Mari is a typical teenager in many ways. Naïve in many ways, living by and through art (classical and modern), and unable to speak about her emotional needs. It’s always hard for an adult writer to create such a character. So often angsty teenagers are clichéd or unlikable or they just seem plain unreal.
Here, however, the author does a good job. There were times I wanted to shake Mari because she reminded me of know-it-all teenagers who think they are free from danger. Other times I remembered my younger days when being allowed to hang out with older trendy types seemed like the greatest thing that could happen to a person.
The story takes place in the past, in the Reagan era, but it doesn’t feel nostalgic or old-fashioned. Its geographical setting is New York City, my old haunt. Magdalena ball does a great job in showing the dangers of the New York art scene. This is not a book about someone falling into debauchery and those folks who like a happy read shouldn’t buy it. It’s a triumphant book and teenagers will like it, although they may react differently to many of the poetic passages.
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