Customer Reviews

Beige

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Beige/Katy is dumped into the Punk rock scene with her father in L.A. and is a fish out of water. But she figures it out. That was the fun part. The really great stuff, though, is the characters and their relationships with each other. I fell in love with Rat, despite his weird hair and inability to dress himself. I liked Lake Suck in the end, which is a trick because at the beginning she is very unlikeable. Cecil is so good at this, making you love characters you think you must hate. She did the same thing in Queen of Cool.

Buy this book! You'll be glad you did.

When Katy is shipped off to Los Angeles to live with her father for the summer, she is less than pleased. Why couldn't she stay in Canada, or go with her sensible mother on her trip? After all, her father is Beau Ratner, the aging punk rocker known by his fans as "The Rat."

Katy is not a punk rock kind of girl. She's not even a music kind of girl. Katy's a good girl. Even if that means keeping it all inside. Even if that means hating everything to do with music--everything that, all those years ago, made her mother run off, do drugs, sleep with "The Rat," and get pregnant with Katy.

BEIGE is a fantastic novel, and Cecil Castellucci is a very talented writer. Her characters are wonderfully real and fresh. Her story is absorbing enough to be read all in one sitting (so start this one on an empty Saturday!). BEIGE is an honest, real, intelligent, and very well-written book for music lovers and those of us who can't tell the difference between the great and the popular alike!

It's a good music story, sure, but, more than that, it's a wonderful and amazingly good life story. BEIGE is one of my top picks for 2007 so far, and I'm definitely moving Cecil Castellucci's other two teen novels (Boy Proof and The Queen of Cool) up on my to-read list.

Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce

Beige is an amazing read. When I started reading the book, I didn't think I was going to be able to relate to any of the characters. The roster contains Katy, our narrator, who let's face it, is one of those typical teen girls who never sticks up for herself and represses all her feelings, keeping them bottled up until she explodes. I hate characters like that. Then there's the free-spirited mom, totally oblivious to her daughter's pain. There's the father who never grew up. And then we have Lake, who is one of those people that thinks "really original" can only mean one thing. That goes around insulting everyone who isn't punk.

But Castellucci treats her characters with a velvet glove. You get inside their heads and see the true heart through the rough edges.

Katy is going to spend the summer with the RAT, her punk rocker father who is the drummer for a once infamous band named Suck. She would much rather be in Peru with her free-spirited mother, excavating caves and stuff.

The Rat lives in a hovel hole of an apartment and is totally wrapped up in making Suck live again. He bribes the daughter of Sam Suck, Lake, into "baby-sitting" Katy during the day. Lake thinks Katy is totally boring and beige. Katy quietly goes about her business, biding her time until her Mom might call and say it's time to go home. But when that call gets delayed, Katy has to survive on her own in a world that feels foreign. Katy spends her days listening to the musical hopes of Lake and being schooled in the way of the punk.

The book is about Katy creating her own version of original and sticking to it. I was very happy that she didn't just become punk. She learns the Sam Suck punk mantra, but she doesn't just jump on the bandwagon. And she comes up with her own way of making music.

The best think about Beige is that you could hand this book to so many teens. Your razor-edged teens will enjoy the punk scene, while more conservative minded teens will relate to Katy's feelings of being an outsider in this environment. I think guys will enjoy it, too. Each chapter lists the name of a band and song that teens could listen to while they are reading the book.

Beige is an adorable novel that will appeal to all those who have music in their hearts. When Katy is forced to spend a summer in Los Angeles with her aging rockstar father, she believes it'll turn out to be the worst summer of her life. However, things change as Katy starts to meet exciting new people who prove to her that being `beige' isn't all she wants to be. This was a definitely a cute read, but I was expecting a bit more depth from the characters. Instead, they were too young for me to fully connect with them and this stopped me from enjoying the story as much as I should have. I did enjoy Katy's friendship with Lake, this felt to me the most realistic relationship in the novel. I recommend this to anyone who loves music, particularly punk, and wants a book that doesn't involve too much thinking.

