Young Adult Literature without Apology

Amy's assessment of contemporary young adult literature, organized by author and title, censored by noone.

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Castellucci, Cecil (2007). Beige. Cambridge: Candlewick. ISBN: 9780763630669. 320 pages.

Fourteen-year-old Katy has been sent, against her will, to visit her estranged father in Los Angeles while her beloved mother attends an archeological dig in Peru. Since she was seven, Katy and her young mother have been what Katy calls a "team;" her biological father, a former punk superstar known as "The Rat," is not part of this equation. Though her parents met in and were part of the debauched Los Angeles punk scene, Katy's mother cleaned up when she discovered she was pregnant and distanced herself--literally and figuratively--from this part of her past. The Rat, though slower to follow, is clean now as well; however, he has high hopes for the comeback of his band, Suck. In Los Angeles, The Rat's bandmate Sam's daughter, Lake, reluctantly takes Katy under her wing. Lake is not Katy's idea of the model teen; however, she does seem to fit in more with The Rat and his friends than Katy ever will. When her stay in L.A. is lengthened, Katy and Lake's friendship becomes less tenuous and leads to (somewhat) surprising musical partnership.

Oh, man, I hate these "punk" novels. They really bring out the adamant 17-year-old in me. Although Castellucci's story is told from Katy's point of view and is supposed to present a disdainful outsider's take on (and growing acceptance of) the L.A. punk community, the cards are stacked from the start. Every chapter is titled with the name of a seminal song and artist from L.A. punk's heyday (the first chapter is "Los Angeles X"--gag) and the descriptions of The Rat and his punky friends are more fawning than critical. The detail that is meant to effect a sense of difference and community is just too trendy for me, from The Rat's condo at the so-called Grunge Estates to The Rat's girlfriend's interest in burlesque dancing. Maybe it's just me, but the whole experience of this book makes me want to get into a gloves-off 7-inch record comparison contest. And nobody should be party to that would-be debacle.