Lyga, B. (2006). The Astonishing Adventures of Fan Boy and Goth Girl. New York. Houghton Mifflin Company.
I didn’t really realize it at the time but both of my realistic fiction books feature “outsiders” and goth teens. I didn’t do that on purpose! In fact, as a high school teacher for the last 10 years, I have seen that the whole “goth” look has pretty much disappeared in my school. Anyway, I did find this book to be, again, an interesting, quick read.
Fan Boy is a comic book nerd in high school with one real friend. He is small and is the frequent target of bullying. He escapes into comic books and has, in fact, written one himself. His dream is to show it to a famous writer and get it published.
Fan Boy connects with Kyra, Goth Girl, after she takes pictures of him being beaten up in gym class. She has problems of her own and the two of them find a deeper connection than he has had with any girl. Fan Boy eventually gets a chance to live out his dream but finds that things aren’t always what he had hoped.
This book will appeal to probably most teens. It’s not as odd as “Debbie Harry”. It’s more upbeat because it shows that finding something to focus on, in this case comic books, can help you through anything and can help you set goals.
ceejay78 - My brain is bigger 'cause I read! 