The Trouble in Me

June 22, 2015
This installment in Gantos’s ongoing chronicle of his tumultuous youth opens ominously, with 14-year-old Jackie crossing the backyard with matches and a can of lighter fluid. What could possibly go wrong? Conflagrations (more than one) follow as Jack, whose family has relocated again, attempts to reinvent himself in the image of his new neighbor, notorious juvenile delinquent, Gary Pagoda. Gary’s criminal skills include shoplifting, car theft, and possible statutory rape, but he also has a predilection for death-defying stunts—“the Pagoda Olympics”—like catapulting Jackie over the house in hopes of hitting the pool. Full of “don’t try this at home” moments (to the breaking point of credulity), Jack’s interior monologue also has a heartbreaking edge, as he struggles to distance himself from his father’s derogatory comments about his size and worth. Chronologically, the events Gantos describes partially bridge the gap between Jack’s Black Book (1997) and his Printz Honor winner, Hole in My Life (2002). The book also only covers a few weeks one summer—one suspects that Gantos isn’t finished mining his childhood for novel-worthy moments. Ages 12–up.

December 1, 2015

Gr 7 Up-Before there was life behind bars at the federal prison, there was life behind a chain-link fence on his Florida city lot, where Jack, at age 14, saw his future. On the other side stands car thief Gary Pagoda, recently released from juvie, a boy who is "everything [Jack] had never been" but who in short order Jack decides is everything he wants to become. Each reckless antic (shoplifting, kamikaze-esque "Pagoda Olympics," escalating pyromania) aimed at creating a new identity leaves a bigger void. Read admirably well by the author, the only narrator who could do this tale justice. VERDICT This poignant story is about learning one of life's lessons the hard way: the most powerful lies are the ones you tell yourself. ["Gantos's characteristic humor and keen observation of the fragile teen psyche combine with heartbreaking authenticity in this unflinching look at how a good kid can easily go down a wrong path": SLJ 10/15 starred review of the Farrar book.]-Cheryl Preisendorfer, Twinsburg City Schools, OH

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