Barb and Dingbat's Crybaby Hotline

VOYA

AGERANGE: Ages 11 to 15.

Presented entirely as telephone dialogue between two junior high students in 1975 through 1976, this novel begins with Barb Grimaldi telling Jeff Woolley, "I've been asked to inform you that Viv doesn't want to go with you anymore. At all." Viv is one of a series of girls in whom Jeff is interested, mainly for purposes of making out. Barb's caustic remarks skewer Jeff's cluelessness about girls and sex. Yet he must want to change because he keeps calling Barb back for more information and advice despite her sarcasm. She relishes heaping verbal abuse on Jeff as she tries to teach him that when a girl says no, she means no-and that girls are individuals and not a succession of interchangeable lips. Jeff rarely knows if what Barb tells him is true, including what girls have said about him or what she thinks of him. It is also uncertain whether Barb has a cat named Dingbat, a brother who was killed in Vietnam, and a mother in a wheelchair as a result of a nervous breakdown over her son's war death. It is an accomplishment to create full-bodied characters using only dialogue. Most junior high readers will tune into the zany, razor-sharp humor, enjoy the 1970s cultural references (e.g., Watergate, Pong, Aerosmith), and will be able to read the book in one sitting. Jeff's words are printed in boldface so the reader always knows who is speaking. The punchy dialogue, short chapters, and generous leading make the book a good selection for reluctant readers. Reviewer: Florence Munat
April 2008 (Vol. 31, No. 1)

Children's Literature - Sharon Oliver

A precursor to the days of IM, this novel, set in 1975, takes place entirely in phone calls. Jeff, a junior high school Casanova, gets the first phone call from Barb, who breaks up with him. The strange part is that Jeff is not dating Barb; he is dating Viv, who has Barb doing her dirty work for her. As the conversation progresses, Jeff is intrigued by Barb and the things she will not tell him. Barb is obviously disgusted with Jeff's lady killer mentality and tries to get him to see girls as human beings and not sexual objects. Both parties have limited success. Now that 1975 has moved into the realm of historical fiction, this novel is an interesting peek at teen communications before IM and cell phones, as well as gender roles for the time. Humorous and entertaining, this story tosses in just enough pathos to keep readers hooked. We get to know Barb and Jeff as they get to know themselves and while there is no nice, neat happy ending, the reader has faith that these two might just make it in the world after all. Reviewer: Sharon Oliver

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up- "I've been asked to inform you that Viv doesn't want to go with you anymore. At all." These words begin an insanely humorous phone friendship between Barb (the surrogate dumper) and Jeff (the serial dumpee). Over the course of two years, 1975-1976, the teens trade phone calls to talk about Jeff's love life. Barb gives him advice, he ignores it, and more girls ask her to tell him it's over. The entire novel is made up of the phone conversations, with no narrator or backstory, yet the characters are developed through their calls. Barb is a straightforward, sarcastic feminist with a zany sense of humor. Jeff is totally clueless about girls and sees them less as individuals and more as a succession of lips. (Barb tells him, "You make out with every girl with lips, and pretty soon they get wise. Girls like to believe that when they're being kissed, the kisser actually knows who they're kissing.") The dialogue is funny and realistic. There are a lot of references to period television shows, music, and politics that some teens won't get, but they will understand the general context. This laugh-out-loud novel is ideal for reluctant readers and those looking for a "short book."-Heather E. Miller, Homewood Public Library, AL

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