by
Barbara Hall (Goodreads Author)
The author, Barbara Hall, is an acclaimed TV writer. This book, published in 1987, was her first.
It's the last summer before Matty Collier's graduation from high school. He wants a Big Something to happen this last summer:
I couldn't help feeling that I should have accomplished something by now. It didn't need to be big. But it needed to be something that I did with no help from anyone else, some idea that was totally my own. I knew I was headed for anonymity the year after I graduated. I would find a job
somewhere and ease into a quiet life, maybe get married and have a few kids. I was headed that way, but something inside me wanted to stop the motion I needed to have my moment of glory, and after that maybe the whole business of life would start to make sense. As it stood now, it seemed like stupid little traditions that everyone went through without ever asking why. I wanted to ask why. I wanted some answers (page 24)
But there's a problem. A few problems, in fact: His parents are hounding him to get a boring J-O-B for the summer. His best friend, Cal, just got a job at the Stop & Shop--and is showing all the signs of the zombification Mattie associates with boring work-drones. Meanwhile, Cal's sixteen-year-old sister, Dana, is following Mattie around like an overeager puppy. And the "Big Thing" Mattie hopes to encounter is nowhere in sight.
Until he meets beautiful Jennifer, that is.
In the tumble of events which follow, Mattie learns that Jennifer, while beautiful, has nothing in common with him--and Dana, for all her over-excitement, just might understand him. He learns from his father, a furniture restorer, just why "drones" find pride in their work. He learns he owes more of a loving obligation to his parents than he'd originally appreciated. Oh, and Mattie shoots a perfect 450-score of Skee-ball (a recurring theme in the novel), helped by the promptings and advice of the elderly Skee-ball lane custodian, Mr. Finch.
(For those who are unfamiliar with Skee-ball, here's a link to a video of the game in action)
The book is alternatively touching and insightful. The book is written for teenagers--but, since I was a teenager Mattie's age when the book was published, I found it easy to relate to his insecurities, yearnings, and frustrations.
It's the last summer before Matty Collier's graduation from high school. He wants a Big Something to happen this last summer:
I couldn't help feeling that I should have accomplished something by now. It didn't need to be big. But it needed to be something that I did with no help from anyone else, some idea that was totally my own. I knew I was headed for anonymity the year after I graduated. I would find a job
somewhere and ease into a quiet life, maybe get married and have a few kids. I was headed that way, but something inside me wanted to stop the motion I needed to have my moment of glory, and after that maybe the whole business of life would start to make sense. As it stood now, it seemed like stupid little traditions that everyone went through without ever asking why. I wanted to ask why. I wanted some answers (page 24)
But there's a problem. A few problems, in fact: His parents are hounding him to get a boring J-O-B for the summer. His best friend, Cal, just got a job at the Stop & Shop--and is showing all the signs of the zombification Mattie associates with boring work-drones. Meanwhile, Cal's sixteen-year-old sister, Dana, is following Mattie around like an overeager puppy. And the "Big Thing" Mattie hopes to encounter is nowhere in sight.
Until he meets beautiful Jennifer, that is.
In the tumble of events which follow, Mattie learns that Jennifer, while beautiful, has nothing in common with him--and Dana, for all her over-excitement, just might understand him. He learns from his father, a furniture restorer, just why "drones" find pride in their work. He learns he owes more of a loving obligation to his parents than he'd originally appreciated. Oh, and Mattie shoots a perfect 450-score of Skee-ball (a recurring theme in the novel), helped by the promptings and advice of the elderly Skee-ball lane custodian, Mr. Finch.
(For those who are unfamiliar with Skee-ball, here's a link to a video of the game in action)
The book is alternatively touching and insightful. The book is written for teenagers--but, since I was a teenager Mattie's age when the book was published, I found it easy to relate to his insecurities, yearnings, and frustrations.
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