Starred Review. Gr 9 Up–Karl Shoemaker, in group therapy at school since fourth grade, turns a new leaf on the first day of senior year, 1973. His goal is to be normal and avoid therapy while still keeping his friends, who are all part of the Madman Underground. Karl's widowed mother is an alcoholic, hippie, conspiracy-theorist slut who steals his earnings (he has five jobs) for benders. At one time or another, most Madmen are locked out of their houses by drunk or absent parents, or don't go home to avoid getting beaten, or felt up. They depend on one another's hospitality by way of empty basements, open windows, and unlocked cars. Barnes writes with amazing ease and clarity. He has a light, immediate feel for character, and the ensemble of Madmen, teachers, parents, and crotchety townspeople is distinct and fully formed. Dialogue between Karl and this motley crew is mostly hilarious, expletive laden, and consistently flawless. Karl's conversations with Marti, the newest Madman, are among the most heart-melting in teen literature. Barnes's descriptions of small-town Ohio defy the usual pitfalls of the back-when-the-author-was-a-teen setting–Lightsburg is so believably backward it seems timeless. While a moral dilemma may seem an underwhelming plot device, Karl's psychological journey is consistently gripping. His narration is so easy and engaging, so sweet and funny, so astonishingly truthful that teens will rip through these 500-plus pages and want more. Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Starred Review. Gr 9 Up–Karl Shoemaker, in group therapy at school since fourth grade, turns a new leaf on the first day of senior year, 1973. His goal is to be normal and avoid therapy while still keeping his friends, who are all part of the Madman Underground. Karl's widowed mother is an alcoholic, hippie, conspiracy-theorist slut who steals his earnings (he has five jobs) for benders. At one time or another, most Madmen are locked out of their houses by drunk or absent parents, or don't go home to avoid getting beaten, or felt up. They depend on one another's hospitality by way of empty basements, open windows, and unlocked cars. Barnes writes with amazing ease and clarity. He has a light, immediate feel for character, and the ensemble of Madmen, teachers, parents, and crotchety townspeople is distinct and fully formed. Dialogue between Karl and this motley crew is mostly hilarious, expletive laden, and consistently flawless. Karl's conversations with Marti, the newest Madman, are among the most heart-melting in teen literature. Barnes's descriptions of small-town Ohio defy the usual pitfalls of the back-when-the-author-was-a-teen setting–Lightsburg is so believably backward it seems timeless. While a moral dilemma may seem an underwhelming plot device, Karl's psychological journey is consistently gripping. His narration is so easy and engaging, so sweet and funny, so astonishingly truthful that teens will rip through these 500-plus pages and want more. 
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