Valerie Hurley

This book has made me wonder about categorizations, particularly the boundaries of young adult fiction and of chick lit. I found this book in the adult fiction section of the library (the Beaverbrook branch of the Ottawa Public Library) but it appears it may be a young adult novel, as there exists at least one review of it (by Amanda MacGregor, available for sale in digital format from Amazon.com) that categorizes it so. Given that the heroine of the story, Raine Rasseby, is a teenager throughout the course of the novel, this is not an implausible categorization. However, there are books intended for an adult audience (a term I mean to be broad enough to include teenagers, or young adults, reading fiction not intended exclusively for them) in which the main characters are teenagers (Stephen King’s Carrie comes immediately to mind). So the age of the characters itself is insufficient to make a novel a young adult one. Ultimately, I don’t believe this particular book is a young adult one, though it could certainly be read and enjoyed by teenagers but it would appeal to a wider audience as well.

Secondly, is this chick lit? I pose the question because when I picked it out from the library, I was specifically looking for chick lit and I was drawn to this book. The title, the cover design and the size of the book all made me think it was chick lit. Upon reading it, I found there were other chick lit indicators, most notably the inclusion of diary entries as part of the text. And humour. I laughed out loud at least twice (and that’s notable because with books, I normally keep my laughter on the inside); when Raine was discussing sex with her father (at her instigation) and when Raine asked Mary, her own caregiver, to be her baby’s father (because she didn’t think gender should get in the way of fatherhood). Hilarious!

But despite these possible markers of young adult fiction or chick lit, this book transcends these genres. It is meant to appeal to a wider audience and have longer staying power. The author demonstrates an exquisite use of language. (Not that the above two genres preclude the exquisite use of language.) This is truly an outstanding work of literature. Reviewers on Amazon.com and elsewhere (see the author’s website for links: http://valeriehurley.com/ for links) have recognized this.

So far, I’ve only mentioned Raine as the main character, whereas if you read any synopsis or review of the book, you will soon learn that her guidance counsellor, Al Klepetar, also plays a prominent role in the story.

But, for me, it’s all about Raine. Raine is unique, not in the you’re-unique-just-like-everyone-else sense, but in the sense that she does things, says things, thinks things that very few people ever would. And so endearing. So out there and absurd and loveable and memorable. Wow!

This book was such a treat.… (más)