Are You Alone on Purpose?

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Alison Shandling and Harry Roth would seem to have nothing in common. "Queen Nerd" Alison sticks with one close friend and stays out of trouble; her parents have enough worries dealing with her autistic twin, Adam. Harry, a bully, runs with the popular crowd and delights in embarrassing his widowed father, a not terribly intelligent rabbi. But a bitter set of coincidences draws Alison to Harry: her mother, infuriated by the rabbi's insensitivity to Adam, tells the rabbi that she wishes his son were handicapped too. When Harry is paralyzed in a diving accident, the rabbi sees it as divine punishment and tries to atone by showering Adam with attention. First-novelist Werlin compensates for the unlikely plot and the even less likely romance that develops between Harry and Alison by investing her characters with rich, strong personalities. She alternates between Alison's and Harry's perspectives to round out the reader's understanding of both families. Her novel has a few too many revelatory moments and too neat a resolution, but her skill in sketching out family dynamics and probing the difficult issues of adolescence mark her as a writer worth watching. Ages 10-14. (Oct.)

School Library Journal

Gr 7-10-Harry Roth has been Alison Shandling's tormentor for years, taunting her about her autistic twin brother and her own academic brilliance. When the Shandlings decide to introduce their children to their Jewish heritage, Alison and Harry-the rabbi's son-are thrown together under circumstances neither could have imagined. Harry becomes a paraplegic in a diving accident that, Alison feels, may have happened because of her mother's wish that Rabbi Roth's son might become ``even more handicapped'' than her own child. She forces Harry to accept her friendship, and the two discover that they have both been emotional cripples for years, at the mercy of their dysfunctional parents. This binds them together, permitting each to let go of the pain of isolation. Alternating chapters related by Alison and Harry carry the story month by month over the course of a year, weaving other aspects of teenage angst into the tapestry of the narrative: Alison's loss of her best friend; the convoluted machinations of the freshman dating scene and, in an exceptionally sensitive episode, Harry's anxiety and Alison's curiosity about his ability to function sexually. The author has taken care to flesh out even minor characters while totally involving readers in the lives of the two main players. While the beginning of a reconciliation between Harry and his father seems a bit facile and the confrontation between Alison and her parents is partially carried out by letters rather than through Werlin's wonderfully strong dialogue, this first novel is a moving portrayal of two remarkable teenagers ably coming to grips with their unhappy circumstances and, one is convinced, triumphing in the end.-Sharon Grover, Arlington County Department of Libraries, VA

Karen Simonetti

Thirteen-year-old Alison Shandling has always been the good child: calming her autistic twin brother, deflecting her mother's rage, and pleasing her aloof father. Harry Roth has always been the cool kid who tests everyone's limits, especially those of his widowed father, the town's rabbi. The two dislike each other at first sight. When an accident confines Harry to a wheelchair, Alison recognizes his frustration and loneliness and initiates a friendship--proceeding as if it were her latest school assignment. Their love is unexpected and agonizing. Werlin portrays Harry's therapy sessions honestly and avoids neat solutions to practical problems (How "does" one initiate a first kiss from a wheelchair?). Her characterizations are superb, and her smooth writing and refined plot will make this ultimately uplifting story very popular. Although certainly a book about people with problems, this is more than a "problem novel."