WHO THE MAN

The bittersweet story of Earl's week of school suspension, told from inside his mind, is heavy with pain and love. Earl is 13, big and physically mature enough to be mistaken for a man, but weighed down with emotional burdens: the hatred and hostility between his parents, for example, and his own alienation from children his age. His tendency to punch people gets him suspended from school; however, the overall feeling in Earl’s life is not anger but a profound emotional ache. Earlier in life, Earl might have felt freer and easier, before the coldness and silence between his parents (who are unswervingly committed to him but literally won’t speak to each other) and back when Louisa was his babysitter rather than a girl he loves and who insists she’s too old for him. It also seems that Earl’s physical growth is inextricably related to his alienation from his peers, but those specifics are never explored. The perspective keeps readers close to Earl’s point of view, sometimes cryptically; however, not a word is wasted, and an accessible narrative style leaves Earl’s story and deep emotions open to readers of varying levels. Most special are relationships with the three people who love Earl fiercely: Dad, who rubs bristly cheeks with him and smells like cigarettes in a way Earl loves; Moms, who cooks him hearty soups and tucks him into bed; and little Bobby Norton, another outcast peer, stubbornly committed to their friendship. Sad, tender, and finally hopeful. (Fiction. 10-14)