And Sometimes Why - Hardcover

Farrell, Mame

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374322899 ISBN 13: 9780374322892

Verlag: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 2001

Inhaltsangabe

Best friends make the worst romance.

Chris (a girl) and Jack (a boy) have been best friends for years, since first grade. Then puberty rears its ugly head. On the court and on the playing field, Jack has always had to accept that Chris is a better athlete. Now it seems she is gaining the advantage when it comes to looks and popularity, too, and Jack can't accept that. After all, who is a member of Eastport's premier social establishment -- the Eastport Country Club -- and who isn't? Worrying that he is falling behind his friend, Jack panics, acts out, and generally muddles things up. To make matters worse, he also finds himself starting to wonder if he is falling in love with her at the same time.

With her third novel, Mame Farrell further establishes her reputation for convincing and funny contemporary fiction.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Mame Farrell is the author of Bradley and the Billboard, an IRA-CBC Children's Choice, and Marrying Malcolm Murgatroyd. She lives in Monroe, Connecticut.

Rezensionen

Grade 5-8-Artist Jack and athlete Chris have been friends since first grade. Now 13, Jack thinks he has romantic feelings for her. He is distracted, however, by his parents' marital problems and his desire to be accepted by the "beautiful people" at the Eastwood Country Club. After Chris reluctantly agrees to accompany Jack to the annual Summer Cotillion at the club, he takes popular Emily Baskin instead. Betrayed, Chris accepts another boy's invitation. Jack has a terrible time at the dance, realizing that Emily and her brother were only using him; Emily to show off Jack's artistic talent and her brother to get closer to Chris. Jack finally professes his love for Chris after she makes a stunning appearance at the cotillion, but she accuses him of finding her attractive only because other boys do. She rebuffs his romantic advances but tacitly agrees to remain friends. Although this ageless story is not treated in an innovative way, the writing is enjoyable and the characters are well drawn. A solid piece of contemporary fiction.
Rita Hunt Smith, Hershey Public Library, PA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Hormones threaten the best of friends in Farrell's (Marrying Malcolm Murgatroyd; Bradley and the Billboard) take on the duckling-turned-swan story. Soon-to-be high school freshmen Jack and Chris have been inseparable since first grade. But almost overnight Chris turns into a beauty and starts turning the heads of the hunks at the country club. So much change leaves Jack baffled is he jealous of Chris or of the guys whose attentions she repays? Proving the strength of Chris and Jack's friendship, Farrell includes a scene in which Jack braves a potentially humiliating trip to the drugstore to buy Chris's first tampons, then dilutes the effect by having Chris explain menstruation to Jack in a conversation that seems straight out of sex-ed class. Familiar plot elements include Jack's fascination and eventual disillusionment with the in-crowd; Jack having dates with two girls (Chris and another) for the country club cotillion; and his obviously false conclusions about a woman's phone number found in the jacket belonging to his currently separated dad. Jack's confusion may be realistic, but his clumsiness is likely to frustrate and distance readers. Ironically, for all of Chris's explicit criticism of stories "where the wallflower magically blooms into a prom queen and gets the guy in the end," the author casts Chris in very nearly that role. Ultimately, Jack's reactions don't approach the inherent appeal of this tried-and-true story line, however much Farrell critiques it. Ages 10-up.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 6-9. Can tomboy Chris really be growing up and turning beautiful? It certainly seems so, and this is not necessarily welcome news to Jack, who has been Chris' best friend since first grade and is used to having Chris to himself. The two eighth-graders spend the summer before high school navigating a new, somewhat intimidating social scene heavily centered at the country club to which Jack's family belongs--and where Chris is now turning heads. And as if by association, Jack gets more attention from the beautiful people, too. Farrell deftly captures the pain of rapidly changing friendships, kids' social insecurities, and the pressure to keep up and look good. In a daring move, Chris shows up at a summer formal in dressy sporting attire--and still looks great. Best of all, her new wanna-be beau, Sam, turns out to be touchingly decent, unlike many of the brats at the club. Jack and Chris also manage to hold on to one another and cut through much of the superficiality and materialism that surround them. This is a strongly rendered and very appealing tale about friendship. Anne O'Malley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2001
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0374322899
• ISBN 13: 9780374322892
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 176
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar