Friday, September 08, 2006

Anyone But You by Lara M. Zeises


An interestingly "blended" family: Seattle and her dad moved in with Layla & her two sons six years ago. When Seattle's dad left, Layla decided to raise Sea herself, and Layla, Seattle, Critter & Jesse have been a family every since. Sea and Critter aren't just like brother & sister - they're best friends. That is, until a girl, a guy, and Seattle's dad all enter the picture.
Lara Zeises tells the story from alternating points of view, so the reader understands Seattle's dislike of Critter's new love interest while also understanding Critter's attraction. The family situation sets up an interesting new dynamic to the boy-and-girl-as-best-friends story, but the re-appearance of Seattle's father in the midst of these brief weeks of discord is pretty predictable, and his role seems unnecessary- like he appears just because he's expected. We don't really know why he picked this week, this day to re-appear in Seattle's life - unless it's just to make this week more confusing for her.
Still, Seattle & Critter's confusion about their feeling (for others and for each other) is real & believable, and I was left wondering about their future - as siblings, as friends, and possibly as a couple.

What I'm Reading: Enthusiasm by Polly Schulman
On My Bookshelf: Summerland by Michael Chabon

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home