The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Gothgirl
I'm Kim Alexander and this is Fiction Nation. The book is The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Gothgirl by Barry Lyga.
When I think back on my high school days, I first cringe with horror and then thank the powers that be and a really poor memory that I've blocked most of it out. (I'd also like to thank my old friend vodka.)
I mean, gym class? Really?
And if it's a chamber of mortification for a young girl, what's it like for someone who's culturally supposed to be able to play team sports? And whose body is flying even more out of control than his female classmates? And who — audible gasp — sometimes can't hide it. Really guys, you win. Being a teenaged boy is worse.
Barry Lyga's Fanboy helped me come to that conclusion. His narrator — your basic comic book slash female-anatomy-obsessed nerdling — is someone I'd roll my eyes at were I his age. And he knows it, all the way down into his sensitive, self-loathing heart. He meets his match in the severely dysfunctional Kyra — Gothgirl, who's like a before picture of parental anxiety. I loved both of these overwrought, angry, dramatic, bright, defensive kids. Did they remind me of my own teen self? Oh yeah. And if I had one wish it would be to hit the wayback machine and tell my high school self that it'll all be okay. But that's a message you can only find out by — thank god — not being a teenager anymore.
Highly recommended for your smart ass teenager, male or female.
Hear my interview with Barry Lyga on Fiction Nation, on Take Five, XM 155 on Wednesday, October 29th at 7:00am, on Thursday, October 30h at midnight, on Friday October 31st at 11:00pm, on Saturday November 1st at 6pm, on Sunday November 2nd at 10:00am and 8:00pm, and on Monday November 3rd at 12:00 midnight. You can also hear Fiction Nation on Sonic Theater, XM 163 on Thursday October 30th at 3:00 pm in its half-hour format. All times EDT.
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