Beige is a really fun read. Its the classic 'exiled teen' plot, but its also a great coming of age novel (which if you haven't guessed by now I love coming of age novels) about a girl who never really got to know her father growing up, who suddenly finds herself in the position of having to go live with him for a while.

Beige is about identity, throughout the book Katy isn't only trying to find her place in Los Angeles but she's also kind of unknowingly growing into herself, into her own person.

At the beginning of the book she's OK with not showing her real feelings, with passing it all off with a polite smile. But by the end, she's OK with expressing how she feels. She's more in tune with herself, and is just beginning to figure out who she is.

Yes part of what I loved about this book was it being strongly and firmly based around music. But hey that's just me; i think it brought the edge to the story.

One little detail i LOVED about this book, was the way the chapters are divided. Each chapter is the name of a song and a band, that song represents the chapter. The song is not the only reason that Cherry Balm is my favorite chapter.

There where parts of this book I loved and others not so much...

But in a whole Beige is a great, fun and intense read. I will definitely be reading more of Castellucci's work.

I got this a while back, but I've held it off until recently. I shouldn't have doubted Beige, because I only missed out on reading a fun read sooner. The story line was pretty typical in itself, but Cecil made the story fun. Cecil has a very sweet voice, and so reading was easy.

Also, '"Consider this pure Nirvana" -Booklist' is what's quoted on the cover. Ohmygoodnes, YES! You don't know how often I dropped my book to search whatever band Cecil wrote about. It wasn't just any song list either... you could tell that she took the time to carefully compile her playlist making sure that it actually fit the story. While listening to whatever song, I could totally get how it might have reminded Cecil of whatever moment in the book. It was so much fun, and probably my favorite part, reading the musical aspect of Beige!

After maybe 3(ish. The book has a large font!) hours of reading, I came out feeling super excited to read Cecil's other titles, and super excited to create my own playlist. Oh yeah, and I have maybe 10+ new songs on my iPod now! :)

Hope you enjoy this,
Hannah

Some books just transport you, the combination of writing about music, the recommended play list and the story itself will do that with this story. The story is about a teenage girl from Montreal going to L.A. to spend a few weeks with her estranged father the legendary and infamous rocker The Rat from the band Suck. Katy feels like she has been exiled, her mother has gone to Peru for her PhD thesis. Katy does not know anyone, does not want to be there and does not know how to communicate her true feelings. Yet even with that this book is full of surprises.

Katy gets to know her father, and his band mate Sam Suck, Sam's daughter Lake and her father's girlfriend Trixie. She meets two boys, cool, athletic, Leo and nerdy Garth. Shortly after her arrival Katy thinks "For some people, clutter is ok. They can live amid chaos but not me. For me, piles of things on top of things scattered on things equals me not being able to think straight. A Mess actually hurts me physically." p.13 As soon as a read that I was hooked and knew that I would like Katy if we were to meet in real life.

This book comes with a recommended playlist, by about the third chapters I pulled it together and listened to it while reading the book. It really does enhance the book.

Beige's Exclusive Punk Playlist!
1. No Way - Adolescents
2. Too Drunk to F**k - Dead Kennedys
3. Hanging on the Telephone - Blondie
4. Spellbound - Siouxsie and the Banshees
5. Lexicon Devil - The Germs
6. Body Bag - NoMeansNo
7. S**t from an Old Notebook - The Minutemen
8. In the City - The Jam
9. Tattooed Love Boys - The Pretenders
10. U. Suck A. / We're Fed Up - Scream
11. F**K Armageddon ... This is Hell - Bad Religion
12. Institutionalized - Suicidal Tendencies
13. Los Angeles - X
14. Oh Bondage, Up Yours! - X-Ray Spex
15. Live Fast Die Young - Circle Jerks

But one of the unique features of this book is that instead of chapter titles or numbers each chapter heading is a song and a band. I created a second playlist with those to listen to also:

