Margaux With an X

Rating:
Summary: Sharp insightful glimpses into the tumultuous lives of teens
Review: Nothing is what it seems because there are secrets to keep. Margaux, by far the best-looking girl in her class, smart and witty, knows this "secret stuff" at an early age. She and her father share a dark secret. Her father is good-looking and funny, but is always the con artist and spends his life gambling --- sometimes he wins, sometimes he doesn't. Then there is her mother, locked in her own world of TV shopping, getting her nails done, and sharing her husband's excitement at the racetracks. So while Margaux makes the good grades, dates one boy after another and hangs out with her shallow friends, she is lonelier and angrier than anyone could ever know.

Danny Riley is a walking resale shop. His clothes are too big; he has a plain face and a manner about him that says he just doesn't care what other people think. Danny has his secrets too --- the father who beat him, the aunt who saved him (he hopes) and the devotion to the humane society where he volunteers. Danny is not considered "cool" by his peers and is, in fact, an outsider simply by the way he dresses.

Like Ron Koertge's STONER & SPAZ, Danny and Margaux are a little oil and water. They come together with an unexpected attraction, which at first totally confuses Margaux:

"...Margaux looks for Danny/is afraid he's looking for her/wants to see him/wants to avoid him/wonders why he hasn't sought her out/is afraid he will. Really, what can she be thinking; that uncomely face, the spindle-shanked meagerness of him, the teakettle thinness of his breath. His daunting goodness."

As the relationship develops, Margaux meets Danny's aunt Evie, who suffers from debilitating MS. Margaux also meets the darker Danny --- the Danny who is his father. But out of the chaos in both of their lives, they are pulled together and Margaux does not run from the opportunity to learn from Danny and his wise aunt.

Koertge is a master at exploring teens on the edge. Like Paulsen, Cormier and Brooks, Koertge gives us sharp, insightful glimpses into some darker aspects of adolescents and their lives. Teens will be attracted to these unusual characters and a well-paced story.

--- Reviewed by Sally M. Tibbetts ([e-mail])

Rating:
Summary: Koertge Does It Again!
Review: This book reads like an edgier version of Koertge's other odd-couple book, "Stoner and Spaz." In "Margaux WIth an X," Margaux is this book's version of "Stoner." She's the prettiest girl in her school, blazingly intelligent, and witheringly apathetic. She runs with a shallow crowd and is getting tired of them.

Enter Danny, this book's version of "Spaz." He's a loner who wears thrift-store clothes, lives with his aunt who has MS, and works at a dog shelter. While he's darker and not as charming as the "Spaz" from "Stoner and Spaz," he's sufficiently intriguing and helps Margaux find out who she is, apart from her ditzy friends. Danny's sick aunt also gives Margaux some of the tools she needs to confront her irresponsible parents, who are little more than a career gambler and a TV addict.

Margaux, in turn, doesn't desert Danny when he shows her a sinister side of himself. These two are far from being a match made in heaven; they may not last a year. But they're getting what good can come out of their friendship while it lasts.

If you liked Koertge's other books, you'll like this one. It features his trademark sharp, intelligent humor and dialogue that rings truer than most YA books out there.

"Smart" teens, "weird" teens, and adults who enjoy YA literature will love this book. I found it beautiful, intelligent, disturbing, and uplifting. But "Stoner and Spaz" is still my favorite!