Support

Ohhh, Rachel Cohn's You Know Where to Find Me was so heartbreakingly sad. You just want to hug Miles and reassure her that life does get better...not that she'd believe you. I think it's very hard to actually hear and believe that things will better, that things won't always be so sad when you're in the very lowest of places and hating everything about yourself. Miles' pain and heartbreak is excruciating. She feels like she's been left completely alone after her cousin's suicide. Laura was like her other half...her beautiful, talented, beloved other half and when she dies Miles is left with what she thinks of as an ugly, fat, stupid, and and unlikable self. I think that part of the pain stems from loving Laura so hard and yet not knowing how sad Laura really was.

Boy Toy by Barry Lyga is definitely not something I would have picked up on my own. It was a very different story since it deals with a 12-year old boy being molested by his teacher. EEEWWWW!!!! He was 12!!!! I think that this might be part of the appeal of the book though...it's a very taboo topic and there's that "Hot for Teacher" vibe. Josh is, self-admittedly, SO screwed-up when we meet him. I just kept thinking "this poor kid" as he feels very alone in all this. He's never really talked to anyone other than his psychiatrist about it. The weight of what he's carrying (the guilt he feels because he thinks HE seduced his teacher) is crushing and it's a wonder he's surviving.

The thing that struck me about both these books was the lack of parental support. Miles is abandoned by her mother and her father for the most part has been absent in her life. Josh's parents don't seem to connect with him at all...they're there but they're not really fully present in his life. This seems to a recurring theme in the teen world today. Where have all the parents gone? Also, what is up with all these evil coaches? The football coach in Freak Show obviously did not say anything to the guys on the team after they almost killed Billy and the coach in Boy Toy is also a total jerk. I wonder where the evil, a$&^%#@ coach stereotype comes from.

Both characters though have these silently supportive best friends. Jamal is there for Miles (even when she doesn't see it) and Zik is always there for Josh. There's a lot to be said for the friend who is just there for you no matter what even when there's no conversation.

I tried to watch Family Guy (Stewie and his football shaped head kind of creep me out) and I think the appeal is in that "I can't believe he just said that. That is so wrong" humor. It has the same kind of "shock" off-color, irreverent humor that South Park does.