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A review by pwbalto
Nothing by Annie Barrows
5.0
In the parlance of "windows" and "mirrors," I read a lot of "window" books. I read a lot of books about children and teens who aren't growing up like I grew up: who come from afar, or live in poverty, or are haunted by the ghost of a vengeful classmate in 1919. I mean, *shrug* what do you write a novel about? Not about me and my boring life.
Which is the total premise of Nothing. The book begins with Charlotte telling Frankie the salient points of the book she's reading, and Frankie goes, 'aaand then the mother dies.' 'No, in this one it's the brother. But you're on the right track,' says Char. Or something like that, I don't have it in front of me. Char goes on to moan about how THEIR lives would never make a decent teen novel, because NOTHING ever happens to them.
And this is true. They text, they do their homework, Frankie learns to drive. Like all teens, they use profanity like professionals. They are extremely funny all the while. But nothing happens. I read this book on the couch last night, giggling and side-eyeing my teenage sons, kind of thinking, 'Why on earth does this book actually work?,' until i realized, "Ohhhhh. I bet you Annie Barrows has teenage daughters and she is just CRAZY about them!"
Because this book is a total mirror for me. I have sons who are the funniest things that ever farted on cue, and if I could write worth a damn, this is the book I would write about them. I can feel the love.
And oh my god, how privileged am I that the book that most closely mirrors my life is 100% uneventful??
I mean, quite frankly, I'm not even sure I should be reviewing it - I don't know if I have enough perspective. And I don't know if it has a big audience. It might *just* be for college-bound girls from white-collar families - girls whose brothers do not have to fear the police; who experienced childhoods devoid of adverse experiences; who are neither bullied first-generation Americans, terminally ill, nor haunted by vengeful ghosts.
This bugs me. It shouldn't be solely within the precinct of the privileged to see oneself in such a sweet, funny, snarky book. While we advocate for diverse books and #ownvoices, let's make sure we seek out and champion warm, nontragic books like this one for every kid who might search the teen section in search of a character who looks like them.
Maybe this is on my mind because the last book I read was The Hate U Give, and while that book was exceptional in its handling of crisis, it was also terrific at the small, funny moments between friends and family members. I sort of wish for a follow-up novel in which Starr and Kenya and Chris and DeVante get to have a senior year of high school in which nothing happens.
Every kid deserves a little dose of Nothing.
Which is the total premise of Nothing. The book begins with Charlotte telling Frankie the salient points of the book she's reading, and Frankie goes, 'aaand then the mother dies.' 'No, in this one it's the brother. But you're on the right track,' says Char. Or something like that, I don't have it in front of me. Char goes on to moan about how THEIR lives would never make a decent teen novel, because NOTHING ever happens to them.
And this is true. They text, they do their homework, Frankie learns to drive. Like all teens, they use profanity like professionals. They are extremely funny all the while. But nothing happens. I read this book on the couch last night, giggling and side-eyeing my teenage sons, kind of thinking, 'Why on earth does this book actually work?,' until i realized, "Ohhhhh. I bet you Annie Barrows has teenage daughters and she is just CRAZY about them!"
Because this book is a total mirror for me. I have sons who are the funniest things that ever farted on cue, and if I could write worth a damn, this is the book I would write about them. I can feel the love.
And oh my god, how privileged am I that the book that most closely mirrors my life is 100% uneventful??
I mean, quite frankly, I'm not even sure I should be reviewing it - I don't know if I have enough perspective. And I don't know if it has a big audience. It might *just* be for college-bound girls from white-collar families - girls whose brothers do not have to fear the police; who experienced childhoods devoid of adverse experiences; who are neither bullied first-generation Americans, terminally ill, nor haunted by vengeful ghosts.
This bugs me. It shouldn't be solely within the precinct of the privileged to see oneself in such a sweet, funny, snarky book. While we advocate for diverse books and #ownvoices, let's make sure we seek out and champion warm, nontragic books like this one for every kid who might search the teen section in search of a character who looks like them.
Maybe this is on my mind because the last book I read was The Hate U Give, and while that book was exceptional in its handling of crisis, it was also terrific at the small, funny moments between friends and family members. I sort of wish for a follow-up novel in which Starr and Kenya and Chris and DeVante get to have a senior year of high school in which nothing happens.
Every kid deserves a little dose of Nothing.