Remember Drawing A Blank and King Dork? Me too. The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga is the amalgamation of those two books. This might just be in my brain. I have it from several sources that my brain is certifiable, so take the comparisons with salt.I must confess that I'm so far behind in blogging books that I actually read this over Thanksgiving. Yeah, that was like, what? At least three holidays ago. I mean, I know that I read a lot, but how is it that I get THIS far behind on 'reviewing' the books? *Long pause while blogger figures out she can watch the Veronica Mars episode she missed last week online*
Fanboy is plagued by bullies. Whether in gym class or by the step-fascist at home he's always on guard for potential pain. His best friend, who shares his passion for comics, can't be seen in public with him because it'll endanger his popularity. Enter Goth Girl. Kyra sees him, and there starts a most unlikely friendship.
In searching for Fanboy's actual name (Donnie) I reread parts of the book thinking that I would just be able to quick jump in and find the name, but I got a bit sucked in again. I liked it much more than either of the books I compared it to. Fanboy, with all of his angst, is not a depressing kid. He's funny. He's got goals; passion. He will someday get the comic he's working on published and that keeps him going - along with some needed encouragement from Kyra. With its catchy cover, it'll be an easy sell.
Be sure to stop by the F&G site, where, among other things, you can send away for a free temporary tattoo. It's a bit boggling, but fun. And very, very red.
3 comments:
That's so funny... I read it over thanksgiving too -- and just reviewed it yesterday! Darn that Veronica Mars!;)
I do love this book. I love King Dork too. One of my favorite aspects of this book is how this character changes during the course of this book particularly in how he relates to other people. The way he changes how he thinks about and treats his mother and stepfather.... Anyway, your post inspired me to pick it up and give it a second read. It's quite addicting!
It was fun, and thanks for pointing out that Fanboy grows so much by the end of the book - you're right, and had I posted somewhere near the time of reading I might have remembered that! It was great to see such a dynamic character, and interesting to see that some of his problems were driven more by angst-ridden perception, rather than reality.
This is why I love comments! Thanks Becky!
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