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Better Nate Than Ever - Tim Federle
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I bought and read this book in a day, because Tim Federle was coming to Maplewood to talk about it as a Gay Pride month event at our local bookstore. This book is intentionally aimed at pre-sexual tweens (and their anxious parents) - at all those boys, like me, who were outsiders in some way in middle school. It is clear that our hero will turn out to be gay - but it is also clear that he is not ready yet, any more than I was at thirteen (or sixteen, for that matter). That's what makes this book such a powerful story - because it cherishes the "different" boys when they need it most. I think this is an important book. And it's not just because the author is adorable.
I'm so glad that Uly mentioned the no-sex thing. I had meant to include it in my review. Believe me, it doesn't miss a thing without any sex (and a lad can look, can't he?This really should go into school libraries all over the country. Unfortunately, the places where it might do the most good, are the place that are least likely to be open to stocking it (other than behind the librarian's desk.)
I can only imagine how much fun Tim Federle must have been in person. Did he make any mention about a follow-up novel (or any novels) that might be in the pipeline?
I think he in fact is writing a sequel. This book is very much about him and his own tween years - but his parents were totally behind (if bemused by) his desire to sing and dance at the age of 11. What I said to him - and in my reviews - was that while Nate is nothing like I was at 13 in any way - every single thing about him resonated with me completely. I was not Nate, but I was another kind of Nate. I was into antiques and stylish clothes and old houses and Dark Shadows. My parents were bemused but supportive - and I had a tough female friend who understood me and encouraged me (and then, ironically, dropped me when I came out to her in college).
And
I
was singing into my hairbrush or comb, and dancing the Watusi or Swim in from of my mom's floor-to-ceiling dressing-room mirror!My parents didn't write me off, but were fairly glad they had my brother, as well. He is the obverse to my drama bitch queen........possibly the worldn't nicest (straightest) guy.
I don'think they ever believed I would turn out to be a doctor like I planned all through high school as well as two-and-a-half years of a UCLA zoology major. Theater Arts........there I came!!!
This one sounds like a ton of fun. I hope to read it soon.
Mod
Excellent Chuck - definitely on my TBR/TBB list.
Mod
Nate was a thoroughly charming character, and you'll find yourself rooting for him in this unlikely adventure. The story is quite funny, most particularly Nate's reactions to what's going on around him.
They say you should write what you know, and author Tim Federle has done just that. He's had small parts in a number of Broadway shows, so he has a good feel for what goes on backstage in the theatre world; the setting seems completely authentic. He's currently writing a series of juvenile/young adult titles set in a performing arts summer camp, which should be interesting.
He's also written a sequel to this book, titled Five, Six, Seven, Nate!, which will be released in three months (January 2014). Only problem is, I want to know what happens next NOW---can't wait!
Highly recommended, and you can be sure I'll be reading additional books by this author.
glad you liked it - I met him when he came to Maplewood to promote his book - he understands the sensitivity of that age so exactly...so what will come next?
Mod
Came across this behind-the-scenes video---Federle comes across as a nice enough fellow:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-NcU...
And his new series sounds promising, too, don't you think? From Publishers Weekly:
David Gale at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers has bought world English rights to a middle-grade series by Tim Federle, author of Better Nate Than Ever and the forthcoming Five, Six, Seven, Nate! The new series, Theater Kid Chronicles, is loosely based on the author's own diaries at a sleepaway theater camp, where he wore a bald cap to play Daddy Warbucks at the age of 12. The first book will launch in spring 2014, with new titles to follow every six months. Brenda Bowen at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates brokered the three-book deal.
A small-town boy hops a bus to New York City to crash an audition for E.T.: The Musical. Nate Foster has big dreams. His whole life, he’s wanted to star in a Broadway show. (Heck, he’d settle for seeing a Broadway show.) But how is Nate supposed to make his dreams come true when he’s stuck in Jankburg, Pennsylvania, where no one (except his best pal Libby) appreciates a good show tune? With Libby’s help, Nate plans a daring overnight escape to New York. There’s an open casting call for E.T.: The Musical, and Nate knows this could be the difference between small-town blues and big-time stardom.
Tim Federle writes a warm and witty debut that's full of broken curfews, second chances, and the adventure of growing up—because sometimes you have to get four hundred miles from your backyard to finally feel at home.
"Do you like waffles?" Freckles says, and I want to say, "is Christine Daaé's high note pre-recorded in 'Phantom'?", but it seems too early in the day for that kind of insider stuff....
...I'll buy time another way: Ask anyone over twenty-nine about their love life and you can stop the clock cold for fifteen minutes, minimum....
If either of these quotes from Better Nate Than Ever got even a ghost of a smile from you, hie thee to thy nearest Amazon or B&N site, and buy the captioned title. I mean it! Buy it......now!
This is the first time I can remember an m/m novel, YA or adult, coming with the imprimatur of a major old-timey publishing house. In this case, this book comes courtesy of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Kudos to them for having the courage to print something that should be in every junior and senior high school library (if not required reading for AP English students.)
This is the story of a little (literally) Jankburg, PA boy, thirteen year-old Nate Foster, who's been taunted his entire life for being "different." So, in order to go somewhere where he might find happiness and acceptance, he heads to NYC to audition for a "real Broadway Show." His adventures there form the body of the story, and they had me literally screaming with laughter, when I wasn't tearing-up (or doing both simultaneously.)
I can only describe the story as Billy Elliot by way of the pie-eating-contest story in Stephen King's novella, The Body, with a soupçon of Auntie Mame thrown-in for the hell of it.
Nate's actual audition for the part of Elliott in E.T.: The Musical had me rocking back and forth (I was in bed) with hysterical laughter. Anyone who has ever had to contend with a "reader of the other sides" in an audition will find this lengthy part of the story side-splitting.
As I mention continuously, I'm up-to-here with YA novels. This novel makes me think I might even be able to tolerate a really well-written werewolf novel (my absolute bête noire (npi) of that most ridiculous of the paranormal sub-genres.) It's that good.
I actually almost didn't read the novel. I had just finished the (dreadful) Slam (No! I won't stop dissing that piece of crap!), and I wasn't ready for another YA novel; particularly since I had just finished a novel, Slam, wherein the MC was a twenty-one year-old man who talked like a thirteen year-old. So I stopped reading Nate after about two or three chapters. (In this story, I must admit, I think Nate speaks a bit better than your average rust-belt thirteen year-old, but I don't care.) This novel is so sweet, heart-warming, and gut-wrenchingly hilarious, that I'm so totally grateful I returned to finish it after reading a couple of grittier m/m stories
I realize I'm likely to lose my "who-does-that-bastard-think-he-is?" cred for stomping on the hearts of books because of my recent love for the books I've been reading, but when they're this good, I don't give a damn.
Do yourselves a favor, if you can possibly tolerate a YA novel, and get this one. It might change your way of approaching them; it certainly did with me.
And keep an eye out for further novels from Federle; this is only his first novel of many, I fervently hope.