Beige
Beige
Cecil Castellucci
I've always loved teen books about music, having been a band geek as a teen myself, a hipster music nerd hybrid in my post-college years, and now I'm both a teen librarian and an aspiring rock drummer. But I've often wondered if teens reading some of these books wouldn't feel a bit out of it, embarrassed not to know the songs and scenes described within. This is why I didn't blog here about Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time by Rob Sheffield. I absolutely adored the book, but recognized that it was something even a music enthusiast of the right age (me) was still going to feel barely cool enough to get all the references. Plus, how many teens are going to be able to relate to the life of a thirty something widower? But in Beige, I'm delighted to so many things I love in a great book, plus all kinds of ways to connect it with my teen readers.
First off, it is a punk-rock-loving-music-scene book from the point of view of a teen who just doesn't get it. Katy is a sweet girl who likes boy bands because of the eye candy, and really is scared by the energies of live, hard-core music. She is sent to spend two weeks with a father she barely has met, who is renowned as an-almost-had-it punk legend. Much to her horror, this decidedly miserable experience is stretched out into a whole summer, giving her a chance to really get to know her father and the music world he lives in. Teens who don't have a big music knowledge need only the tiniest bit of curiosity to get into this book, which gives a fine education...the chapter titles alone are a fine start (all great songs and the bands who made them). But it also does an amazing job of showing why people love music, which is no small feat.
Another thing Ms. C. does astonishingly well here, is dealing with the darker side of rock, focusing on the sadly prevalent effects of addiction on the community. Without glamorizing drug use or making it sexy in any way, she shows the lives of people caught up in the glamor and escapism who either find their way out again, or die trying. Particularly fine, are the realistic portrayal of Katy's father Rat's struggles in recovery, and the overwhelming gap in the life of her friend Lake caused by her mother's overdose.
The third thing I love about this book is the portrait of Los Angeles. I love to travel, and while I can't do it as much as I would like, when I find a book that brings a place to life like this it makes me very happy. This is one of those books that makes me feel like the city was also a character who I got to know a bit and fall in love with some (no easy feat...as I have long been skeptical of L.A.). Other books that have done this for me are The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (Chicago) and Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin (NYC).
Overall, a vastly satisfying read, and one of my favorites so far this year!