Plot Summary
The summer before her senior year, Beatrice moves to Baltimore. On the first day of school, she hopes to make a new friend or two with some regular kids. Instead of making "normal" friends she ends up befriending her private school's social outcast, Jonah aka Ghost Boy. As the novel progresses, Bea learns more about Jonah's story and she begins to understand what makes him a lost soul. Their relationship develops into something that's not quite romance but much deeper than everyday friendship. Beatrice herself is not exactly a regular kid--she's been known to dress up as the beheaded John the Baptist and listens to late night radio on the AM dial with a bunch of fifty-something weirdos. As their friendship progresses, Beatrice tries to figure out whether she can rescue Jonah from his solitude. While this is going on, she's trying to have a sort-of-normal high school existence while also witnessing her parents' disintegrating marriage and her mother's increasingly bizarre behavior.
Critical Evaluation
I find it rare to read a novel with plot elements or characters that actually surprise me. When I do find a novel that surprises me, I want to savor it, and How to Say Goodbye in Robot is one such novel. Initially, the character of Jonah is a recognizable teen outcast--we’ve seen this kind of guy before. But once Beatrice befriends him and learns more about his past, we learn more about why he he tries to make himself invisible, and it is a deeply rooted internal conflict that I had never encountered before in a novel. I also appreciated that the novel didn’t follow the formula of “Outcast girl meets outcast boy. They fall in love and make each other happy.” No, Beatrice and Jonah share have a deep friendship, and it doesn’t turn into romance, and it’s still deeply interesting. Part of what makes their friendship unique is that it doesn’t play out amidst the usual high school drama--instead, it’s supported by friendships with oddball older people they’ve never met, but talk and listen to on the AM dial. If you savor stories of people living out authentically quirky lives, How To Say Goodbye in Robot is an excellent read.
Reader’s Annotation
Tired of reading books about perfect teenagers with nauseatingly happy lives? Want to get to know some oddballs who aren't drug addicts?
Information about the Author
On the author’s website, Natalie Standiford writes of her background, “I was born in Baltimore, Maryland. So were both my parents. All my grandparents were from Maryland too. Most of my family still lives in Baltimore. It's that kind of place. As a little girl, I took ballet lessons and violin lessons and gymnastics. My father had a sailboat and we went sailing a lot. I liked to read and write stories. To my regret I have always been terrible at any kind of art, even coloring. In school my favorite subjects were spelling and reading and French. Later, in high school, I studied Russian and Spanish. I've always liked foreign languages....I worked in the Children's Book department of Random House for three years, moving from editorial assistant to Assistant Editor. It was the perfect apprenticeship for me. But I wanted to be a writer, not an editor, so I quit and became a full-time freelancer. I started out writing easy readers, picture books, and chapter books for younger children, and now I'm writing for teens. I also play bass in an all-YA-author-band called Tiger Beat, with Libba Bray, Dan Ehrenhaft, and Barney Miller. Here we are playing at Books of Wonder in New York City."
Genre
Realistic Fiction
Curriculum Ties
N/A
Booktalking Ideas
Read aloud Beatrice’s first encounter with Jonah. Why does everyone call him “Ghost Boy”? What’s his story? Why is he so comfortable disappearing? Then briefly tell Natalie Standiford’s story of the genesis of Jonah as a character. (She went to a high school reunion and learned about what had happened to an unusually quiet classmate.)
Reading Level/ Interest Age
Grades 8+
Challenge Issues
N/A
Why Included?
I read this book initially because it sounded interesting and was an ALA award winner. Now that I’ve read it, I think it’s a terrific one to add to any collection because it addresses “weird” or outcast kids, friendship, and loss--and it’s terrifically funny.
No comments:
Post a Comment