Stolls, Amy. Palms to the ground.

STOLLS, Amy. Palms to the ground. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. 244p. c2005.0-374-35731-5. $16.00. JS

Every character in this book is weird. Each is a grotesque after the manner of Carson McCullers, and the author also attempts wacky humor with much attention paid to nasal discharges, menstrual blood, flaky skin, body odor, and large pores. The protagonist, 13-year-old Calman Pulowitz, is a bundle of neuroses with symptoms of allergies, insomnia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. His problems are, it is implied, caused by pretentiously intellectual parents who put him into therapy for his own edification at the age of three. Inexplicably (in terms of plot), this reclusive, overprotected boy finds himself traveling alone from Boston, Massachusetts to Walla Walla, Washington to visit his pen pal Rizzy, who turns out to be a wild and crazy girl with no inhibitions.

Together, the inside flap states, these "two brave, quirky" characters discover that "growing up is a lot easier--and more fun--if you can count on a friend." Maybe so. But it's difficult to relate to characters who act in bizarre ways with motivations that remain unexplained. Further, each person they encounter is similarly unpredictably eccentric. Yet, the conclusion suggests that all will turn out well for everyone if they learn to empathize. Perhaps young readers will enjoy the slapstick humor and capricious characters. Certainly, the theme is a common one that, in the interests of world peace, cannot be repeated too often. Myrna Marler, Assoc. Prof. of English, BYU, Provo, UT

J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescent and their teachers.

S--Recommended for senior high school students.