Kim Culbertson sings a beautiful ballad with Songs for a Teenage Nomad
Written: Apr 22 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Interesting story and characters
Cons: Ties up too neatly
The Bottom Line: Teenage music lovers--especially of older music--will find much to love in this book.
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| Redlass's Full Review: Kim Culbertson - Songs for a Teenage Nomad |
It's not much of a revelation to point out that much of the misery in the lives of teenagers stem from the messed-up lives of their parents. Despite it not being the biggest news flash of the year, it does still make for a good young adult novel.
Kim Culbertson tackles the topic in her debut novel with the young Calle Smith, a high school freshman who is once again starting a new school. Starting over is something Calle has a lot of experience with. She and her mom have moved every few months for most of her life. Her mom can't seem to stay in a stable relationship. She's been married four times and lived with multiple other men. Every time the relationship falls apart, Alyson flips a coin onto a state map of California and she and her daughter move off to that town.
They've now landed in Andreas Bay, a small town where everyone has a long history together. For the first time, Calle finds herself making friends and creating a place where she could belong. It is a new experience for her and one she approaches warily, knowing the day will soon come when they have to move again.
Lacking any sort of permanency in her life, Calle has started to keep a song journal in which she records memories that she associates with different music.
Kim Culbertson does an excellent job in this 203-page novel of capturing the hopes and worries of a high school freshman who just wants things to go right for once. Calle is faced with a series of difficult choices from which boy to date to whether to let her long-absent father back into her life. Culbertson doesn't make the choices easy for Calle, though neither does she make high school as torturous as it could be. Instead, she infuses the book with a healthy degree of optimism—that even when faced with great deals of stress, the kids are able to find a way to carry on.
Most of the problems faced by the characters in the book stem from their parents. The football-playing jock assumes primary care for an ill mother while his distant father hides within his business. A tough outcast recites poetry at her uncle's bar because her mother his a fugitive from the FBI and her father is a mystery.
These children are quick to carry the burden for their parents, unwilling to write the adults off who have shifted their responsibilities off onto their offspring. It's what draws together these very different characters.
Culbertson also portrays the trappings of cliques and how they are as much a sinkhole as they are a support system.
While the book's overall tone is serious, she does have some light-hearted moments. She is obviously a lover of the arts and her book is rich with details of music and drama. The group that Calle finds acceptance with his the drama group and she finds herself helping out backstage amongst the somewhat flamboyant characters who quickly befriend her.
My biggest criticism of the book comes in its ending. While Culbertson does do a good job of building suspense and keeping the book heavily realistic, the end wraps things up just a little too neatly with too many just-in-time coincidences.
Nonetheless, the book was an enjoyable read for a teenage novel. It introduced love stories without being smutty and the teenagers in it were thoughtful, interesting people.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Redlass
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Member: Bridgette
Location: Lansing, Michigan
Reviews written: 526
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About Me:
I have many loves: family, books, theater, writing, and the many communities I belong to.
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