Review: WISE YOUNG FOOL by Sean Beaudoin

The latest from Sean Beaudoin, WISE YOUNG FOOL, is the kind of book that sits with you.  The characters feel real, like people you’ve just spent a bunch of time hanging out with, and closing the book feels like saying goodbye.  And rather than review this book, I feel like Richie Sudden would be okay with me making a short list of things you should know about WISE YOUNG FOOL before you dive in. (Which you should, it’s fantastic.)

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, August 2013.

1. Richie Sudden, our hero, narrates this story alternating between segments before he ended up on juvie and in journal entries that narrate his experience in juvie.  Sean Beaudoin executes this method with all the cleverness you’d expect from the master of snark.

2. If you haven’t recently brushed up on your classic rock references, Richie and his cohorts will give you a run for your money.  Watch for the Def Leppard drummer joke in chapter 8.

3. Parental figures in this book are actually present, and flawed, and interesting.  Richie is generally unhappy with most of these authorities, but, then again, that’s his job as a high school year old metal head.

4. The worst thing that could possibly happen to Richie is to miss and/or lose the forthcoming battle of the bands event. His best friend is counting on him.  And, whether Richie knows it or not, so is his future.

5. Of course that’s all before juvie, where the worst thing that could happen to him is Spence Proffer and his sadistic fight club.

6. And then there’s Ravenna.  She’s really, really, really hot.

WISE YOUNG FOOL is stupid good.  It’s thrilling, it’s charming, it’s witty, and it’s a book you clearly need to get your hands on.