Helpful Score: 1
Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com
Ms. Kuehnert has written another powerful and hard-hitting novel to follow up her stunning debut, I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE.
Kara is friendless when her BFF Stacey has to move to another less expensive suburb of Chicago. So when new girl Maya enters Chemistry class and sits down beside her, she's excited to see a kindred soul. Soon the two take to hanging out after school in Scoville Park. Maya is everything Kara isn't, first and foremost outgoing. Maya jumps right in and creates a spot for them with the gang at Scoville. It isn't until Kara becomes associated with fire that she truly feels she's part of the crowd.
Kara uses Scoville to help escape life at home. Her parents are constantly at odds and her younger brother, Liam, is as desperate for attention as Kara is. She begins to bring Liam with her to Scoville and he soon becomes another member of the group.
BALLADS OF SUBURBIA explores Kara's connections with the others that hang out at Scoville. These kids know how to party, and slowly Kara gets sucked into the world of drugs by those around here. She's attracted to bad boy Adrian and is told that he must really like her because he treats her differently than all the other girls. But she knows she should be with Christian, the good guy. It isn't until Christian turns dark that Kara's world truly blows up. Friendships are tested and emotions flare.
Interspersed throughout the novel, Ms. Kuehnert inserts the "ballads" of various characters. Adrian has in his possession a journal that anyone can read, with the condition that you must first write your own story. Kara can never bring herself to write her story, even when tragedy hits...more than once. It isn't until Kara ventures home after escaping the negativity of Oak Park that life comes full circle for Kara.
BALLADS OF SUBURBIA is a dark, desperate look at teenage life in the suburbs in the early 1990s. Ms. Kuehnert gets right to the heart of the teenage angst and struggles to fit in to any crowd. Though a bleak look, the ending leaves the reader filled with hope at the future Kara is trying to create for herself.
Ms. Kuehnert has written another powerful and hard-hitting novel to follow up her stunning debut, I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE.
Kara is friendless when her BFF Stacey has to move to another less expensive suburb of Chicago. So when new girl Maya enters Chemistry class and sits down beside her, she's excited to see a kindred soul. Soon the two take to hanging out after school in Scoville Park. Maya is everything Kara isn't, first and foremost outgoing. Maya jumps right in and creates a spot for them with the gang at Scoville. It isn't until Kara becomes associated with fire that she truly feels she's part of the crowd.
Kara uses Scoville to help escape life at home. Her parents are constantly at odds and her younger brother, Liam, is as desperate for attention as Kara is. She begins to bring Liam with her to Scoville and he soon becomes another member of the group.
BALLADS OF SUBURBIA explores Kara's connections with the others that hang out at Scoville. These kids know how to party, and slowly Kara gets sucked into the world of drugs by those around here. She's attracted to bad boy Adrian and is told that he must really like her because he treats her differently than all the other girls. But she knows she should be with Christian, the good guy. It isn't until Christian turns dark that Kara's world truly blows up. Friendships are tested and emotions flare.
Interspersed throughout the novel, Ms. Kuehnert inserts the "ballads" of various characters. Adrian has in his possession a journal that anyone can read, with the condition that you must first write your own story. Kara can never bring herself to write her story, even when tragedy hits...more than once. It isn't until Kara ventures home after escaping the negativity of Oak Park that life comes full circle for Kara.
BALLADS OF SUBURBIA is a dark, desperate look at teenage life in the suburbs in the early 1990s. Ms. Kuehnert gets right to the heart of the teenage angst and struggles to fit in to any crowd. Though a bleak look, the ending leaves the reader filled with hope at the future Kara is trying to create for herself.
