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A review by kscrimshaw
Fruit by Brian Francis
4.0
I grew up a couple of provinces over from where this book is set and a couple of years before but Francis still managed to take me right smack back to that time with all the dead on references, everything from a Vachon Flaky to the tall tales told on the playground.
This book isn’t really about being gay. Sure, that helps to intensify Peter’s sense of confusion and alienation but I haven’t met anyone yet who sailed through puberty without feeling awkward and misunderstood and a little betrayed by a rapidly changing body. It’s one of the few universal experiences and through Peter’s struggles Francis illustrates this time with humour, compassion and deadly accuracy. Francis, also has a talent for creating very real and interesting characters. Peter’s foul-mouthed friend Daniela particularly is etched into my brain.
Parts of this book are heartbreaking but at the same time it is never depressing. In fact, I don’t know how anything this funny could be depressing. Our hero, Peter Paddington may be confused, overweight and a bit of a social outcast but we see him slowly finding his way and we know that he’ll be ok.
I’m not sure why this book was never marketed as a Young Adult book. It does have that feel. But, all in all I may not have read it if it had been, and that would have been a shame.
This book isn’t really about being gay. Sure, that helps to intensify Peter’s sense of confusion and alienation but I haven’t met anyone yet who sailed through puberty without feeling awkward and misunderstood and a little betrayed by a rapidly changing body. It’s one of the few universal experiences and through Peter’s struggles Francis illustrates this time with humour, compassion and deadly accuracy. Francis, also has a talent for creating very real and interesting characters. Peter’s foul-mouthed friend Daniela particularly is etched into my brain.
Parts of this book are heartbreaking but at the same time it is never depressing. In fact, I don’t know how anything this funny could be depressing. Our hero, Peter Paddington may be confused, overweight and a bit of a social outcast but we see him slowly finding his way and we know that he’ll be ok.
I’m not sure why this book was never marketed as a Young Adult book. It does have that feel. But, all in all I may not have read it if it had been, and that would have been a shame.