le book review number eighty-four~ almost home

Title: Almost Home
Author: Jessica Blank
Standalone
Hardcover edition
Pages: 245
Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children
Year Published: 2007
Rating: 3/5 stars

From the back cover:

“The L.A. I live in is the same now as it will be afterward: alleys, underpasses, Dumpsters, trash. Smashed glass, crumbled concrete, holes in fences. It’s all about finding the cracks in things and shoving them open till they’re big enough for you to squeeze in. That’s were Critter and me crash most nights, in between buildings or up against cars, practicing, I guess, for when the whole world is roofless.”

-Scabius

From the inside cover:

For seven teens in Los Angeles, the street is their home.

There’s Eeyore, just twelve years old when she runs away from her privileged home, harboring a secret she’s to ashamed to tell anyone. Rusty winds up alone and broke when his older boyfriend ditches him in Hollywood. Squid has gone through too many foster homes to count – now he’s determined to create his own “sidewalk family” out on the streets. There’s Scabius, a rough, delusional punk from Utah; and Critter, a heroin dealer with movie-star looks and a vulnerable heart. Laura, smart and restless, has run to L.A. looking for something bigger than the tiny town she comes from.

And then there’s Tracy, the charismatic, damaged thread that ties them all together, irrevocably changing each person’s life she touches.

With rare candor and searing prose, author Jessica Blank, in her debut young adult novel, introduces us to seven unforgettable teens who form their own dysfunctional family, complete with love and belonging, abuse and betrayal.

First sentence:

Tracy hangs out up against the fence some days, blond hair dangling down in strings toward her tattoos, dirty hoodie sticking through the chain-link holes in little bunches, her weight curving the wire till it looks like it might stay that way.

Cover Comments:
I found the cover to be very accurate of the book as a whole. It definitely was a factor in why I decided to read this book.

Title Thoughts:
I think the title is memorable for the content inside. It is reflective of the story.

Review:
A friend of mine read this book and I saw a picture of it on her blog. It looked intriguing and I decided to check it out from the library at school. It was, in a few ways, very different from what I had expected it to be. It seemed to be somewhat realistic, but at the same time it seemed almost lacking in certain descriptive areas that I couldn't picture things the way I would have hoped. Initially I was impressed by the distinct characters, but in the middle it became a bit foggy when individuality became less apparent. The topic of runaways on the streets of Hollywood is what this story is about but we don't ever quite understand the motive for everything that happens. In a way I didn't mind that, but at the same time there seemed to be a lot of questions that were asked and it wasn't resolved in a satisfactory way. I was initially very impressed but it wasn't maintained throughout so it ends with only a rating of 3/5 stars. I almost gave it 4 stars, even 3.5 stars, but something gave me hesitation and I settled with only giving it an average rating. There were some really good moments in there, and it was a book on something I really haven't read, but there wasn't that stand-out-must-read-this-book-again-right-now moment that would get me to buy this book, or give it away to someone. I accept this book for what it is, but had hoped for something a little bit better. However, overall it was good and worth reading.

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