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The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine
by
April Lurie (Goodreads Author)
A MOTHER WHO split for another man.
A father who works 24/7.
An older brother who excels at everything—and smokes a lot of weed.
A best friend, of the feminine persuasion, who only wants to be a friend, and who’s shooting a film set in cool Greenwich Village, New York.
Dylan Fontaine’s life seems to be full of drama he can’t control. But when he stars in his best friend’s movi...more
A father who works 24/7.
An older brother who excels at everything—and smokes a lot of weed.
A best friend, of the feminine persuasion, who only wants to be a friend, and who’s shooting a film set in cool Greenwich Village, New York.
Dylan Fontaine’s life seems to be full of drama he can’t control. But when he stars in his best friend’s movi...more
Mass Market Paperback, 224 pages
Published
January 12th 2010
by Random House Children's Books
(first published May 13th 2008)
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I can't even describe to you how much I loved this book. April Lurie has described the life of a teenager excatly how some of us feel. Dylan feels like he isn't as good as his brother, he doesn't understand why his mom left his family for another man, and he just wants to find out who he is. He is going through love issues - with his best friend, of all people - and his dad is never around because he is always working.
Even though I, personally, can't relate to all of the things that ...more
Even though I, personally, can't relate to all of the things that ...more
When Dylan is arrested for stealing a pair of underwear (don't worry, there's a good reason) he is also caught with the weed that someone passed him for his older brother Randy. His dad manages to work out a deal when Dylan's drug test comes back clean, but this is only the least of his problems. Dylan's older and much admired brother Randy has checked out, spending all of his time with his bandmates and smoking pot, his way of coping with their mother leaving the family to be with another man. ...more
Full review at http://yannabe.com/2009/06/17/nerds-hear...
Summary: After Dylan’s mom moved out, his dad threw himself into work and his older brother threw himself into pot. Dylan’s the glue holding the household together, but when his best friend Angie doesn’t see him that way and Dylan gets picked up by the cops, how much longer can the glue hold up?
What I Loved: The engrossing story made me immediately care about Dylan and what he was going through. This is how it start...more
Summary: After Dylan’s mom moved out, his dad threw himself into work and his older brother threw himself into pot. Dylan’s the glue holding the household together, but when his best friend Angie doesn’t see him that way and Dylan gets picked up by the cops, how much longer can the glue hold up?
What I Loved: The engrossing story made me immediately care about Dylan and what he was going through. This is how it start...more
I like reading realistic guy fic. This felt like a portal into the minds of the guys I had crushes on in high school. Dylan is the stable one in his family. His mom left the family just a month or two ago, his dad works all the time as an ob/gyn, his brother is a major pothead whose bandmates are always hanging around the house. His best friend, who he happens to be in love with, is away for the summer.
When we meet him, though, he's being arrested.
Soon after, he begins starring i...more
When we meet him, though, he's being arrested.
Soon after, he begins starring i...more
I have to admit, I checked this out from the library because I liked the cover. It is quite well written and is a good piece of realistic fiction. My only complaint would be that the "good" characters are a little too good. In other words, although they might act out, break the law, and what not, they're all a little too honest and confrontational for me to believe. Dylan himself seems far too talented, hard-working, and honest for a teenager. We all fall... it's okay for the char...more
There's a reason I don't typically like friend/family dramas in teen fiction: they just seem so wishy-washy and, more often than not, too easily "fixed." The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine is no exception. It's an okay book and I feel for Dylan's identity crisis, but he doesn't really have any real conflict, in my opinion. All his problems with his family and friends and potential girlfriend are addressed in turn, but there doesn't seem like there's much passion behind any of it. ...more
Lurie, April. 2008. The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine.
Wow. Wow. Super-wow. You must read this book. I really really enjoyed April Lurie's first book, Brothers, Boyfriends, and Other Criminal Minds though it never did get the proper review since I reviewed it while I had the flu. (Here it is in its entirety: You'll just have to take my word for it that it is fabulous. Set in 1978, it is the story of one girl--her friends, her family, her neighborhood. It all works. It's just a good, g...more
Wow. Wow. Super-wow. You must read this book. I really really enjoyed April Lurie's first book, Brothers, Boyfriends, and Other Criminal Minds though it never did get the proper review since I reviewed it while I had the flu. (Here it is in its entirety: You'll just have to take my word for it that it is fabulous. Set in 1978, it is the story of one girl--her friends, her family, her neighborhood. It all works. It's just a good, g...more
Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com
Life is not easy for Dylan Fontaine. He gets good grades. He is a talented basketball player with a shot at varsity next year. He is a good guitar player and a gifted artist. Basically, he is an All-American, boy-next-door type, so when he is arrested for shoplifting underwear and carrying marijuana in his pocket, it gets people's attention. However, once he explains the weird set of circumstances that led up t...more
Life is not easy for Dylan Fontaine. He gets good grades. He is a talented basketball player with a shot at varsity next year. He is a good guitar player and a gifted artist. Basically, he is an All-American, boy-next-door type, so when he is arrested for shoplifting underwear and carrying marijuana in his pocket, it gets people's attention. However, once he explains the weird set of circumstances that led up t...more
Dylan's mom has left the family. His dad, an OB/GYN, now spends even more time away from the family. His older brother, a talented musician, is content to play in a cover band and get high all the time. Dylan is in love with his best friend, Angie, but he hasn't told her, and they're not speaking now because she's dating a real jerk. Dylan is trying to hold it together, but he's definitely fraying around the edges. Funny and sad and deeply real.
