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A review by arisbookcorner
Teenie by Christopher Grant
4.0
For the first time in a long time, I felt as though a friendship portrayed in a book was really real. I've read some books with authentic friendships before but the friendship between Teenie and Cherise was one I was really able to relate to. Their conversations seemed to be (at times) exact replicas of ones that I had had with my friends. The slang, the jokes, the serious talks, that is how my friends and I are. Well my white friends and I don't use the same slang, but when I'm with my Black and Latino friends, I'm much more relaxed with the slang and topics discussed. What I'm trying to say is: this is the first friendship I've read in a book that I was able to apply to my own life on so many levels.
There isn't anything I really didn't like about this book. At first, I worried that the humor would come at the expense of Teenie's West Indian parents (her mother is from Grenada with Portuguese and Syrian blood and her father is from Barbados with Irish and Carib Indian heritage). Her mother is serene and not a source of humor, but Teenie's father is hilarious, strict and he has his sweet moments. Teenie talks about her big West Indian family with a mixture of pride and embarrassment (don't we all feel the same way?), she mocks them but there is love beneath her words. "My family there [Barbados] uses curse words for the smallest things. Don't let them get angry, because they're liable to lob some serious vulgarity, the harshest being 'God blind yah.' That's deep." (pg. 10) HA! Teenie's father and her descriptions of her family will have you laughing, but much of the humor also comes from Teenie's relationship with Cherise. Cherise is fast-on-her-feet and she does not hesitate to diss those who insult Teenie (only she can do that). I found the friendship between Teenie and Cherise to be authentic, at times they grow closer, always having each other's backs (for example when Greg first talks to Teenie, Teenie is too shy to speak. Cherise tells Greg she has laryngitis. Classic!) but then they grow angry with each other and drift apart. That's a quintessential aspect of high school friendships, they are constantly changing and that is reflected in Teenie. While the reader (and deep down, Teenie) know Cherise is making a mistake meeting this strange guy from online, it's hard to fault her for getting angry at Teenie. Yes Teenie is looking out for her but Teenie's help ends up having some 'serious' consequences that make Cherise angry. I have to admit, I would most likely be angry like Cherise first and it would take me awhile to calm down.
Teenie is an upbeat story that did not go in the direction I expected (the summary is rather vague now that I think about it) but I'm so glad it didn't. My sister is in 8th grade and she asked if she could read this book and I'm going to give it to her because I think this is a must-read for girls going into high school. Especially if you don't feel comfortable talking about certain issues regarding the opposite gender with your parents (which is 100% understandable). I like that this summary doesn't hint at the issues it addresses because this book goes beyond the issues. Every member of Teenie's family is fleshed out, including her two twin college-aged brothers (who are so much fun to read about but they made me not want an older brother anymore) as well as Greg, Garth and Cherise. I also loved the brief bit about God. So many YA books don't mention God at all and maybe most teens don't have a religious upbringing. But personally, I'm forced to go to church and it was refreshing to read that Teenie was forced to go as well. Even better, her faith strengthens her a bit but she doesn't have some flashy revelation/miracle type thing, it's subtle. Don't miss out on this story, it's told with both levity and maturity, Teenie hasn't completely grown up yet (after all she's only a freshman) but she's beginning that confusing and exhilarating thing called high school and it's great to see more and more contemporary multicultral novels appearing in which race isn't the driving factor.
Review coming to blog on 1/25
There isn't anything I really didn't like about this book. At first, I worried that the humor would come at the expense of Teenie's West Indian parents (her mother is from Grenada with Portuguese and Syrian blood and her father is from Barbados with Irish and Carib Indian heritage). Her mother is serene and not a source of humor, but Teenie's father is hilarious, strict and he has his sweet moments. Teenie talks about her big West Indian family with a mixture of pride and embarrassment (don't we all feel the same way?), she mocks them but there is love beneath her words. "My family there [Barbados] uses curse words for the smallest things. Don't let them get angry, because they're liable to lob some serious vulgarity, the harshest being 'God blind yah.' That's deep." (pg. 10) HA! Teenie's father and her descriptions of her family will have you laughing, but much of the humor also comes from Teenie's relationship with Cherise. Cherise is fast-on-her-feet and she does not hesitate to diss those who insult Teenie (only she can do that). I found the friendship between Teenie and Cherise to be authentic, at times they grow closer, always having each other's backs (for example when Greg first talks to Teenie, Teenie is too shy to speak. Cherise tells Greg she has laryngitis. Classic!) but then they grow angry with each other and drift apart. That's a quintessential aspect of high school friendships, they are constantly changing and that is reflected in Teenie. While the reader (and deep down, Teenie) know Cherise is making a mistake meeting this strange guy from online, it's hard to fault her for getting angry at Teenie. Yes Teenie is looking out for her but Teenie's help ends up having some 'serious' consequences that make Cherise angry. I have to admit, I would most likely be angry like Cherise first and it would take me awhile to calm down.
Teenie is an upbeat story that did not go in the direction I expected (the summary is rather vague now that I think about it) but I'm so glad it didn't. My sister is in 8th grade and she asked if she could read this book and I'm going to give it to her because I think this is a must-read for girls going into high school. Especially if you don't feel comfortable talking about certain issues regarding the opposite gender with your parents (which is 100% understandable). I like that this summary doesn't hint at the issues it addresses because this book goes beyond the issues. Every member of Teenie's family is fleshed out, including her two twin college-aged brothers (who are so much fun to read about but they made me not want an older brother anymore) as well as Greg, Garth and Cherise. I also loved the brief bit about God. So many YA books don't mention God at all and maybe most teens don't have a religious upbringing. But personally, I'm forced to go to church and it was refreshing to read that Teenie was forced to go as well. Even better, her faith strengthens her a bit but she doesn't have some flashy revelation/miracle type thing, it's subtle. Don't miss out on this story, it's told with both levity and maturity, Teenie hasn't completely grown up yet (after all she's only a freshman) but she's beginning that confusing and exhilarating thing called high school and it's great to see more and more contemporary multicultral novels appearing in which race isn't the driving factor.
Review coming to blog on 1/25