Will You Be My Brussels Sprout?

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Fans of I Am an Artichoke may be in for a disappointment with this sequel: the deadpan wit, vivid characterizations and droll observations of New York people and scenery of Frank's first novel are for the most part absent here. Sarah, the 15-year-old narrator, must juggle her friendship with Emily Friedman, the anorexic girl she'd been hired to help in Artichoke, with her new romance with Emily's older brother, David, and her increasingly time-consuming music lessons-all during Saturday afternoon visits to Manhattan. But the conflict between friendship and love is barely mined and Emily, previously so thoughtfully portrayed, is, like the other characters, brought out of the wings only when it's necessary to move the plot along. Otherwise the inward-focused narrative centers on Sarah's growing interest in the cello and in David. Given Frank's knowledgeable descriptions of specific compositions, music classes and so forth, Sarah's absorption in the cello is easy to understand and even exciting. But the author never fully communicates the reasons for Sarah's attraction to David, who keeps pressuring Sarah to have sex and reacts boorishly when she refuses. All told, a better-than-average tale of first love, but not especially original. Ages 12-up. (Apr.)

School Library Journal

Gr 6-9-Disappointingly open-ended, this sequel to I Am an Artichoke (Holiday, 1995) follows 15-year-old Sarah through the challenges of cello lessons at a New York City music conservatory and the exhilarations and anxieties of first love. Though she spent last summer in Manhattan with the Friedmans as a companion to anorexic, 13-year-old Emily, she never met the girl's brother. Enroute to an audition, she meets David, who is an accomplished guitarist and Julliard dropout. The two begin a romance that flourishes during pretentious dates to the Museum of Natural History, sushi bars, and Central Park. David's resentment of Sarah's music commitments and insistent pressure to have sex cause her to have serious second thoughts. While some emotional aspects of the romance ring true, loose ends mar the story. Sarah's change from lackadaisical musician to conservatory student is unconvincing; with the cello unmentioned in the first book, her rapid acceleration of ability seems contrived. Only David and Sarah are fleshed out enough to seem like real people. But the same girl who championed Emily in the earlier title abandons her friend for her brother. Sarah, a steamed "brussels sprout," finally dumps whiny, pushy David, but then has a change of heart and ends the novel with, "David, wait." Vegetable lovers can take bets over the next corny title and the conclusion of this slight story.-Alice Casey Smith, Sayreville War Memorial High School, NJ

Lauren Peterson

In Frank's debut novel," I Am an Artichoke" , Sarah takes a summer job in New York City as a mother's helper to anorexic 12-year-old Emily. This companion volume picks up the story when Sarah, 16 and an aspiring cellist, begins taking lessons at the New York Conservatory of Music, meets Emily's older brother, David, and falls in love for the first time. Sarah and David connect on many levels, but the inexperienced Sarah faces a dilemma when David starts pressuring her to become intimate. Frank resolves the conflict in a believable, satisfying, and responsible manner (Sarah chooses not to have sex), opening the door for discussion on this sensitive topic. Punctuated with humor and witty dialogue and filled with all the angst any teen could ever want, this quirky coming-of-age story will confirm Frank's place as a fresh new YA talent.

Kirkus Reviews

There are those who play the cello and there are cellists; it's the latter that Sarah, 16, aspires to with every note she plays. Then along comes David, her best friend's brother, a talented guitarist who is a Juilliard dropout. At first they share a love of music, but it isn't long before manipulative David begins to pressure Sarah for sex; she tells him, "You're figuring out when. I'm still trying to deal with whether." Her music suffers as David becomes increasingly angry and controlling. When he walks out, readers momentarily believe that Sarah's sense of self-worth will be strong enough to see her through. In a final scene, David demonstrates some awareness of his flaws and blames his parents for the bully he is; Sarah is full of doubts for their future but is still willing to give it a chance.

An otherwise fine novel by Frank (I Am Artichoke, 1995, not reviewed) turns into just another formulaic romance with that shockingly ambiguous ending; some readers will be left with the feeling that all the sexual stereotypes they've been taught to recognize and resist have just been reinforced—in spades.