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Weekly Words about BooksJANUARY 19, 2014
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WHEW!
| Last year, an old friend announced that a book he'd been working on for years was finally being published. I greeted the news with a mixture of pleasure and dread - delighted for my friend but also a bit concerned. I knew I'd get an advance copy of the book, but what if it wasn't my cup of tea? Since it's a young adult novel, a genre I don't read much, I knew it might not be of great interest to me. And what if I didn't like the writing itself? I was pretty sure the book wouldn't have been published if it wasn't at least  workmanlike, but could I feign enthusiasm if the book didn't rock my boat?
Well, as you can guess from the headline, I needn't have worried. The book is not just good, it's really good - compelling, funny, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting. And although it is a story for and about teens, this is a novel that can be read and enjoyed by adults as well, very much like John Green's The Fault in Our Stars or R.J. Palacio's Wonder.
Scar Boys, by my pal Len Vlahos, is a coming-of-age story focusing on Harry, a teenager whose face was horribly scarred in a bullying incident when he was 8 and who has lived with the physical and emotional scars, ridicule, and loneliness ever since. The book is narrated by Harry, who is trying to describe himself and his life in a college admissions essay. I'm not going to give away too much about the plot except to say that it revolves largely around Harry's friendship with a charismatic boy who first takes Harry under his wing in middle school and their subsequent formation of a punk rock band that changes Harry's life in wonderful and unexpected ways.
Can't wait to see you, Len. You wrote a winner.
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What Independent Booksellers Do Best
| | Kids These Days by Drew Perry. A few weeks ago, a bookseller told me he had just finished reading a book that had been a pleasant surprise. "The book wasn't on my radar and I didn't know the author," he admitted. "But then I heard him speak at a conference and got a chance to meet him. I liked him and figured I'd give the book a shot.
"Boy, am I glad I did. I'm telling everyone to read it."
Well, that was all the handselling I needed, and so Kids These Days now has another fan. Since the novel is set  in Florida, has some good laughs, and features some unusual characters and situations, some reviewers have been comparing the book to the writing of Carl Hiaasen or Dave Barry. But I found the story to be less goofy and the characters more complex. At its heart, this is a story of a family trying to survive uncertainty and adversity in the midst of modern-day chaos.
The main protagonist is Walt, who when his job is downsized moves with his pregnant wife Alice to Florida to be near Alice's sister and family. Part of the deal is that Walt has a job waiting with brother-in-law Mid, a seemingly successful entrepreneur who wants Walt to help him oversee his various business ventures. Alas, all is not as it seems, and a somewhat bewildered Walt soon finds himself drawn into a spiraling series of events that he feels helpless to influence, while also dealing with doubts about fatherhood and his in-laws' familial woes. As things careen out of control, our reluctant hero becomes the group's unlikely linchpin. Through it all, author Perry offers up characters that, however flawed, make you root for them to make it.
Kids These Days has been published in softcover only - what publishers are calling 'paperback original' - so keep that in mind when you look on your independent bookstore New Title tables or shelves.
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WHERE TO
FIND AN INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE
Many of you already have a favorite local bookstore, but for those of you without such a relationship, this link will take you to a list of Northern California indie bookstores by region.
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A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME
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My name is Hut Landon. I'm a former bookstore owner who now runs the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA) in San Francisco.
My goal with this newsletter is to keep readers up to date about new books hitting the shelves, share what booksellers are recommending in their stores, and pass on occasional news about the book world.
I'm not into long, wordy reviews or literary criticism; I'd like HUT'S PLACE to be a quick, fun read for book buyers. If you have any friends who you think might like receiving this column each week, simply click on "Forward this email" below and enter their email address. There is also a box in which to add a short message.
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