The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, by Barry Lyga

Cover:

Bibliographic Information:

Title: The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl

Author: Barry Lyga

ISBN: 978-0618916528

Publisher: Graphia

Copyright: 2007

Reader’s Annotation: 

In a world where jocks rule the school, how will a comic loving boy and a neo goth girl survive?  Do they even want to survive?

Plot Summary:

Donnie is a sophomore in high school, obsessed with the senior goddess,and  absorbed in comic books.  He keeps his calm by carrying a bullet in his pocket, and making a mental list of every person who wronged him, mostly the jock jerks.  Donnie’s only friend is Cal, one of only 10 black kids in the school who is a comic book loving jock. Donnie is working on his own graphic novel, and he homes to take it to a comic convention to show is idol, Brian Michael Bendis.  Donnie is constantly bullied by Mitchell Frampton, who hits him frequently.  Donnie sees a flash of a person dressed in black, sitting in the bleachers of the gym.  One night, he gets a strange instant message from someone he does not know, asking why he let Mitchell hit him.  He ends up meeting up with the person, Kira, a very pale girl who wears all black.  She starts calling him Fanboy, and they start talking about comics.  They begin hanging out, and he tells her about his graphic novel.  Kira and Donnie get into a fight, so he goes to the comic show alone, and is disappointed.  Donnie begins to have concerns about Kira's well being.

Critical Evaluation:

Taking into account that this was Lyga’s first YA novel, I would say that this book would be moderately appealing to teens. It features a lot of characters who feel like outsiders in their respective situations, and accurately portrays a lot of the angst that comes with being a teen.  However, there are some pretty significant flaws in the book as well.

I found the character development to be very weak; it is difficult to really like or care about any of the characters in the book.  I felt that the character of Cal was really under developed, and wondered if he really played much of a role in the story at all.  Yes, he was Donnie’s only friend, but the way their friendship is portrayed feels shallow and disingenuous.  The only thing the boys seem to have in common is comic books, and that does not seem to be a real basis for a friendship as important as this one is made out to be.  Donnie, as a character, is self-absorbed; while many think this is an accurate portrayal of a teen, I think it sells teens short.  To me, this book feels like what an adult thinks it is like to be a teenager in today’s world, without actually talking to any teens, particularly teens on the fringes who feel like outsiders the way these characters do.  For example, Donnie refers to his step father as the “step fascist” but there is no real exploration about why that is, what really happened to create such animosity.  Again, this seems like what an adult would expect a teen to act like.  Similarly, the dialogue seems a little contrived; the characters lack an authenticity in the words they say.  There are large swaths of the book that add very little, and could stand to be edited out.  For example, there is a scene where Donnie describes an elaborate lie he made a teacher believe about what really started the Great Depression, which seemed to have no real purpose.  This results is a very slow book, with lagging action.  Not all books need to be action packed, but this book took quite a while to get to where Donnie has a real meaningful, life altering moment, when he meets his idol Brian Michael Bendis.

Lyga presents a book with a heavy emphasis on comic books, which may appeal to a great deal of teen readers.  However, the book seems to really miss the mark in terms of capturing authentic teen characters and delivering a story that the reader actually will care about.  With some revision and editing, in terms of creating more robust characters and trimming some meaningless scenes, this book could be a strong story to appeal to reluctant teen readers.  The book does capture the essence of feeling like an outsider, which almost every teen experiences at some point. 

Author Biography:

From author’s Amazon page

Called a "YA rebel-author" by Kirkus Reviews, Barry Lyga has published twelve novels in various genres in his seven-year career, including the New York Times bestselling I Hunt Killers and his newest, Unsoul'd (for adults). His books have been or are slated to be published in nine different languages in North America, Australia, Europe, and Asia.

After graduating from Yale with a degree in English, Lyga worked in the comic book industry before quitting to pursue his lifelong love of writing. In 2006, his first young adult novel, The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, was published to rave reviews, including starred reviews from Booklist and School Library Journal. Publisher's Weekly named Lyga a "Flying Start" in December 2006 on the strength of the debut.

His second young adult novel, Boy Toy, received starred reviews in SLJ, Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus. VOYA gave it its highest critical rating, and the Chicago Tribune called it "...an astounding portrayal of what it is like to be the young male victim." His third novel, Hero-Type, according to VOYA "proves that there are still fresh ideas and new, interesting story lines to be explored in young adult literature."

Since then, he has also written Goth Girl Rising (the sequel to his first novel), as well as the Archvillain series for middle-grade readers and the graphic novel Mangaman (with art by Colleen Doran).

His latest series is I Hunt Killers, called by the LA Times "one of the more daring concepts in recent years by a young-adult author" and an "extreme and utterly alluring narrative about nature versus nurture." The first book landed on both the New York Times and USAToday bestsellers lists, and the series has been optioned for television by Warner Bros./Silver Pictures.

Lyga lives and writes in New York City. His comic book collection is a lot smaller than it used to be, but is still way too big.

Genre(s):

Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Curriculum Ties:

Pennsylvania State Standard CC.1.3.9-10.K

Read and comprehend literary fiction on grade level, reading independently and proficiently.

Booktalk Ideas:

A discussion of different comic book styles, and how they may appeal to different types of readers.

A discussion on mental health resources in the community.

          

Reading Level:

Lexile Measure 710

Interest Age:

12 and up

Challenge Issues:

Discussions of teen sexuality, some swearing, teen smoking, violent fantasies

If this book were challenged I would:

·         Listen to the concerns of the person raising the challenge

·         Consult the library’s collection development policy

·         Explain how this work meets a library need based on the collection development policy

·         Consult YALSA’s Dealing with Challenges to Young Adult Materials

·         Consult reviews on VOYA, Amazon, Common Sense Media, and Kirkus

·         Discuss any awards or notable commendations the book received

·         Explain the library’s commitment to intellectual freedom as discussed in the ALA Library Bill of Rights

·         Give the patron the procedure for a formal challenge should they seek to pursue it

Why was this book selected:

I selected this book hoping to find a material that might appeal to reluctant readers.  I wanted something that might encourage readers who traditionally stuck to comics and graphic novels to move to a more traditional novel.  I also wanted a book that will help teen readers relate to the feeling of being an outsider.