The One O'Clock Chop

August 6, 2007
Fletcher's (Marshfield Dreams
) resonant novel vividly recreates its period setting, Long Island in 1973, and puts it to poetic use. Matt, the 14-year-old narrator, takes a job with Dan, a gruff yet kind clam digger, to earn money to buy a boat. On his first day, Matt witnesses the “One O'Clock Chop,” which occurs daily when a breeze suddenly moves across the bay, “roughening up the smooth surface.” Stirring up the seeming placidness of his existence, his beautiful, self-assured cousin Jazzy arrives from Hawaii to spend the summer with Matt and his mother (his father has moved away and remarried several years earlier). Though grappling with the fact of cousinhood, Matt gradually falls under Jazzy's spell. In one early, typically evocative scene, they listen to jazz and he hears the bass “like a big powerful heart, beating in the exact center of the music,” and then Jazzy puts her arms around Matt: “I felt her arms around me, which was the last thing I expected. I felt her fingers moving up and down the middle of my back, as if my spine was one of the strings on a stand-up bass....” As the title implies, Matt will have his heart broken; he will also find his way toward repairing it. Writing with his customary sensitivity and flair for language, Fletcher turns a coming-of-age story into a rich, affecting read. Ages 10-16.

October 1, 2007
Gr 7-10-During the summer of '73 on Long Island, Matt, 14, gets a job clamming with Dan, a Vietnam vet, to earn enough money to buy a Boston Whaler. His cousin, Jazzy, visits from Hawaii, and she makes his heart feel full, even though they are related. Parts of his routine remain the same, though: weekly phone calls with his dad, now living in Montana postdivorce; doing crossword puzzles with his hardworking and determinedly cheerful mom; and hanging out with his friend Trevor, always good for a laugh. The clamming builds his tan, muscles, and bank account while Jazzy builds his confidence with kisses, songs on her guitar, and night-time excursions and talks. When she takes up with another boy, Matt's world crashes. Ultimately, the kissing cousins recover their friendship, and Matt stands up for himself in some confrontations with both a peer and an adult. This quietly enjoyable coming-of-age novel depicts a teen as he grows more solid under the paternal influence of Dan and listens to the tunes of The Doorson eight-track, of course. Jazzy gains Matt's admiration through her exotic and forbidden beauty as well as her unique perspective; she bonds with him as they share the mutual loss of their fathers and much more. Plenty of universal teen fascinations and concerns exist for those readers willing to enter Matt's world and give themselves over to this smoothly paced and competently written novel."Suzanne Gordon, Peachtree Ridge High School, Suwanee, GA"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2007
Even 14-year-old Matt knows that falling in love with his first cousin isnt a good idea, but he cant help himself. Jazzy, who is spending the summer with Matt and his mom, is gorgeous, sweet, and smart. Her exotic Hawaiian background doesnt hurt either, nor do her kisses and attention. She helps take his mind off his anger at his dad for starting a new family and his hard job clamming alongside a taciturn Vietnam vet. Then Jazzy breaks Matts heart. News clips and a few other cultural details set the story in the 1970s, but it could easily have taken place today, and the forbidden romance angle is far less dramatic than readers are led to believe at the outset. Although not deeply limned, Matts jealously, heartache, and confusion seem authentic, and there are some vivid, interesting scenes on the clamming boat (one of which explains the one oclock chop). Neither the cover nor the title suggests romance, so prepare to do some handselling to genre fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)