AMERICAN YOUTH by Phil LaMarche

When a gun accident in a small but growing town leaves one kid dead, the community deals with the aftermath while emotions boil over.

This book was listed as one of the Best of 2007 in Bookmarks Magazine. I'm not sure what I think of this one. While it was kind of interesting, I felt strangely detached from the book. I never found a character to love and cheer for, or even one to hate for that matter. The book has some great scenes depicting rural v. suburban life, adolescent angst, misguided political fanaticism, and differing but equally understandable views about guns and gun control. There is a lot here, but I never really felt it. Could just be me. When it comes to books about angry teenagers, I find myself fearing hideous, gratuitous violence, usually directed at animals, to prove how "bad" a character is. I probably steeled myself a little too well for this possibility. Fortunately, the author is not one to go the cheap route, and my fears never materialized. (Thank you, Mr. LaMarche!) The downside is that the parts that I maybe would have been more moved by under normal circumstances went by all but unnoticed while I waited for the hammer to fall.

Once I have a chance to see if I find myself mulling over American Youth as time goes by, I think there may be a good chance I will discover it made more of an impression on me than I thought it did.

Lezlie