Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

I have listened to yet another James Patterson book–this one written with Chris Tebbetts–and gone through the illustrations, and I’ve come to the conclusion that in general, I want more from a middle grade novel than he provides. Maybe it’s because he’s a mystery writer–maybe it’s because he started out writing for adults–but it’s like he’s orally telling a good story, not writing a novel. If you’re going to write a novel with plot elements of some emotional depth, you should grant those elements true emotional depth, you know? Public School Superhero deals with death and incarceration of caregivers, not to mention child hunger and bullying, and yet its tone feels–surface-y. Kenny ponders on being cool, not being a target for mean kids, and the risk of his grandma finding out about his detention; the big things are given little time, and the novel’s fast-moving feel means what time they’re given comes across as a bit–breezy. Am I making sense? The elements of a great book are there, and yet what we end up with is a fun, shallowly satisfying story. And maybe there’s a need for that, especially among reluctant and/or picky readers, BUT. Is a kid who’s actually experiencing the weightier things going to feel represented in this book? Are two white guys–one middle-aged, one closer to old–qualified to tell the story of an inner-city black middle schooler? And really, what do Kenny’s fantasies about a superhero alter-ego really have to do with the story? Because the tie-in seems weak.

Ultimately, Public School Superhero‘s story kept me reading, and the Ray-Ray plot’s ending was pleasing, but I didn’t feel like any of the characters lived for me, and the book wasn’t powerful. If you want fun stories, Patterson’s probably a good choice, but don’t expect true emotional stretching when you read him–even if it feels like it’s called for. That doesn’t seem to be what he’s going for.