Boy Proof

Carine Montbertrand's sweet voice sounds a bit like that of an adult pretending to be younger than her years, but don't let that deter you. Most of the time she infuses the narrative voice of 16-year-old Victoria Jurgen with a telling mix of irony and yearning. Victoria, nicknamed "Egg" for her favorite sci-fi character, keeps her distance from boys and adults with aggressive plainness and mordant hostility. When Max, a new kid in her school, pierces her armor, she must decide who she wants to be--Victoria or Egg. Montbertrand uses a "with-it" pacing that's just right for this young adult novel; she has an empathy for the story that keeps one rooting for the characters. A.C.S. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

Starred review from February 21, 2005
Debut author Castellucci gives voice to a memorable teenage narrator, Victoria Jurgen, living in Hollywood. A senior at Melrose Prep, she has set her sights on becoming valedictorian. She not only aces her AP classes, is photographer for the school paper and a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Club, she has also seen the movie Terminal Earth
42 times and calls herself "Egg," after the heroine in the movie. Egg even shaves her head and wears a white cloak like the movie's star (her mother says that Egg's appearance makes her "boy proof"). "Egg is a woman who can't afford to get close to anyone," she says. But a cascade of subtle changes begin with the arrival of classmate Max Carter. Suddenly Egg bumps into him everywhere; they share the same interests, and she respects his intelligence in spite of herself (after reading his poem in class, she says, "I thought he was stupid. Now I know he's gifted, just like me"). Through Egg's narration, Castellucci allows readers a glimpse of the girl's inner struggle and prickly exterior. Some wrenching moments arise when Egg's mother, an actress whose career was put on hold due to her pregnancy, tries to connect with her daughter and is rebuffed. And with just a few scenes, the author demonstrates how much Egg resembles her father, an Oscar-winner for his creatures in a sci-fi film. Castellucci effortlessly paints a picture of Hollywood as a setting that shapes her characters as much as they shape it. Egg's journey to shed her trappings and to confidently inhabit her own character is one readers won't want to miss. Ages 14-up.