional love with a few conditions.

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    1. Thanks! Hope you like it if you get a chance to read it!

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  2. Ooh, great review, Jess! I've heard of this one, but I didn't know a lot about it until today. Sounds fantastic! I love a good boy-focused contemporary... They seem to be few and far between. I'll definitely add this one to my list!

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    1. I'm curious to see what you think! I'm not allowed to really talk about the Cybils judging talks, but I think I can say that it was really interesting talking books with people whose tastes I wasn't familiar with. As cool as that was, now I want some of my regular comrades-in-reading to weigh in on what we read!

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  3. I'm not sure I've heard of this one before. It's definitely not what I'm used to picking up, but who says we should always read the same things, right? Thanks for the great review! :)

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    1. Yeah, I feel like it's different enough from a lot of what's out there that a lot of people will probably see it and think "not for me." But I really loved it, so who knows?

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  4. I've never heard of BOY 21 before. My love of basketball pretty much ends with HOOSIERS, but it sounds like this story has a lot more going for it than the sports. Might have to check it out seeing as my son is a total sports freak. I had to chuckle when I saw the mc's name, because my cat's name is Finley. :)

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    1. I was really surprised by how much it was about community and family and how both of those things can be good or terrible. It had a lot going on, and the sports just kind of provided a way in.

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  5. Hi, nice review. Thanks. I must admit that I should read more widely but tend to stay with the same sort of things. Not great for an aspiring writer is it? I must try harder. Maybe I'll try Boy21.

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    1. This is definitely a story that doesn't remind me of much else I've read--good for branching out!

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