#90 of 2011: Maybe by Brent Runyon
Uh-oh, Houston, we may(be) have a problem. I’m writing this review only a day after I finished the book but I have a blurry recollection of the story. I do remember that almost every page contains the word “sex,” though, which is not to say it’s full of the deed because IMHO, it could have worked better with more action. But that’s the thing about the story - you couldn’t really expect it to be bigger than it already was from the start. The main character, Brian, whose unpredictable behavior we know has been an effect of his brother’s death, was fairly interesting enough but real hard to get into. In the story, he very much wants to fit in and DOES things for him to be deemed acceptable, but it’s a struggle within himself because he actually didn’t feel like doing those things (or so as I understand). Even losing his virginity and having sex, even though he sounded v. desperate to get it over with. It’s one of the classic formulas for teens coping with death - they carry the weight of it all and refuse to accept an extended hand and then add another bulk to their problems instead (in Brian’s case: death of brother -> pervert-ish -> have unsuccessful relationships with girls, OR death of brother too painful -> moves to a new place -> new kid in school -> do ~cool things to make him numb the pain). I don’t know if I’m comfortable to call that a cliche, because I guess it’s really hard to write about teens and coping with death, but honestly, I doubt Brent Runyon would ring the Bell of YA Awesomeness in my book. Another reason for that is because he has one stereotype of girls and he calls them: hippy. Uhm, not so yipee.