Los Angeles - X
Amoeba - Adolescents
Rebel Waltz - The Clash
Holiday in Cambodia - Dead Kennedys
California Uber Alles - Dead Kennedys
Blister in the Sun - Violent Femmes
Girl U Want - Devo
Walking in L.A. - Missing Person
Roots Radical - Rancid
This Town - The Go-Go's
Beat on the Brat - The Ramones
Waiting Room - Fugazi
F**K Armageddon ... This is Hell - Bad Religion
Live Fast Die Young - Circle Jerks
Sheena is a Punk Rocker - The Ramones
Search and Destroy - The Stooges
Rock the Casbah - The Clash
I Wanna Be Your Dog - The Stooges
(I'm) Stranded - The Saints
I Don't Wanna Hear it - Minor Threat
Institutionalized - Suicidal Tendencies
Ruby Soho - Rancid
Damaged - Black Flag
Anarchy in the U.K. - The Sex Pistols
Lexicon Devil - The Germs
S**t From An Old Notebook - The Minutemen
We've Got The Neutron Bomb - The Wierdos
The Crew - 7 Seconds
Love Buzz - Nirvana
Six Pack Girl - NOFX
Oh Bondage, Up Yours! - X-Ray Spex
Cherry Bomb - The Runaways
We Got The Beat - The Go-Go's
Mommy's Little Monster - Social Distortion
Blank Generation - Richard Hell
Everything Sucks - The Descendents
U. Suck A. / We're Fed Up - Scream
Sonic Reducer - Dead Boys
Kick Out The Jams - MC5
Group Sex - Circle Jerks
No Way - Adolescents
Sound and Fury - Youth Brigade
Germ Free Adolescents - X-Ray Spex
Spellbound - Siouxsie and the Banshees
Should I Stay Or Should I Go - The Clash

I am already planning on rereading this book at least twice more. The first time I will listen to the chapter song while reading that chapter. The second I will listen to the two albums by the authors, Nerdy Girl Twist Her and Cecil Seaskull Whoever, I can't wait to read her book while listing to her music.

Some books just transport you, the combination of writing about music, the recommended play list and the story itself will do that with this story. The story is about a teenage girl from Montreal going to L.A. to spend a few weeks with her estranged father the legendary and infamous rocker The Rat from the band Suck. Katy feels like she has been exiled, her mother has gone to Peru for her PhD thesis. Katy does not know anyone, does not want to be there and does not know how to communicate her true feelings. Yet even with that this book is full of surprises.

Katy gets to know her father, and his band mate Sam Suck, Sam's daughter Lake and her father's girlfriend Trixie. She meets two boys, cool, athletic, Leo and nerdy Garth. Shortly after her arrival Katy thinks "For some people, clutter is ok. They can live amid chaos but not me. For me, piles of things on top of things scattered on things equals me not being able to think straight. A Mess actually hurts me physically." p.13 As soon as a read that I was hooked and knew that I would like Katy if we were to meet in real life.

This book comes with a recommended playlist, by about the third chapters I pulled it together and listened to it while reading the book. It really does enhance the book.

Beige's Exclusive Punk Playlist!
1. No Way - Adolescents
2. Too Drunk to F**k - Dead Kennedys
3. Hanging on the Telephone - Blondie
4. Spellbound - Siouxsie and the Banshees
5. Lexicon Devil - The Germs
6. Body Bag - NoMeansNo
7. S**t from an Old Notebook - The Minutemen
8. In the City - The Jam
9. Tattooed Love Boys - The Pretenders
10. U. Suck A. / We're Fed Up - Scream
11. F**K Armageddon ... This is Hell - Bad Religion
12. Institutionalized - Suicidal Tendencies
13. Los Angeles - X
14. Oh Bondage, Up Yours! - X-Ray Spex
15. Live Fast Die Young - Circle Jerks

But one of the unique features of this book is that instead of chapter titles or numbers each chapter heading is a song and a band. I created a second playlist with those to listen to also:

