Official Review (i.e. for marks, not just for fun) of "Doing It"

"Doing It" was written by Melvin Burgess, an English author who has written many other children's and YA novels, including "Junk", a controversial novel about teen heroin addiction.  "Doing It" is another controversial YA novel and predictably so because it portrays teen love, lust, and sex in a very frank manner.  To say that it pulls no punches is an understatement, because in several instances it appears that Burgess adds some extra punches just for fun.  The book is raw, both in the way it describes teen emotions and actions.  The reader is placed right inside the minds of the teen characters and gets to see what they see and feel what they feel, no matter how crazy their thoughts or actions may be.  Burgess also frequently flips into third person perspective and the reader is then given a glimpse of what the characters look like from the outside.  This is an effective tool for painting a complete portrait of the characters, but it is jarring at first and takes a little while to get used to it.  The book is mostly written in almost a stream of consciousness kind of way.  The characters often speak directly to the reader about what they are feeling and thinking, going into great detail about their hopes and fears, desires and lusts, anger and confusion.  There is little description of surroundings or settings.  Burgess was writing a character piece here.  The style makes that abundantly evident.

The book imparts a real dichotomy of authenticity; on the one hand it seems very realistic, as several times the descriptions of the way the characters thought or felt reminded me of how I had thought and felt as a teenager.  On the other hand several of the situations seem quite unrealistic and improbable.  Of course, the book would be a great deal less interesting if the situations were mundane and ordinary.  I suppose that's why the book succeeds in being an interesting read.  It places believable characters in some outlandish situations and does a good job of accurately portraying their reactions.  That is the real strength of the book, the authenticity of the characters.  I became involved in their situations and who they were.  Burgess made me care about them.  They seemed believable.  None of them was exactly like anyone I ever knew, but they come off as real teenagers, not somebody's idea of what a teenager is like.  They are not portrayed in a sympathetic light or a damning one, they are simply shown as is.  Burgess does a good job of letting the reader judge the characters for themselves.

The cover of the book is average.  It does not draw the eye particularly well and is another example of a YA book with legs or feet on the cover.  The book itself is also average size, not extremely thick or thin.  The type in the book is also of good size, not cartoonishly large or annoyingly small.  There are limitations to its use, as it is not suitable for younger teens in general.  The frank and persistent sexual talk and language, several adult situations, as well as some profanity, make this a book that would be most appreciated for older teens.  Most teens under 14 or 15 may not get much out of it other than the "dirty words".  There are also likely parental fears that younger teens may try to emulate some of the less desirable actions of the characters, which would be a problem if that is true.  2006 (1st paperback edition), Henry Holt and Co., $8.95.  Ages 15 and up.






 

14 Ways to Dance

When I began reading Kathy Stinson's "101 Ways to Dance", I didn't know it was a collection of short stories.  I was pleasantly surprised.  In general, I really like short stories.  You can get into a story right away if it's good or stop reading right away if it's bad without making a big commitment.  It's like a goldfish.  Whether it's good or it's bad, it'll all be over soon and there's plenty more where that came from. 

The thing I noticed about the book (besides the cover, which I don't want to see.  It made taking out the book particularly embarrassing because I'm a grown man and I'm taking out a book with a zoomed in picture of a young teen girl's butt.  Who decided this was the best picture for the book cover?  Were the publishers hoping teen boys would pick up the book due solely to hormones?  At least the pants aren't super tight or I don't think I could have walked to the check-out with it) was that

Ack!  Why is this in my face?

the book is both very politically correct and edgy at the same time, without ever crossing the line.  It is politically correct because it makes sure to include all types of teen sexuality, guy and girl, guy and guy, girl and girl, sick kids in hospital, developmentally disabled teens, and teen pregnancy.  There's obviously nothing wrong with including all these different types of sexuality, it just seems to me like maybe Kathy was maybe trying to please everyone.  Perhaps she did it so that everyone could relate to at least one of the stories and teens would know that they're not alone in their situation.  It's hard to guess an author's motivation, but I hope it was for the latter reason.  I'd hate to think that a book about something as personal as sexuality was influenced by something as impersonal as politics.  It probably wasn't.

At the same time some of the stories themselves are edgy, especially the story about the first-cousins that are into each other, grabbing each other and whatnot.  That story kind of grossed me out because I thought of my cousins and...eww.  Not cool.  There was one other story I thought was edgy because it actually described a sexual act, although in a non-explicit way.  All the other stories either breeze past the sex or the sex never happens or the sex was in the past.  This one story, where a...pleasuring, we'll call it, occurs, really stands out from the rest.  I don't know why Kathy chose to describe a sexual act only in this one story.  I thought that was kind of strange.

There is a sweetness and lightness to most of the stories, especially the one about the teens in the hospital.  This is mostly a book about stirrings that are felt, but not fully realized.  The beginnings of adult sexuality are what is written about, and, although some of the teens are already having sex, I got the feeling like none of them were fully in control yet.  They are still journeying toward sexual maturity.  Reflecting on it now, that obviously makes for a good teen read.  Not all the stories are suitable for children and would not be of interest to adults.  Fits the niche of teen stories nicely.