Castellucci, Cecil. Boy proof.CASTELLUCCI, Cecil. Boy proof. Candlewick can·dle·wick n. 1. The wick of a candle. 2. a. A soft heavy cotton thread similar to that used to make wicks for candles. b. Embroidery made of tufts of this thread. Press. 203p. c2005. 076362796-8. $7.99. JS To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, March 2005: Castellucci is a filmmaker, an actress, and a singer-songwriter. She lives in Hollywood, and this, her first novel, is set there. It's wonderfully quirky quirk n. 1. A peculiarity of behavior; an idiosyncrasy: "Every man had his own quirks and twists" Harriet Beecher Stowe. 2. , as is the main character, Victoria, aka Egg. Victoria's mother is a beautiful actress, and her father is a successful makeup makeup In the performing arts, material used by actors for cosmetic purposes and to help create the characters they play. Not needed in Greek and Roman theatre because of the use of masks, makeup was used in the religious plays of medieval Europe, in which the angels' faces artist--he's an Oscar winner who designs monsters, dragons, vampire bats vampire bat, name for the blood-drinking bats of the family Desmodontidae, found in the New World tropics. Vampire bats feed exclusively on the blood of living animals and are thus the only true parasites among mammals. and all those good things. Victoria's parents are divorced and Victoria is living unhappily with her mother. She feels most comfortable visiting her father's workshop. The story is basically a school story, a first-love story, but with unusual characters--the artistic, intellectual geeks who rarely get attention in YA novels. Victoria hides behind the identity of a character in a favorite SF film--Egg. She goes to school in costume, with a shaved shave v. shaved, shaved or shav·en , shav·ing, shaves v.tr. 1. a. To remove the beard or other body hair from, with a razor or shaver: head and painted-on eyebrows. She is a senior, anxious to get out of high school as the valedictorian and off to college in the coming year. Her confidence and swagger bump up against a new boy who is as smart as she is, and attractive-oh, and she starts falling behind in trigonometry trigonometry [Gr.,=measurement of triangles], a specialized area of geometry concerned with the properties of and relations among the parts of a triangle. Spherical trigonometry is concerned with the study of triangles on the surface of a sphere rather than in the and has to ask for help from an acquaintance--that hurts. This is funny, in an offbeat off·beat n. Music An unaccented beat in a measure. adj. Slang Not conforming to an ordinary type or pattern; unconventional: offbeat humor. sort of way. Few readers will be as smart and talented as Victoria, and few will share her incredible life experiences as a child of Hollywood, but most will enjoy reading about her woes and triumphs. Max, the new student, is a worthy adversary--a creator of graphic novels, a brilliant student, the son of a famous documentary filmmaker who has lived all over the world. Of course, eventually Max and Victoria become friends, with a promise of a romantic future relationship. They deserve each other. (There are sprinkles of obscenities here and there, which make Victoria's sarcasm realistic.) (An ALA Best Book for YAs.) Claire Rosser, KLIAH J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers. S--Recommended for senior high school students. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion