Over Winter Break I read The Astonishing Adventure of Fanboy and Goth Girl. The book was published back in 2006 so I'm a little behind on the times.
In the interest of full disclosure... I am a fangirl.
To an outsider a fanboy/girl is someone who really like comic books or Doctor Who or other sort of geeky stuff. It's not just a passing interest, but a fanboy/girl knows all the intimate details of multiple story arcs, origins, strengths and weakness of all the major and minor characters.
The stereotype is that we are fat, virgins who will live in our mother's basement.
UM. NO!
Fanboys./girls are smart, funny, detail orientated, analytical and generally made out of awesome.
Anyway back to the review.
From goodreads.com
Fanboy has never had it good, but lately his sophomore year is turning out to be its own special hell. The bullies have made him their favorite target, his best (and only) friend seems headed for the dark side (sports and popularity), and his pregnant mother and the step-fascist are eagerly awaiting the birth of the alien life form known as Fanboy’s new little brother or sister.
Fanboy, though, has a secret: a graphic novel he’s been working on without telling anyone, a graphic novel that he is convinced will lead to publication, fame, and—most important of all—a way out of the crappy little town he lives in and all the people that make it hell for him.
When Fanboy meets Kyra, a.k.a. Goth Girl, he finds an outrageous, cynical girl who shares his love of comics as well as his hatred for jocks and bullies. Fanboy can’t resist someone who actually seems to understand him, and soon he finds himself willing to heed her advice—to ignore or crush anyone who stands in his way
My reactions:
Barry Lyga knows his stuff. He got every reference right and Brian Michael Bendis is God. I know I showed up an HOUR ahead of Bendis' schedule time at Comic COn '04 just to meet him. In fact that entire subplot about meeting Bendis mirrored my own life (well not exactly).
Fanboy feels 100% real. His emotions and thought process was realistic, likable and genuine. Personally, the teacher in my, cringes when he fantasizes about a school shooting. But everything about Fanboy is handled correctly, with a dose of reality and fantasy mixed together.
Maybe because I loved Fanboy so much, it was hard to relate to Goth Girl. I've been friends with girls like her, and I think that's what I didn't like about her. She didn't feel as fleshed out as I would have liked, but of course that could be a POV issue instead of an author issue. (The book is told from Fanboy's 1st person POV)
I would recommended with a rating of 8 out of 10.
If fact I'm too see what else Lyga has written.
Dude he wrote, Goth Girl Rising.... oh, yeah um wow, I am SO BEHIND THE BALL one this one.
So readers, what book have you been a little late to the party with?
He also wrote Boy Toy which I had but couldn't finish. It was REALLY well written, don't get me wrong, and I know several writer friends who loved it, but because it was about a female teacher seducing an underage student, and because I'm a teacher, it just turned my stomach. I hear great reviews of it, though. He is definitely talented.
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