The Blonde of the Joke [Hardcover]

Bennett Madison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 25, 2009

"There are three and only three rules for shoplifting," Francie instructed me.

From the very first day Val meets the outrageously blond Francie, she realizes that Francie has the gutsy courage and determination Val has always envied. But Francie sees something in Val too—something that Val's never noticed. "You've got that sneaky thing about you," she says. "I bet you have a dark past."

And just like that, the blonde and the brunette become partners in crime.

Thanks to Francie, Val is suddenly taking risks, taking charge, and taking what she deserves. But as the stakes get higher, Francie and Val find themselves more and more tangled in a thrilling web of love, lies, and shoplifting. Soon it becomes clear that the darkest secrets have yet to be discovered. . . .

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up—Val, friendless and adrift, finds Francie and adopts her religious devotion to slutty ensembles and shoplifting. Off-kilter humor, moody narration, and twisted psychology make this sardonic exploration of suburbia thrilling—like pocketing lip gloss and walking right out of the store. In Madison's hands, tacky becomes fabulous and wrong weirdly morphs into holy. The girls rock conservative Sandra Dee High with gold lamé hot pants, big boobs, bigger hair, and heavy eyeliner. They travel daily to the glimmering Montgomery Shoppingtowne Mall to perfect the black art of stealing. Val and Francie zealously try to strip the place to its cement foundation. Contempt for false edifice and for the superficial frameworks behind home, school, and the mall fuel their obsessive devotion to thievery. Analytical readers will recognize metaphorical expressions of teen malaise throughout. A circuitous creek strings together teens living inside cookie-cutter houses with unnaturally green yards. However, Madison's metaphors, while fascinating, often remain too murky, and character motivations remain unclear. When Val finally dumps Francie, readers aren't exactly sure why. Francie's unfunny blond jokes and even Val's mysteriously dying brother never feel fully worked out, perhaps even in the author's mind. But Madison's tinkering with unclear, unexplained happenings also provides this imaginative novel with its wild-haired beauty. Dreamy collisions of reality and fantasy, of the nonsensical and impossible, make for a magical, slippery read.—Shelley Huntington, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“Madison’s honest and darkly comic prose takes this mall-rat tale to mythical heights. The punchline is definitely bittersweet and will leave a good many readers anticipating Madison’s next book.” (Booklist )

“You will fall in love with The Blonde of the Joke the moment you enter its mall-wandering, skater-boy loving, dark secret-hiding world. Poetic and punchy, sarcastic and true, I gobbled this up and was left wanting so much more.” (Sara Shepard, author of the New York Times bestselling Pretty Little Liars series )

“A ridiculous, riotous, tongue-in-cheek mad dash through the mall where everything is not as it seems and where the cheap jokes and the bounty grow like apples on trees.” (Kirkus Reviews )

“Madison’s dreamlike prose imbues the most ordinary moments with cosmic significance. Readers will soak up every bit.” (Publishers Weekly )

“Off-kilter humor, moody narration, and twisted psychology make this sardonic exploration of suburbia thrilling-like pocketing lip gloss and walking right out of the store.” (School Library Journal )

“The Blonde of the Joke turns a dull suburban landscape into a mythical place, full of treasure, inner demons, and transformations. Bennett Madison is one of the best YA writers around and this is his sharpest book to date.” (Maureen Johnson, author of Suite Scarlett and 13 Little Blue Envelopes )

“A delightfully wicked book—a supersexy celebration of good girls gone bad, and a haunting ode to teenage rebellion.” (James St. James, author of Freak Show )

“This wickedly funny novel has it all—style, depth, bite, and a punch line you won’t be able to forget.” (Sarah Mlynowski, co-author of How to be Bad )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen; First Edition edition (August 25, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061255602
• ISBN-13: 978-0061255601
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,213,124 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bennett Madison grew up in suburban Maryland, where he spent most of his youth skipping class and not doing his homework. He attended Sarah Lawrence College, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York, where he writes the Lulu Dark series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who really is the blonde of the joke?, August 27, 2009

By 

The Book Muncher (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Blonde of the Joke (Hardcover)

