Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You

This latest novel by Peter Cameron pulls off the difficult task of making a difficult, troubled, antisocial narrator completely sympathetic and lovable. James Sveck, an eighteen year-old outsider is intelligent, philosophical, and yes, even "charming" (as the front cover suggests) but he has problems showing all this to the outside world. James has been accepted to prestigious Brown College, but he has no desire to go, because people, particularly people his own age distress him. In his words, "I just don't enjoy being with people. People, at least in my experience, rarely say anything interesting to each other. They always talk about their lives and they don't have very interesting lives. So I get impatient."

It would be easy to detest someone that brutally honest and snobbish. And yet I found myself continually cutting him slack, in part because I felt sorry for his obvious social anxiety and, also because his character flaws are interesting and complicated in the grand tradition of Holden Caufield. Like Holden, James rejects those who try to help him (his parents, his psychiatrist), believing them to be more interested their own wants than in listening to him. Like Holden, he has one family member who truly gets him, in his case, his grandmother. Like Holden, his few attempts to reach out to the world fail--often spectacularly as when he tries his hand at expressing his attraction to a coworker and when he is chosen to go to Washington D.C. to represent New York at a national student program about the government.

With beautiful metaphors and a true sense of "voice," Peter Cameron tells a compelling story about a young man failing to thrive in the modern world. You may not know first hand the kind of anxiety and depression that James feels, but this story will help you identify with, understand, and empathize with him.

Fledgling

First off, for those of you science fiction fans unfamiliar with Octavia Butler, add her to your list right now. Octavia Butler is one of most respected and beloved writers of the genre, a great talent whose life was cut short in 2006. Fledglingwas her final book and her first "vampire romance," a subgenre she had recently stumbled on and had grown to enjoy.

Despite the inspiration, Butler's vampire romance is quite different than most in its class. At the book's opening, the main character, Shori, wakes up badly burned, shot, and clueless as to who she is our how she got there. She is picked up by a local who assumes she is a preteen girl from the look of her, but by her actions proves she is far more experienced than her appearance. He and Shori quickly figure out she is a vampire, but not the kind legend suggests. Together they begin unraveling the pieces of her life before, discovering that she is genetic experiment within the vampire community and uncovering a dangerous plot to destroy her and her family.

The novel isn't a page burner. It asks too many important questions about race, sexuality, gender, and individuality to skim read. But if you like your science fiction thought-provoking and philosophically challenging, you'll enjoy this dramatic, disturbing, and powerful read.

Derby Girl

Just when you were asking yourself, "why aren't there more teen books about roller derby?" along comes Derby Girl by Shauna Cross. The novel's main character Bliss Cavendar, an "indie-rock-loving misfit" feels like she must be adopted. Her mother is a beauty-pageant loving former Miss Blubonnet with visions of a family dynasty. Her father is a quiet, football-loving man who does anything Bliss's mom says. Bliss longs for city life, but is trapped in tiny Bodeen, Texas working at the Oink Joint with her best friend and fellow misfit, Pash Amini. While shopping in Austin (or, "civilization" as Bliss thinks of it), she finds an ad for a Roller Derby League. She convinces Pash to go in search of cool people and "real boys." And that's where the fun begins.

This is a really quick read with snappy dialogue and some very funny moments. While Bliss seems to be trying a little too hard to be a snarky hip-chick, she does sound authentic to me, like a teen trying desperately to be cool...for that I could forgive her. The book covers standard teenage fare of love and betrayal, but in a setting and scenario that is fresh. A great pick for something fun to read on the beach or a rainy day.