Was able to attend an author dinner last week, courtesy of the publisher, Little, Brown. The dinner was very good (One Market, Bradley Ogden), but meeting the author, Holly Goldberg Sloan, was the obvious highlight of the evening. She is a charming woman, about my age, and this is her first novel.
The book is titled I'll Be There and was a delight to read. For a young adult non-fantasy/action novel, it is unique -- there is no melodrama. What a relief to read something not emotionally fraught! This is not to say that there is not a strong emotional element -- there is -- it is simply subtle. Ms Goldberg Sloan's life before this was as a successful screenwriter and director, and this mastery of storytelling craft is apparent. In the first lines, she sets up the entire story; everything that follows is the fulfillment of that promise.
The characters are well-drawn; the use of first-person POV for each character is used to great, and, in one instance, humorous, effect, saving each from being caricatures or cut-outs. Except for the one, there is no one in this novel who can be viewed as "bad." Clueless, definitely; well-meaning but oblivious, certainly; but evil? No. Even parents and other authority figures here, frequently portrayed in YA fiction as obstacles at best (when present at all) or active antagonists at worst, act in the best interests of those for whom they are responsible. Even the villain, while frightening, is someone who can be viewed with pity.
There are several scenes of humor, placed perfectly to keep the mood of the story from devolving into despair. The lead-up to Prom made me laugh out loud; a run-in with a black bear managed to be funny and terrifying at the same time.
The ending fulfills the promise of the beginning, bringing the reader full circle in a satisfactory manner. This is a hopeful book, with smart characters, something I will be eager to recommend.
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