Tale of Two Summers
by Brian Sloan
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Book Summary Information
Author: Brian SloanEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-05-23
ISBN: 0689874391
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Book Reviews of Tale of Two Summers
Book Review: A Tale of Two 18yos?
Summary: 4 Stars
It's the summer of 2006 in suburban Washington DC. The form is epistolary (blog posts), the style is "teen speak," and the content includes teen angst, sexual awakening, and the value of enduring friendships. This is a book that any adolescent (or young-at-heart adult) will be able to identify with in some way.
Hal (gay) and Chuck (straight) are two 15yos who've been best buds since elementary school. They're spending their first summer vacation apart. Chuck's playing the lead in a musical some miles away while Hal must stay home to take a Driver's Ed course (piss-and-moan!). To stay in touch, they communicate daily and often hourly on Chuck's Xanga blog about the new people, events, and influences in their lives. Much of their discourse is touching, and often amusing.
These are "good" boys, clever boys, each with his own distinct "voice." They're wise beyond their years (except about sex and relationships) and not overly potty-mouthed. They both have rather advanced vocabularies for 15. Sloan's "teen speak" is authentic most of the time, and there are some wonderful teen-isms like:
* "Re the party, that's a big black hole of suckdom"
* "Again, I'm sorry for harshing on you like that."
On the other hand, I doubt whether even a precocious 15yo would say things like:
* "... rediscover your lifelong process of channeling your flinty temper into your acting..."
* "... later I got to meet Henri's storied mother..."
* "... but not in the way you construed it."
* "... I think she just says stuff like that when it fits her skewed worldview."
Hal and Chuck often react to the each other's blog posts with sarcasm and outright bitchiness, especially when one offers the other unsolicited advice. I found this kind of repartee to be somewhat tiresome after a while:
* "I have to say , that is the most pathetic story I've ever heard."
* "Jeeeeezzzzzz - testy, testy. Give me a break and a half, okay?"
* "It's really not cute to call me a romantic dope during the biggest emotional panic of my whole entire life!"
And both boys like to use parenthetical remarks, a device which I doubt kids this age would use so much:
* "(remember all those birthday parties we went to there?)"
* "(OK - I think I just mixed about five metaphors with that rant!)"
* "(OMG - I'm starting to sound like a parent too!)"
All in all, though, an interesting premise (the blog format) and a contemporary look into the lives, language, and attitudes of two 18yos - oh, I meant 15yos!
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