Missing the Piano

by Adam Rapp

Just last week, Michael Tegoff was a normal fifteen-year-old guy.

He was looking forward to the new school year and planning to try out for the basketball team. Then his father and stepmother dumped him at St. Matthew's Military Academy.

St. Matthew's calls itself a place "where boys become men," but Mike doesn't want to be the kind of man St Mathew's wants to make him. The cadets are bullies, the rules make no sense, and Mike's only recourse is to just hang on tight and try not to forget there's a real world out past the school walls...

Genres: Realistic Fiction

243 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1994

About the author

Adam Rapp says that when he was working on his chilling, compulsively readable young adult novel 33 SNOWFISH, he was haunted by several questions. Among them: "When we have nowhere to go, who do we turn to? Why are we sometimes drawn to those who are deeply troubled? How far do we have to run before we find new possibilities?"

At once harrowing and hypnotic, 33 SNOWFISH--which was nominated as a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association--follows three troubled young people on the run in a stolen car with a kidnapped baby in tow. With the language of the street and lyrical prose, Adam Rapp hurtles the reader into the world of lost children, a world that is not for the faint of heart. His narration captures the voices of two damaged souls (a third speaks only through drawings) to tell a story of alienation, deprivation, and ultimately, the saving power of compassion. "For those readers who are ready to be challenged by a serious work of shockingly realistic fiction," notes SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, "it invites both an emotional and intellectual response, and begs to be discussed."

Adam Rapp’s first novel, MISSING THE PIANO, was named a Best Book for Young Adults as well as a Best Book for Reluctant Readers by the American Library Association. His subsequent titles include THE BUFFALO TREE, THE COPPER ELEPHANT, and LITTLE CHICAGO, which was chosen as a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age. The author’s raw, stream-of-consciousness writing style has earned him critical acclaim. "Rapp’s prose is powerful, graphic and haunting," says SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL. [He] writes in an earthy but adept language," says KIRKUS REVIEWS. "Takes a mesmerizing hold on the reader," adds HORN BOOK MAGAZINE.

In addition to being a novelist, Adam Rapp is also an accomplished and award-winning playwright. His plays--including NOCTURNE, ANIMALS AND PLANTS, BLACKBIRD, and STONE COLD DEAD SERIOUS--have been produced by the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the New York Theatre Workshop, and the Bush Theatre in London, among other venues.

Born and raised in Chicago, the novelist and playwright now lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mike's sister, Alice, is about to go on tour with Les Miserable. Because she's only 9, her mother will go with her. So, Mike goes to stay with his dad and his new wife, Rayne. Soon, Rayne insists that Mike be sent to boarding school. To be specific St. Matthews Military Academy. He runs afoul of his Staff Sgt. almost immediately, and Mike finds his close scrutiny rather unnerving. The only bright spot in Mike's first days is the addition of Truvoy, his football-playing roommate. But Truvoy has his own problems dealing with the racial prejudice on campus.

[Andrea Celeste · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like it at all.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Missing the Piano is a really good book. If you like basketball and you are a military kinda person you would really like this book. At the start the main character is living with his mom and sister ans his sister gets a big part in a play. He ends up staying with his dad and step mom and they send him to a military schools where he faces very hard situtations and he has to grow up some. It really shows that you can overcome anything thrown at you in life if you work for it. Very recommended book!

[Int'l librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a severe identity crisis. Mike, the narrator, looks about 13 on the cover of our library edition – all fresh-faced and cute. He’s a nice boy – smart, good at basketball. But he talks like a bitter college undergrad. It took me more than a chapter to figure out he just finished middle school. But then his divorced mom and dad essentially give up on parenting, and send him away to military school. It might as well be a boot camp – again an R rating applies. Lots of swearing and violence and talk of sex. To make it worse, Mike has a 9-year-old sister who thinks and talks like a sorority girl. It’s impossible for me to get past these complications, which is a shame, because otherwise this is a great story of bullying and hazing, and how mean teens can be to each other. A lot like The Chocolate War, or The Lords of Discipline. Whatever else it is, it isn’t a middle school book – no matter what the cover suggests.

[ACS Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a severe identity crisis. Mike, the narrator, looks about 13 on the cover of our library edition 13 all fresh-faced and cute. He 19s a nice boy 13 smart, good at basketball. But he talks like a bitter college undergrad. It took me more than a chapter to figure out he just finished middle school. But then his divorced mom and dad essentially give up on parenting, and send him away to military school. It might as well be a boot camp 13 again an R rating applies. Lots of swearing and violence and talk of sex. To make it worse, Mike has a 9-year-old sister who thinks and talks like a sorority girl. It 19s impossible for me to get past these complications, which is a shame, because otherwise this is a great story of bullying and hazing, and how mean teens can be to each other. A lot like The Chocolate War, or The Lords of Discipline. Whatever else it is, it isn 19t a middle school book 13 no matter what the cover suggests.

[lucy black · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book cos I really liked Under the Wolf, Under the Dog. Missing the Piano has the same internal monologue and teenage eccentric narrator, which I enjoyed but it was a lame plot and a bunch of cliches. I would recommend people read some of Adam Rapp's other stuff before this.

[Ben Pfeffer]

Q-2
Genre- Fic.

[Stephanie A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess it's interesting if you want a book set in military school. I thought I did, but this was too rough around the edges and I never connected to the main character.