Dylan is the "good" son, a 15 year old with an older brother into his band and "smoking a lot of weed", a mother who has left the family to do an art show in Paris, and a doctor father who works 24/7. A story about family, overcoming loss, anger and finding one's place in the whole scheme of life. An entertaining, insightful read.
This was such a fantastic coming of age story, and an added delight since I'd been to NYC recently and it's all set in Brooklyn and Greenwich Village. April Lurie does a great job rendering the trials of a teenager plagued by the fact that he's the younger brother of an uber-talented sibling who is in the process of becoming a royal screw-up. She also does an amazing job of telling the story in first-person from the perspective of a teenage boy, something that I am rarely able to say of author...more
I think the personality of the main character Dylan changed dramatically from the beggining of the book to the end. At the beggining it seemed like he was afraid of saying how he felt in the situations that were being thrown at him. Dylan really looked after his brother that was being influenced by his band group. Dylan helped play a part in him stoping smoking weed
Elaine
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The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine is a book that I have been waiting to read for over a year now. This book is so great; in some ways, it's even better than April Lurie's other book, Brothers, Boyfriends and Other Criminal Minds. This book... it's so real, yet so imaginative. Lurie does an amazing job and creates each character oh so well, and no too character is too much alike. It's really amazing. Great job April. Wonderous job.
Dylan's life has gone into turmoil. His mother has left the family, his dad works non-stop and his brother has become a pot-smoking fiend. Dylan feels like he is the only responsible family member left and attempts to hold the family together. I enjoyed this book. The author blends both humor and realistic dialogue with believability. However, I was frustrated by the father's character. I felt he was underdeveloped and I never really connected with him.
I think teens, especially thos...more
I think teens, especially thos...more
The main character was a little too good to be true but it was still a good read.
this book was really cool
High school level story of a kid dealing with family issues and romantic feelings for his best female friend. Drug use is also prevalent so not for the younger crowd.
Great story about a teen boy who learns how to be spontaneous and work with what life gives him. More engaging than usual for a 'teen prob' book.
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This is a fine book. I liked reading about Dylan - he seemed like a cool kid - the local color, his life, and his interactions with his brother, his brother's friends, and his parents were realistic and believable. I'm just left with 'enh' - I'm not sure if [it's demonstrated effectively that] Dylan (or I) learned anything from this book. Still, it was fine.
This book was so wonderful, because it was not one of those drama-filled teen stories, nor one of the sugar-coated ones. I swear, this person had to have been a teenager that lived in the east side of austin and went to kealing when she wrote this in order to understand how the teenage mind works so thoroughly. Awesome book, and i have read a lot of books.
BBYA
Dylan is one of those characters that you fall in love with. He is the younger brother of "perfect" Randy but when their mom leaves the family for another man perfect Randy begins his downward spiral. Dylan believes his brother is still a wonderful guy and through his actions keeps Randy from totally losing it all. Great book!!!!
Dylan is one of those characters that you fall in love with. He is the younger brother of "perfect" Randy but when their mom leaves the family for another man perfect Randy begins his downward spiral. Dylan believes his brother is still a wonderful guy and through his actions keeps Randy from totally losing it all. Great book!!!!
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I do think it started off with a bang and then faded a bit. However, Dylan's character and responses to his family crises are spot on. I would even suggest this one as bibliotherapy to teens with divorcing parents.
Teen boy deals with drama in his life after his mom leaves (dad busy with work, brother always stoned). His best friend/secret crush decides to make a documentary about him and it causes him to start taking some risks in his life.
Three and a half stars. After his mom leaves and shakes up his complacent family, straight-arrow teen Dylan loosens up and gets a life. Especially enjoyed the scenes between Dylan and his older stoner brother.
I think I will always be able to read this book. i read it once at Noe's baseball end of season thingy and once recently and it was better than the first time. I love it!!! I would love my own copy!!
Multi-dimensional and earnest characters go a long way toward making this worthwhile. Nice atmospheric New York touches, too.
Staci
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Very similar to the Perks of Being a Wallflower, except Dylan isn't as messed up as Charlie...
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I have the best job in the world - I write books for teens. I'm a former nurse, a native New Yorker, a wife, and a mother of four. I live near Austin, Texas, with my family, and I'm currently working on my next novel.
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