Flannery

March 21, 2016
Nothing comes easily for Flannery. Her single mother is trying to raise the 16-year-old and her thoughtful-yet-infuriating younger brother, Felix, without enough money to buy school supplies or keep the electricity on. At school, Flannery is mooning over her childhood pal, Tyrone, and chasing down her best friend, Amber, who has ditched her for a controlling boyfriend. Flannery’s story unfurls almost as a stream of consciousness narrative, with passages frequently interrupted by and interspersed with frenetic memories. In her first book for teens, Moore (author of February, longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2010) forsakes quotation marks to denote dialogue, creating the sense that Flannery is remembering and retelling her story at a distance. This does not lessen the story’s impact as Moore clearly articulates the “profoundly unfair” struggle of the invisible poor, the impossible weight of a child trying to keep a family together, and the brutal torments of high school, including one especially horrific bullying scene involving a used condom. But Flannery remains precocious and independent, a pragmatic heroine with a fierce attitude, quiet patience, and indomitable survival instinct. Ages 13–up.

Starred review from March 1, 2016
A young woman struggles with her unconventional mom, her best friend's cold shoulder, and a fierce crush in this novel for teens set in Newfoundland. At the onset of her grade 10 year, Flannery is delighted to be paired for a project in her entrepreneurship class with Tyrone, her goofy pal from childhood reinvented as a teen as a motorcycle-driving graffiti artist who turns the heads of girls everywhere, including orange-haired, pale, freckled Flannery's. Readers will feel her swooning in their knees from the evocative descriptions of Tyrone's sooty black lashes, big brown eyes, and curly black hair. This at first seems to set the stage for a simple romance, and the frenetic prose, overflowing with playful wordsmithing and exaggeration, sets a similar light tone. However, Flannery's close yet emotionally fraught relationship with her free-spirit mother packs a serious punch, and her shame and frustration at her family's poverty--her mother raises her and her younger brother with the help of public assistance--are stingingly real. Adding to this is Flannery's anguishing betrayal by her best friend, who completely loses herself in her first boyfriend. If readers stumble a bit as they acclimate to the gradual shift to drama, they will root for Flannery's honest kindness throughout. Smart, bold, heartbreaking--sophisticated teen readers will be wowed. (Fiction. 14-18)

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Starred review from April 1, 2016

Gr 9 Up-Sixteen-year-old Flannery Malone has a loving but flaky mother, a charming but slightly spoiled younger brother, and a lifelong love for bad boy Tyrone O'Rourke. Life isn't easy for the teen. Her artist mother doesn't earn enough money to buy Flannery's biology book, her father doesn't know she exists, and her best friend is obsessed with a new, abusive boyfriend. Flannery hopes things might take a turn for the better when she is paired with Tyrone in entrepreneurship class, and the duo plan to market a love potion. However, he not only fails to contribute to the class project but also sets Flannery up to take the blame for his shoplifting. The worst of Flannery's woes occurs when she is attacked by classmates, who attempt to stuff a used condom in her mouth. This scene of graphic violence seems out of place with the tone of the book and may limit the audience to whom this otherwise tween-appropriate book could be recommended. Moore deftly integrates the action in the many subplots, while at the same time creating relatable, realistic characters in a crisply written, well-paced coming-of-age tale. Readers will find themselves identifying with and rooting for Flannery and her quirky cohorts. VERDICT An engaging story and strong purchase with some valuable lessons about love, friendship, and growing up.-Cindy Wall, Southington Library & Museum, CT

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2016
Grades 8-11 Moore, whose adult novel February (2010) was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, makes her first foray into YA fiction, here, with a character-driven portrait of a contemporary teen. Flannery struggles with her family's financial situation. Her conceptual-artist mother can't make ends meet, forcing the family onto welfare and making even purchasing new textbooks a challenge. She is also on the outs with her longtime best friend Amber, who has ditched her for her new boyfriend. The one bright spot in Flannery's life comes from Tyrone, her childhood love turned school bad boythey are paired together for a class entrepreneurial project in which they have chosen to make, of all things, love potions. Could their love potion actually work? Moore is at her best when portraying the class conflict Flannery faces, particularly with regard to the more affluent Amber. She paints a deeply sympathetic portrait of Miranda, Flannery's mother, one of the story's major characters. Though the pacing can be a bit plodding at times, Moore's vivid writing and keen understanding of interpersonal dynamics bring this to life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)