Before Francie Knight comes along, Valentina is pretty much a nothing. She has no more friends since they all moved away. Francie and Valentina seem to be total opposites; Francie is the big-haired blonde, the girl that catches everyone's attention, but Val is the brunette, the quiet one that fades into the background. They would make the most unlikely duo. However, the day that Francie calls out Val's name in the mall, Val knows her life will never be the same. And it isn't. The two new friends team up to shoplift, a new skill for Val but an old one for Francie. According to Francie, they don't steal because they want something, but because it already belongs to them. But a talent for shoplifting and Francie's unpredictable attitude change Val and leaves the reader thinking, who really is the blonde of the joke?
The Blonde of the Joke was a funny and impressive novel. Francie isn't completely likable because of all the lies she tells and just how she comes off as a jerk. As the novel progresses, though, cracks begin to show in her pretty mask, and Val begins to see that Francie really isn't such a great person. I didn't really like Val that much either. At first, she was a loner who basically pitied herself all the time; then she became slightly more likable when she became friends with Francie. However, in the end, Val turned out to be worse than Francie. Even though I didn't like the characters, I really loved the story. Throughout the novel, there's this constant wanting for more that both friends feel. It's so strong that it almost takes over their lives, but while one of the them learns that she can't depend on shoplifting, the other gets caught.


The Blonde of the Joke is actually pretty confusing, but one of the messages is pretty clear: sometimes, the only person you can depend on is yourself. I recommend this novel for people looking for a though-provoking read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting Review: The Blonde Of The Joke, October 6, 2009

By 

Enchanting Reviews "Lisa" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Blonde of the Joke (Hardcover)

THE BLONDE OF THE JOKE
BENNETT MADISON
YA contemporary
Harper Collins

Rating: 4 Enchantments

Val knew there was something different about Francie the first day she showed up in her Physics class. Blonde, brass, and gutsy, Francie was everything Val wanted to be. Then Francie decides to let her become her partner in shoplifting at the upscale mall. So both the mousy brunette and flashy blonde go on a wild ride of stealing. Francie sees something in Val, a wild streak. Val is unaware of this hidden part of herself. The risks for stealing get higher and both of them continue to shoplift. Along the way other secrets are revealed. Secrets that will either bring them closer or pull them apart.

I enjoy this story of a teen, who felt invisible at her school until Francie appears in her life. The voice is unique and engaging. At times hilarious and sarcastic, you can't help but be entertained. Francie is at times way over the top in her outrageous behavior. I could see why Val would be attracted to her. Val at first seems gullible but in fact is stronger than she thinks. The only thing I felt was missing was the secret of Val's dying brother. And the ending tended to be a bit abrupt.

The secrets of shoplifting were very revealing. Who knew what a simple rubber band could accomplish? What makes this book engaging is how Val opens up from her shell to the very end when she makes a final decision that turns her life upside down.

Bennett Madison learned everything about shoplifting from working at the Gap. He lives in New York City. You can visit him at [...]

Kim
ENCHANTING REVIEWS
August 09

2.0 out of 5 stars A very uneven novel, March 25, 2011

By 

Mr. Heller - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Blonde of the Joke (Hardcover)

The Blonde of the Joke is a story of Valentina Martinez and her journey of self-discovery over her freshman year at Sandra Dee High. To start, Val is the typical loner almost all characters in YA novels are; Friendless, invisible, irritating mother, pretty much fading into the background of a typical suburban malaise. She meets her opposite in Francie, who is brash, outspoken, and spectacularly sticks out in this cookie cutter world.

Much to Val's suprise, Francie notices her out of the background, and a friendship develops at a shopping mall, where Francie's fantastic stories of the Holy Grail and taking over the world spellbind the timid Val, bringing her under Francie's spell and embarking on a year long shoplifting spree.

Slowly, though, the realationship falls apart over the year, as secrets in each of their lives interfere with their relationship. The spell Francie casts over Val slowly fades away, as Val hardens and learns that she has to depend on herself.

The first third of this novel was very enjoyable, as the relationship between the girls develop. The narrative, however, falls apart soon after, as the character motivations become murkey, major characters appear with little depth (such as Jesse, Liz, Sandy, and especially Max), and Val morphs from a sympathetic to unlikeable character. Val's relationship with her brother, a major motivator if the story, is never fully explained(he's dying and unreliable...that's about all we get). Likewise, Francie's mother, the primary factor in her breakdown, is never fleshed out(she's mentally ill and unreliable...that's about it).

The author Bennett Madison, while certainly gifted in prose, spends too much time and energy letting Val narrate her feelings rather than explaining what is going on. As an adult male, it is naturally difficult for Mr. Madison to try and fully express the thoughts and reactions of a 14 year old girl, and while his attempt is admirable, he falls short. He turns Val into an angst monster motivated by God knows what, rather than a complete character.