Saint Iggy by K.L. Going

So, some changes around here. The poor book review aspect of my website has been sadly neglected. I started a separate blog for a while, but also started to neglect that one. In an attempt to stay up to date with my blogging, I’ve decided to make a few changes. While I won’t be removing my previous book reviews, I will not be adding any in the old format; all new book reviews will be here on this blog. I’ll try to be very thorough with the tagging so that you can easily find the reviews you are looking for.

But now, on to the book reviews…or, at least what I hope will be the first of many.

Saint Iggy. This is the first of this year’s California Young Readers Medal nominees that I have managed to read. Last year, I crammed all of the YA nominees into a three week reading binge. This year, I’d like to give myself a bit more time. I also thought it would be nice to be able to talk about the books with my students before the deadline for voting.

This was definitely an interesting read, partly because I’m such a sucker for interesting narrative techniques. The narrative in this book attempts to give you a glimpse into the mind of a young man who has ADHD. While most young people will not read it as such, this story is really about the tragedy of the failure of the educational system to meet the needs of a boy from the projects with a learning disability. What I also liked about it was that it was unpredictable; you really don’t see the end coming until you’re there. The flip side of this attribute is that the story does seem to drag a bit, the plot wandering around as much as the pitiable protagonist. Thankfully, it is a short book, but I do wonder if it will be able to hold the attention of some of the younger readers.

A quick warning for any adults considering this book for young readers: lots of drug use in the book. The main character avoids them because he has seen their evils–both his parents are adicts, he was born an adict himself, and his best friend is getting caught up in the violence associated with drug use. Thankfully, the anti-drug message does not come across too strong, but it is quite clearly there, making this novel a wonderful way to open up the topic with the young people in your life.

July 1, 2009 Tags: California Young Reader Medal, drugs, realistic, stream of consciousness Posted in: fiction, Young Adult