Publishers Weekly
Fogelin (The Big Nothing) delivers another smart tale about nerdy Tallahassee teenagers. Narrator Fisher Brown, 16, has aced school since sixth grade. Indeed, a week before the SATs, Fisher is painfully aware that his academic excellence substitutes for a relationship with Dad: "As long as I'm the A man, we're okay. In his mind we've survived Mom's desertion. Faulty logic, but it's a prime reason why I work so hard. It seems like the least I can do for him." Cracks appear in the fa ade, however. Fisher panics during a chemistry exam. Desiree, his unlovely, loyal friend, wants more than a platonic relationship. And Lonny, a drifter temporarily ensconced in Fisher's neighborhood, dares Fisher to challenge the status quo. With Dad off to Miami for a week to move Nana into new housing, Fisher accepts Lonny's offer of adventure: a weekend bus trip to Chiefland, Fla., to reroof his ex-girlfriend's house. The ensuing events-combination vocabulary learning curve and comedy of errors-engender a bond between Fisher and Lonny's hardworking ex and sweet young son. A few twists and Lonny's fecklessness strand the pair with no cash. Desperate after three consecutive unexcused absences, Fisher finds aid from the best kind of youth services librarian and dear Dez, who trundles down in an unreliable Crown Vic. Fisher's delightfully telegraphed epiphanies, the funny, harrowing road trip, and a satisfying showdown with Dad yield a novel that may well appeal to teens of both sexes. Ages 12-16. (Oct.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Children's Literature
- Elizabeth Young
Finally, an intelligent novel you won't be embarrassed to be seen reading. Sixteen-year-old Fisher Brown is one geeky high school student honors student who lives in the security of his grades and boring life, with his guidance counselor father. Fish is supposed to be studying for his SATs, the next step in his academic journey to ensure his acceptance at Yale. Yet, there is a lot missing from Fish's life—his mother, his freedom, and adventure. Fogelin creates realistic main characters and presents them naturally, as though he were describing real life. While Fish's father is away taking care of Nana, Fish is offered a chance to see life as never before. Meet Lonny Traynor—a school dropout with a jaded past who enlists Fish's help for a weekend to put a roof on a house. Curiosity and the taste of freedom get the better of Fish and he finds himself with a one-way ticket to another part of the state. If his plans had turned out as he expected, there would be no repercussions from his father, his friends, or even the SAT. But, as in reality, if everything went according to plan, there wouldn't be a story to tell. Read on, as Fish, the pencil-pushing math tutor becomes Fish, the humanitarian, and finds out what really happened to his mother. An excellent choice for book discussion groups. So what is the real question? It depends where you are! Read this to find the answer for yourself.
VOYA
- Jay Wise
Fisher Brown is sixteen, and according to his best friend, Desiree, "head smart and gut clueless." Obsessed with an upcoming SAT and winning his friendly rivalry with classmates Raleigh and Hofstra, Fisher struggles to escape the shadow of his guidance-counselor father, who is determined to inspire Fisher by writing motivational tips on index cards and taping them to Fisher's desk while he sleeps. When Lonny Traynor-equal parts drifter, hustler, and con artist-convinces him to cut classes to help him re-roof a friend's house, Fisher hops a Greyhound bus to Chiefland, Florida. Arriving in Chiefland, Fisher is stunned to find that Lonny's "friend" is really his former girlfriend and the mother of Lonny's young son. After Lonny leaves Chiefland with the roof half-done and then ditches Fisher instead of taking him home, Fisher begins to unravel under the pressure that he feels to be perfect, the lies that he has told his father, and his conflicting feelings for Dez. Fogelin's latest work is much more than a coming-of-age tale. Fisher's first-person narration is dead-on, at times bouncing between the sarcastic, intense, needy voice of a teen and the compassionate, giving, but wary voice of an adult. This amazing title is a perfect "guy book," and should be required reading for every teen, male or female, who feels the weight of a parent's expectations but cannot quite figure out what to do about it.
KLIATT
- Myrna Marler
Sixteen-year-old Fisher Brown has been studying for the SATs and college admission to Yale since sixth grade, when his mother left and the weight of his guidance-counselor father's expectations fell on his unprepared shoulders. Lest "Fish" forget his lofty goals, his father has taped homilies throughout their house. These cards give such SAT-beating advice as "Challenging reading in a variety of disciplines increases academic success," but the one that gnaws at Fish asks, "What is the real question?" We first meet Fish while he is having a meltdown during a crucial chemistry exam. Subsequent scenes reveal his skinny, nerd-like body, his lack of social success, especially with his dream girl, and his relationship with his true and loyal best friend, a girl whose beauty is marred by the lack of a substantial chin. These scenes also reveal Fish's unique voice as he battles to keep his inner rebellion at bay and go along with the program. Trouble ensues when he meets Lonny, a free spirit, an on-the-road, let-tomorrow-take-care-of-itself kind of guy who invites him on a weekend travel adventure, which turns out to be three days of free labor re-roofing Lonny's ex-wife's house. Fish soon has a crush on the ex-wife, falls in love with Lonny's little boy, and sees Lonny for the near psychopathic avoider-of-responsibility he is. He winds up broke, alone, hungry and at the wrong end of the state about to blow his academic record. In solving his problems, he comes to value honesty, friendship, and reliability. This is a most entertaining read about a road trip from hell that takes many an unpredictable turn.
School Library Journal
Gr 7-10-Fisher Brown is a typical overachiever, stressed out about his grades and his future. His compulsive father, who happens to be his guidance counselor, leaves index cards with pointers around his room, such as, "read above and below target area." When the 16-year-old encounters Lonny Traynor lounging on a discarded sofa in the street, he wonders why he can't live the easy life, too. Lonny delights him with stories of dropping out of school, getting tattoos, and traveling the world. When he invites Fish to join him in doing a roofing job for a friend over the weekend, the teen sees an opportunity for adventure, and they hop on a Greyhound bus. The friend turns out to be the mother of Lonny's son, Charlie. Fish finds himself helping her make ends meet, fixing up the house, and being a role model for the child. He stays longer than planned, but needs to get back to school before he's in trouble. Despite his disappointment in Lonny's character, Fish learns to do the right thing and to help his new friends in need. He sets a good example for students who can get so stressed about school that they forget that other people have problems, too. Fellow overachievers will relate to Fisher's drive to help his new friends, and will be satisfied when he finds a way to work out his own problems as well. A short, satisfying lesson in caring.-Jane Cronkhite, Cuyahoga County Public Library, OH Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Daily confrontations with a humorless, detail-oriented father (who is also his school guidance counselor) and sarcastic "friends," who ruthlessly mock exam scores that are anything less than perfect, have Fisher Brown feeling pressure. The young man is frazzled. His brain locks up during a chemistry test and a beloved pet dog is dying. The 16-year-old laments his purpose with the question, "What's the point?" Seizing the day, he recklessly agrees to tag along with bad boy Lonny and rides the Greyhound from his home in Tallahassee to small town Chiefland. Fisher rationalizes his journey: "All I did was steal a couple of days from my own life. Nobody should care." Chiefland's working poor exist in a different universe, presenting Fish with a quandary. Should he return home and buckle down for the SATs or lend a hand to Lonny's extended family? This coming-of-age story is marked by Fisher's first-person narrative that mixes wry humor and bittersweet thoughts. Readers will empathize with the engaging young man who, without a guidebook, sorts through life's real questions. (Fiction. YA)
