Peet’s ambitious novel attempts to tie the story of two British teenagers’ ill-fated romance to the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. At age 16, Clem Ackroyd, the intelligent son of working-class parents, falls hard for Frankie, the rich daughter of Clem’s father’s boss. Though the main thread involves Clem and Frankie’s increasingly frisky sexual behavior, Peet’s sweep is both parochial and vast, with attention paid to Ackroyd family genealogy and to tracing the post–WWII geopolitics that brought the U.S. and Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear annihilation. The history lessons, linking the showdown over Cuba with Clem’s urgent attempts to lose his virginity before the world is blown to smithereens, are an uneasy fit, and clarity suffers a bit from narration that hopscotches from Clem’s first-person account to a third-person voice. There are some sharply observed scenes involving Clem and his parents, though the dialogue is written in a regional British vernacular that readers may find difficult to parse. The denouement is heartbreaking, as the young lovers finally satisfy their longing but pay a horrifically high price. Ages 14–up. (Oct.)
Clem, a working-class boy living in government-assisted housing, and Frankie, the daughter of a wealthy landowner, must keep their relationship secret. If it's discovered, their world will be blown apart.
But unknown to them, President John F. Kennedy and the Russian leader, Nikita Khruschev, are shaping up to do just that-blow the world apart-as the two leaders fight over a small island in the Caribbean Sea, leading up to the events that will later be known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.
For Frankie and Clem, “time, like everything else, is against them.”
In his most brilliant and ambitious novel yet, Mal Peet portrays the shattering power of love and the ricocheting effect of war through generations.
“Witty, super-smart, heartbreakingly generous, it's so good, you almost want to keep it a secret.” -Patrick Ness, author of the award-winning Chaos Walking series
“Life: An Exploded Diagram is Mal Peet's finest work to date, by turns hysterically funny, sad, poignant, bitter, and rude, but always with that unfakeable sense of deep truth.” -Anthony McGowan, author of The Knife That Killed Me
“A new novel by Mal Peet is always something to be eagerly anticipated: finely drawn characters, ambitious storytelling, a broad historical canvas, piercing social critique-and now, much more than in previous novels, a delightfully irreverent streak of humor.” -Jonathan Hunt, blogger for School Library Journal's Heavy Medal blog
“An astonishingly engaging, wonderful, un-put-downable book. His gorgeous writing makes one reread sentences over and over again for the pure joy of experiencing the language.” -Carol Stoltz, Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA
Clem, a working-class boy living in government-assisted housing, and Frankie, the daughter of a wealthy landowner, must keep their relationship secret. If it's discovered, their world will be blown apart.
But unknown to them, President John F. Kennedy and the Russian leader, Nikita Khruschev, are shaping up to do just that-blow the world apart-as the two leaders fight over a small island in the Caribbean Sea, leading up to the events that will later be known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.
For Frankie and Clem, “time, like everything else, is against them.”
In his most brilliant and ambitious novel yet, Mal Peet portrays the shattering power of love and the ricocheting effect of war through generations.
“Witty, super-smart, heartbreakingly generous, it's so good, you almost want to keep it a secret.” -Patrick Ness, author of the award-winning Chaos Walking series
“Life: An Exploded Diagram is Mal Peet's finest work to date, by turns hysterically funny, sad, poignant, bitter, and rude, but always with that unfakeable sense of deep truth.” -Anthony McGowan, author of The Knife That Killed Me
“A new novel by Mal Peet is always something to be eagerly anticipated: finely drawn characters, ambitious storytelling, a broad historical canvas, piercing social critique-and now, much more than in previous novels, a delightfully irreverent streak of humor.” -Jonathan Hunt, blogger for School Library Journal's Heavy Medal blog
“An astonishingly engaging, wonderful, un-put-downable book. His gorgeous writing makes one reread sentences over and over again for the pure joy of experiencing the language.” -Carol Stoltz, Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
BN ID: | 2940171613952 |
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Publisher: | Brilliance Audio |
Publication date: | 10/11/2011 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |