The vast fields of ordinary /

WHAT would the world look like without stereotypes? It seems that everyone has asked us: Martin Luther King Jr., "Sesame Street," MTV - which figured out how to monetize the question in "Real World." It's nice to imagine. But the world of young adult Literature? It would look like a blank page. Books for young adults thrive on stereotype because adolescents try on types so often and in such bizarre combinations that they have to form groups on the Internet to figure it all out. And there are entirely new menageries of labels to identify and dislike, like white rappers, superpopular gay guys, emo kids (tough to define but easy to spot - black glasses, hair combed down into the face). This puts young adult novels in a powerful position. It is one thing to hear from "Sesame Street" that you should love people for who they are; it is another thing to get beaten up by a rich popular guy but around the same time read a book that convinces you that not all rich popular guys are like that. Of course, to do that, you would have to read a book starring a rich popular guy: enter "King of the Screwups." In K.L. Going's latest novel, Liam Geller is the son of a model and a C.E.O. He is good at basketball and fashion and bad at everything else. His problem? His dad. Mr. Geller could come from the Roald Dahl pantheon of evil parents. He kicks Liam out of the house at the start of senior year and sends him to live with his cross-dressing "Aunt" - er, Uncle - Pete in upstate New York. As Liam goes through the expected culture shock, the novel shapes up to be the story of two misfits coming together, and one wishes it featured more of that. But Liam's relationship with his father takes precedence. Missing his dad and desperate to impress him, Liam resolves to do better in school, which means becoming less cool and reinventing himself as a loser. This is a daring reversal of the nerdto-cool journey, even if it is not always completely believable. For example, when Liam's good looks get him advances from cheerleaders, he refuses them. Would he really do that? There are rules about high school and then there are rules. But Going does us a favor by using Liam's love interest to comment on another teenage cliché: the put-upon, sweet, outcast girl. Darleen Martinek dresses in overalls, makes art and is shunned by football players. What is her secret? She is an unpleasant person to boot. This exposes a piece of classified information in the misfit high school community: some misfits are actually not nice people. They have a reverse snobbery at least as powerful as that directed toward them. Perhaps if more young adult authors wrote characters like Darleen, more people like Liam would read the novels. Going's writing is smooth and simple; her torn-family scenes make you long for Mr. Geller's comeuppance. What lasts when the story concludes, however, is Liam. By subverting expectations, Going not only reaches readers who might otherwise pass up a book like hers, she also shows them she understands: their view from the top of the social power structure is not easy, nor is it even all that powerful. "THE Vast Fields of Ordinary" is a tricky title for Nick Burd's fascinating and dreamy first novel. It is set in vast fields (of Iowa, lovingly depicted) but filled with characters who are extraordinary to a degree that the reader wants to know more, even about the most minor ones. Dade Hamilton, just graduated from high school, finally has the chance to escape an abusive relationship with the senior quarterback. Dade plays against type in two immensely gratifying ways: he fights when cornered, and he wastes no time talking about what it "feels like" to be gay. A chance encounter with a smart, world-weary drug dealer begins what his father calls "your last real summer." With divorce-ready parents, drugs and relationships in the mix, one would forgive Burd for turning out a standard last-summer-before-college drama (a subgenre in young adult novels). Instead he tosses up metaphor after hard-to-top metaphor (after a party, a green bra on the lawn is a "listless amphibian") and a series of original tableaus, notably the powerful moment when an unpopular girl asks Dade why he won't be with her - and both he and the reader learn there are worse things to be than closeted in Iowa. "The Vast Fields of Ordinary" reads like the best kind of first novel - it's packed with insights that might have been carried around for years, just waiting to come out. Ned Vizzini is the author of the young adult novels "It's Kind of a Funny Story" and "Be More Chill."

*Starred Review* It's Dade's last summer at home before college and things are looking bleak: his parents' marriage is disintegrating; his father has a girlfriend; his mother is self-medicating with pills and booze; his sorta boyfriend, Pablo, refuses to acknowledge the nature of their friendship ; the local media are obsessed with the mysterious disappearance of an autistic little girl; and Dade himself is feeling pretty lost and invisible, too. But then he meets the dangerous yet fascinating (and unapologetically gay) Alex, and things take a turn for the better . . . for a while. Burd's first novel has some of the trappings of the traditional coming-out-while-coming-of-age story, and his ending seems more willful than artful. Also, some readers may find the subplot about a missing girl more distracting than symbolically resonant. That said, Burd is a terrific writer with a special gift for creating teenage characters who are vital, plausible, and always engaging (even when they're being mean and menacing). His take on the complications in Dade's life is sophisticated and thoughtful, especially on the ambiguities of that relationship with Pablo, while his limning of the growing friendship with Alex is deeply satisfying, never striking a discordant emotional note. Clearly, Burd is a new talent to watch.--Cart, Michael Copyright 2009 Booklist

This debut novel is deceptively quiet-the story of a recent high school graduate, Dade, struggling to come out and yearning to get to college and away from his parents' marital troubles and stifling suburban peers. Yet in the same way that Sarah Dessen allows readers to lose themselves in the ordinary, Burd takes a familiar plot-boy struggles with his sexuality, then meets a love interest who changes everything-and makes it fresh. Dade's inner monologues and interactions with others feel real, and bear a poignant honesty (after shopping for college: "It occurred to me that these things made of plastic, glass, and metal would become the foundation for my new life"). With the arrival of Alex, Dade's first real boyfriend and one catalyst behind Dade's coming out, the story moves into sweet, romantic territory, which balances some of the deeper, more painful issues brewing in Dade's life (including his father's affair and his friend/ex-hookup Pablo's inner turmoil). The novel's one flaw is its unsatisfying ending, which feels both melodramatic and abrupt. Aside from this, Burd is an author to watch. Ages 14-up. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Gr 9 Up-Dade Hamilton is off to college in August, but until then, he must deal with a boring job in a dull city, his parents' failing marriage, and a rocky relationship with Pablo, a boy who publicly denies his homosexuality and doesn't seem to care for Dade except when they are alone. When Dade meets Alex, however, the summer begins to improve. Alex is handsome and mysterious; most importantly, he adores Dade and isn't afraid to show it. With Alex in the picture, Pablo slowly tries to regain Dade's attention. What results is a series of dramatic interactions and events that force Dade to examine his emotions, his life, and the people in it. Burd addresses the themes of family, unrequited love, bullying, and sexuality in a fresh and believable manner. His use of language is beautiful; his words paint clear pictures of Dade's deep and complex psyche. While his homosexuality is an important element of the story, it isn't the main focus. It's just a part of his character that readers accept without question. The Vast Fields of Ordinary is a refreshingly honest, sometimes funny, and often tender novel.-Sarah K. Allen, Thetford Academy, VT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The summer after senior year, Dade learns a lot about love, loss, and himself. While struggling to get over closeted football player Pablo, he opens himself up to new friendships and the possibility of first love with openly gay Alex. Though the dialogue can be clunky and some characters are underdeveloped, Dade's poetic moments of self-reflection give the story appeal. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

Trapped in a suburban wasteland the summer before his first year in college, closeted indie loser Dade Hamilton is stuck in the middle of his parents' disintegrating marriage and wastes his time pining after his girlfriend-ed hook-upbuddy Pablo. That is, until he spots dreamy, drug-dealing Alex Kincaid at a party, and the summer explodes into a lusty haze of blazing romance, pot smoke and danger. Burd breathes new life into the old coming-out formula with a blast of 21st-century testosterone-injected anger, heaps of longing and insecurity and even some violence. His carefully drawn characterizations and raw tone make the drama of Dade's life feel urgent and very real. The allure of the illicit, decay and regret are only a few of the irresistibly dangerous themes woven into the mix, and readers will watch in rapt fascination and dread as Alex draws a willing Dade into his dark world. The results of their pairing aren't exactly pretty, but they're honest. One of the best in a new generation of LGBTQ novels, it can stand alongside Peter Cameron's and Brian Sloan's. (Fiction. YA) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.