Almost Perfect

I told you I'd catch up! Well, maybe I didn't tell you that, but I told me that. When I wrote the first post here, I was half a book behind. I have since read two books by the fourteenth, so I am on track for the 50 book challenge thus far.

The ALA announced its youth media award recipients last weekend. I love awards season because I get to discover new and notable creations (be it books, movies, or music*) or see things I already love honored and recognized. So, I had some books I was rooting for, but mostly I was excited to see what new books I'd discover. Scrolling down the list and skipping all the younger awards, I ended up going straight to the ALA's newest award, the Stonewall Book Award. Admittedly, I was holding out for one of my favorite books of last year, Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan to win, and while it didn't win, it did get an honor. So, I decided to get the winner, Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher, to see what beat my beloved WGWG. I was pretty much blown away.

Logan has lived in Boyer, a tiny Missouri town twenty minutes from Columbia, his entire life. He knows all the kids in his class of a few dozen, and has dated the same girl for three years. Then she cheats on him, sending Logan into a deep depression. Despite the best efforts of his friends, who mostly just advise him to get it on with another girl, nothing gets his mind off his cheating ex until Sage sweeps into his biology class one day, all wild hair and confident smiles. There are never new kids in Boyer, and they never look as cute as Sage. However, as Logan tries to pursue Sage he is met with obstacles. Not only is she not allowed to date, she is not allowed to fraternize with boys. Logan works to solve Sage’s secret, but after they finally kiss he wishes he had never met the girl… boy… it. Logan has to overcome his ignorance and prejudice to learn what it means to be a true friend to Sage.

Okay, enough summarizing. (I hate summarizing.) I’ve been interested in gender studies lately and basically obsessing over the idea of love transcending gender. This book was candy to me. But, I know everyone isn’t me and a book about a transgender teen is a little out there to some readers, so let me say that this book is a great read on many levels. Katcher really breathed life into his characters, wrote amazing relationships, and described the setting in such a way that I could show you around Boyer.

If I have one criticism of the book it’s over the character Tim Tokugowa. Tim is obese and at the beginning of the novel the narrator, Logan, describes him in the largest of terms and gives detailed accounts of his culinary escapades. Later on Tim gets his act together, gets a girlfriend, and stops chewing down so much, but still the narrator describes Tim in those terms. Honestly, it was all a little off putting since Logan is learning to see people for who they are instead of how they look, the description and treatment of Tim was disappointing. I blame Kristin Cashore; on her most excellent blog she highlighted an article about fatophobia in YA fiction and I’ve been sensitive to it ever since. (The article criticizes Will Grayson, Will Grayson for the character Tiny Cooper, and gosh, I cringed. Loyal fans don’t like to see the ugly. I loved Tiny, but the author of the article makes some fair points.)

I give this book a 5.5 out of 5 and hiiiiighly recommend it to everyone. It’s nice to start the year off right.

See you soon when I will be reviewing The Boy Book by E. Lockhart.
~Emily~


*But almost never music. I like what I like and I can't trust award shows to point me towards music of that sort. Sorry, I'm a little snobby with my music.

**As a Missourian, albeit a little farther south than the book setting, I can attest to how real the setting and the mindset felt. Plus, I felt like I was in on some of the jokes. My favorite was when Logan describes the decorations at Sage's house as "the gaudiest display of Christmas decorations this side of Branson." Having lived near Branson all my life, I laughed my butt off. Another good passage with a podunk Missouri vibe was "Winter was over. The last of the snow was gone, turning half the roads in Boyer into muddy, impassable swamps. The county ambulance district stopped pulling burn victims out of meth labs and started scraping them off the highway again. The girls at my school, and the middle-aged women who dressed like teenagers, would break out the halter tops and Daisy Dukes before too long."