Friday, November 5, 2010

Flash burnout, by L.K. Madigan




Blake's favorite subject is photography, and at 15 Blake can hardly keep up with the changes in his life fast enough to get a snapshot. He is negotiating new territory romantically with his girlfriend Shannon. Meanwhile, a photography class project sends him into the city, where he takes a photo of a passed out street person. Back in photography class, his photograph hits like a bombshell when his friend Marissa recognizes the picture as her meth addict mother. Marissa's vulnerability is exposed, and Blake protects her as a true friend. But life with 2 important girls is complicated, and Blake is headed for a crash course in girl trouble.




I liked Blake, the class comedian with girl trouble. I liked his older brother Garrett too, who for all his upperclassman cool, is there for Blake in the crunch. And then there is his Einstein look-alike Dad, the medical examiner who leaves autopsy tools on the kitchen table. And don't leave out his hospital chaplain mother who flies around the kitchen in hot-flash induced states of undress. But mostly it's Blake's memorable voice that the reader will remember - funny and confused and real, trying to do the right thing and bungling it all.

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