Los Angeles - X
Amoeba - Adolescents
Rebel Waltz - The Clash
Holiday in Cambodia - Dead Kennedys
California Uber Alles - Dead Kennedys
Blister in the Sun - Violent Femmes
Girl U Want - Devo
Walking in L.A. - Missing Person
Roots Radical - Rancid
This Town - The Go-Go's
Beat on the Brat - The Ramones
Waiting Room - Fugazi
F**K Armageddon ... This is Hell - Bad Religion
Live Fast Die Young - Circle Jerks
Sheena is a Punk Rocker - The Ramones
Search and Destroy - The Stooges
Rock the Casbah - The Clash
I Wanna Be Your Dog - The Stooges
(I'm) Stranded - The Saints
I Don't Wanna Hear it - Minor Threat
Institutionalized - Suicidal Tendencies
Ruby Soho - Rancid
Damaged - Black Flag
Anarchy in the U.K. - The Sex Pistols
Lexicon Devil - The Germs
S**t From An Old Notebook - The Minutemen
We've Got The Neutron Bomb - The Wierdos
The Crew - 7 Seconds
Love Buzz - Nirvana
Six Pack Girl - NOFX
Oh Bondage, Up Yours! - X-Ray Spex
Cherry Bomb - The Runaways
We Got The Beat - The Go-Go's
Mommy's Little Monster - Social Distortion
Blank Generation - Richard Hell
Everything Sucks - The Descendents
U. Suck A. / We're Fed Up - Scream
Sonic Reducer - Dead Boys
Kick Out The Jams - MC5
Group Sex - Circle Jerks
No Way - Adolescents
Sound and Fury - Youth Brigade
Germ Free Adolescents - X-Ray Spex
Spellbound - Siouxsie and the Banshees
Should I Stay Or Should I Go - The Clash

I am already planning on rereading this book at least twice more. The first time I will listen to the chapter song while reading that chapter. The second I will listen to the two albums by the authors, Nerdy Girl Twist Her and Cecil Seaskull Whoever, I can't wait to read her book while listing to her music.

Meaning not sugary but friendly; with a fresh POV: Punk bands as seen and heard by the teenaged daughter of one of the musicians; one who prefers boy bands when she likes to listen to music at all.

By the end of the book I immediately began wondering whether there was a sequel, I'd come to love the characters and wanted to know what else happens to them. I don't know how you judge if a book is any good or not, but that's a big red neon sign for me.

I really enjoyed reading this, even though I'm probably more than 20 years out of the book's age range...

Katy's summer vacation is not exactly what she had in mind. When her mother goes to Peru for an archaeological dig, Katy is exiled from her beloved home of Montreal to crazy Los Angeles with her stranger-than-strange father, who she hasn't seen since she was seven years old. The last time he visited her and her mom, he was caught trying to bring drugs into Canada. Now he's banned from that country for life.

Both Katy's parents are recovering addicts who met in the world of sex, drugs and rock 'n roll. Beau Ratner (aka "The Rat") was the drummer for the infamous band, Suck. When her mother (who was a groupie) got pregnant, she moved to Montreal and got clean. It took years for The Rat to give up drugs, and his only real relationship with his daughter has been through emails, phone calls and letters.

Katy feels like a fish out of water in L.A. She is a nice, polite girl who smiles even when she's unhappy. She doesn't like music and would rather spend her time reading books from the library. When she first sees her dad's band perform at a party, she feels sick. "They yell beside me and around me while I shrink to the smallest size I ever was. Small like a child. Like a frightened mouse."

The Rat's best friend and bandmate, Sam Suck, has a teenage daughter, Lake, who gets bribed with gift certificates to Guitar Center to spend time with Katy. Lake Suck is into music, has her own band and writes manifestos on her rehearsal space's wall. As a commentary on Katy's very unpunkrock style, Lake nicknames her "Beige." And in L.A. that is exactly how Katy feels. Very, very beige.

As her summer unfurls, however, Katy encounters many surprises. She learns more about her family history and her father, but also realizes that she doesn't have to be that polite, smiling, beige girl all the time. Maybe it's okay to live the punk rock lifestyle every once in a while and let things out.

BEIGE is a quirky, fun read with characters that burst off the page. The plight of Katy is sad yet funny, and will grip readers from start to finish. The multitalented Cecil Castellucci is a musician herself who clearly knows the music-related material well, which makes the story truly realistic. Teens will enjoy the mix-CD-type chapter heads that list names of artists and songs. Also, there is a bit of punk rock history scattered throughout the book.

--- Reviewed by Kristi Olson