The Amazon Papers

Children's Literature - Catherine Petrini

Foster, 18, is "cooler than mere cool," with blue eyes, an earring, and a hearse with a racecar engine. When he asks 15-year-old Iris to go bowling, she ditches her babysitting job and ignores the instructions of her vacationing mother. Events begin spiraling out of control for protagonist Iris, an athlete, A-student, and crackerjack auto mechanic. The hearse self-destructs; Iris's mom's car is vandalized, and a dalmatian named Trevor nearly gets Iris arrested. Keller's literate, entertaining, and often hilarious novel introduces a cast of offbeat characters. Fauncine, a shy neurotic who idolizes Iris, is a pinch-hitting babysitter. Zelma, a streetwise schemer, plunges Iris and Foster into a pool hall brawl. Chanel-suited Aunt Blanche urges Iris to "drink the cup of life," but is surprised when Iris unintentionally follows her advice. Iris's intelligent, spirited narrative is reminiscent of the fresh, hip tone of Francesca Lia Block's excellent "Weetzie Bat" series, but without the grit.

School Library Journal

Gr 6-9Iris Hoving, pushing 16, is always in demand as a ringer in the bowling league, but she's never had a date. She's tall and lean, can fix a mean carburator, reads philosophy for fun, and longs for handsome Foster Prizer to notice her. When he finally does, the action moves into high gear in this zany novel of misadventure. Iris's mother leaves on vacation with Iris's cousin, and the teen is left in charge of the woman's two hyperactive preschoolers without a clue as to how to handle them, much less change diapers. She arranges for a babysitter so that she can meet Foster at a pool parlor, where (a) her foot gets broken, (b) her mother's car is stripped, (c) Foster is thrown out and disappears, and (d) Iris is driven home by Foster's old girlfriend Zelma, who involves Iris in such wild situations that readers' heads will spin just trying to follow the action. Keller's foray into YA literature is only partly successful. Iris is a wonderful, fully fleshed-out character who zings out some great lines, but most of the other characters are flat, serving only as backdrops for the frenetic action. The ending rings true to life, where Iris realizes that she really needs adult intervention to get out of the colossal mess she's landed in, and has to ask the assistance of her Aunt Blanche. The Amazon Papers has a strong main character and a realistic premise but there's too much happening. Still, it's a fun read about an engaging teen.Susan R. Farber, Chappaqua Library, NY

Kirkus Reviews

For Iris, 16, no sooner does the door close behind her mother and cousin Ellie, off on a 10-day cruise, than things spin out of control. First of all, how is Iris going to watch Ellie's two young children when she's been drafted by Xiang Lo Pizza's bowling team? That minor dilemma quickly degenerates into a series of hilarious misadventures that leave her dazedly wondering how she's going to explain a broken foot (earned defending her date in a skeevy pool parlor), the two young men working on a broken-down hearse in the garage, the vandalized family car, swaddled in sheets and parked out front, or Zelma, a teenage con-artist-in-training who has become an unwelcome and all-too-frequent visitor.

A fine athlete, auto mechanic, and straight-A student with a taste for poetry, philosophy, and the quiet life, Iris makes a memorable, utterly engaging narrator, and she comes with a supporting cast that more than keeps up with her. She deals creatively with each contretemps and, as a reward, meets Byron, a combination of "biker, Michelangelo sculpture, and Chippendale dancer" who is a total soulmate. Keller (Desdemona Moves On, 1992, not reviewed, etc.) leaves the two planning to take in a museum—or maybe a track meet—together. Inspired.