First sentence: When I was seven/ and crazy for Mr. Spock,/ a Star Trek lunch box/ was all I craved. Instead, Dad/ bought one blaring the logo/ of some football team/ I'd never heard of./ I shoved that thing in/ the coal black of my closet,/ then celebrated with cake.
Premise/plot: Garvey's Choice is a verse novel. (The verse is written in tanka.) Garvey is an overweight teen who'd much rather sing or read than play sports. There exists between father and son a gap that nothing seems to fill. At least at first. Garvey tries--unsuccessfully--to fill this gap with food. Garvey's dad may talk about sports--a lot--but I don't get the impression that he's actually cruel to his son. The two just aren't speaking the same love languages.
In the novel, Garvey makes several choices. Will he choose to try out
for chorus and risk rejection or humiliation? He ultimately decides that
he has nothing to lose and everything to gain. After all, he's already
being teased by his classmates; he's already hating lunch time. What he
finds out is that he's really talented at singing; and his singing not
only makes him happy in the process, but makes others happy too. That
and he makes a second friend. Another choice he makes regards his
weight. Will he try to lose weight? Should he try to lose weight? How
should he go about it? What can he change in his life to be healthier
and happier?
This aspect of the verse novel was a bit iffier for
me. I hated to see him get in the cycle of dieting in unhealthy ways,
ways that are doomed to fail. I was yelling DON'T DO IT. JUST DON'T.
My thoughts: I
think the verses are authentic in that many, many, many, many people
turn to food as a way to deal with emotions they don't know how to
handle any other way. It's not the best way perhaps, but it is the easy
way. I liked how singing took the place of food in some ways as a way to
cope with the ups and downs of life.
One of the songs mentioned throughout the book is "Dance with My Father." I encourage you to give it a listen if you pick this one up.
One of my favorite poems: "Summer Lost and Found"
Stories are breadcrumbs.And here's another: "Alien"
Just follow the trail of books
and you will find me
lost among the galaxies
of scorched stars and ships to Mars. (4)
Over breakfast, Dad
eyes me like an alien
never seen before.
Sometimes, I could swear that he's
hoping to make first contact. (17)
My new thoughts: I first read this one in February 2017. I reread it in June 2022 because a sequel is coming!!! I am so excited to get another book starring Garvey!!! The poems still resonate. SO much can be communicated in just a few lines.
© 2022 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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