Better Than Running at Night

by Hillary Frank

Overview

Having left behind the melodrama of her solitary high school days—and the beheaded martyrs in her paintings—Ellie arrives at the New England College of Art and Design. Looking forward to the opportunity to recreate herself and her art, she begins her first day by dirty dancing with the Devil. Then she makes out with him. Ellie soon learns a lot about herself in this story about independence, trust, and boys.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780618250738
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/30/2002
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.00(h) x (d)
Lexile:	580L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Hillary Frank is a freelance writer and illustrator. Her novel, Better Than Running at Night, was named a 2003 Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association and a Top 10 First Youth Novel by Booklist. Her radio stories have aired on a variety of public radio programs, including This American Life, Morning Edition, Marketplace, Studio 360, and Chicago Matters. 
 

Editorial Reviews

"With honesty, wit, and a wild first-person narrative, this first novel breaks boundaries in YA fiction with a story about college freshman Ellie Yelinsky and her search for art, love, sex, and meaning." —Booklist, starred Booklist, ALA, Starred Review

"Readers will enjoy the presentation of a strong female who puts finding herself and moving ahead with her talent ahead of maintaining a false pretense to her boyfriend or to the professor who is unwilling to acknowledge the dedication and improvement she has shown." SLJ School Library Journal —

From the Publisher

Set at a prestigious (fictional) art school, this first novel revolves around a talented college freshman wrestling with her first relationship. Ellie, the narrator, is first met while dirty-dancing with the Devil, in a scenario quickly revealed as a costume party; a "sneering Elvis" joins them to set up a threesome ("Soon we were all making out"). This provocative opener only partially prefigures Frank's themes. Nate, the student dressed as the Devil, and Ellie make love a week or so later; shortly afterward, Ellie learns that Nate has an "open relationship" with a longtime girlfriend, plus a reputation for womanizing. Meanwhile, she acclimates to student life and deals with her parents, former hippies who openly discuss their youthful drug-taking and who have no idea which of Ellie's mother's many partners was Ellie's biological father. Frank proves most successful in characterizing Ellie as a painter the discussion of art is unusually specific, knowledgeable and convincing. The author also skillfully depicts the zeitgeist among the students, most of whom lionize the showy performance artists (among them a teacher who leads his class in taunting Ellie for her "old fart" pursuit of representational art). But Frank fumbles in linking Ellie's family dynamics to her attempts to come to terms with Nate. The parents are much less developed than the other characters, and this aspect of the story never quite jells. On balance, however, the many truthful moments and the strong portrayal of the heroine will likely compel readers' attention. Ages 14-up . (Aug.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 9 Up-Ellie's first year at art school starts with her first party, complete with a three-way dance and kiss with a costumed Devil and Elvis. She finds herself having sex for the first time with Nate, the Devil, a week after the event. As they continue on together, Ellie soon discovers that he has an "open relationship" with an old girlfriend, as well as a number of suspect encounters with other female students. She balances this questionable relationship, her classes, and a strange background in which her parents, former hippies who named her Ladybug, try to convince her to smoke pot to relax and are not sure of the identity of her biological father. The book shines when Ellie is discovering and devoting herself to art, making her seem even more serious when compared to the silly and showy professor and performance artists who are adored by her fellow students. Readers will enjoy the presentation of a strong female who puts finding herself and moving ahead with her talent ahead of maintaining a false pretense to her boyfriend or to the professor who is unwilling to acknowledge the dedication and improvement she has shown.-Betsy Fraser, Calgary Public Library, Canada Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal