Smith, A. (2014). Grasshopper Jungle. NY: Penguin
Group.
Austin Szerba is a teenage boy from
Iowa who gives you a detailed account of the end of the world. He also gives
you many different accounts of events and how they intertwine. Austin’s story began when he and his best
friend, Robby Brees, were beaten up while smoking and skating in the alleyway
behind the Ealing Mall, an area they called Grasshopper Jungle. Grant Wallace
and some others from Hoover High School, threw Robby and Austin’s shoes and
skateboards on top of the roof of the Ealing Mall. Later, they went back and
noticed they were on the roof door of the second hand store where Austin works.
They notice Wallace and his friends
break in and they immediately hide. There were many strange artifacts there,
including a glass container with a "plague" that had been contained
for a long time. They accidentally break it, and the plague begins to spread
turning some town people into huge praying mantis who just want to eat and
reproduce. At the time only Shann, Austin and Robby really know what is
going on. They find a safe place that had been created in case of this sort of
event. At the end, With
Shann’s parents and Robby’s mother and her boyfriend, they start a new life and
human species in Eden. A dilemma that also
follows Austin throughout the novel is his sexual orientation. He accepts that
he loves his girlfriend Shann Collins, but he also loves his best friend Robby
Brees. Austin doesn’t find a solution and simply learns to live with this.
This young adult
novel falls into apocalyptic science fiction. Weird things always tend to
happen such as civilization collapsing. Many, many sexual references are also
made and it is very clear what some teenage boys think about. Sex! This is a
very graphic book that librarians have to be careful in recommending. This is
where the middle grades are way different from one another. I don’t think it
would be very appropriate for a 6th grader who is 12 years old, but
it can be appropriate for an 8th. grader who is 14.
Author's Website
Author's Blog
Book Trailer
Other books by the author.
No comments:
Post a Comment