Customer Reviews

Dani Noir

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Confession: I am not a tween. I am...uh...I am the age of someone who could be the mother of a tween. But I read this book anyway, with no affinity for noir movies and uh, being outside the age range of the book's audience. I do, however, have an affinity for sharp writing, a voice I can fall in love with, characters I can root for over the span of 100+ pages, and a plot that takes me out of my life and into the life of said characters.

Nova Ren Suma hits it out of the ballpark with Dani's voice and the characters in this novel. Dani's struggles with friendships, alienation, a long summer, and family are universal themes for everyone, including tweens, and so she is someone most readers can and will relate to. Additionally, Suma's writing is so sharp, the story so detailed, that I even found myself being very interested in noir movies, a genre that Suma uses to great effect in this novel, and uses in a way that doesn't exclude me as someone who isn't familiar with the noir movie genre--it is a great use of the metaphor and I loved it, so much so that I am wishing for a sequel to this book. I'd love to follow Dani's trajectory as she grows up--and I'm thinking tween readers would, too.

I wish this book existed when I was a tween.

Dani Callanzano is thirteen, going into eighth grade, and living a ho-hum life in Shanosha, New York. Craving the dramatics of the noir films she loves, run at the town's Little Art theatre, Dani is intrigued when a mysterious girl in polka dot tights appears. Soon she's investigating strange circumstances, just like her celluloid heroes. But in solving the mystery, Dani discovers there's more to it and her life than she ever thought possible. Since I love classic movies and anything that is "noir," I knew I'd love this novel. Who couldn't love a novel that namedrops Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles? I was right - there's a lot to love.

One of the big strengths of Dani Noir, author Nova Ren Suma's style of writing is cinematic, with each word easily conjuring images in the viewer's mind. Here the screenwriting adage "show, don't tell" is followed - we can visualize Dani's quiet life easily.

"A slow fade-in on my life: There's this little mountain town, smack between two long highways that go nowhere in either direction. There's the one supermarket, the one movie theater, the one Chinese restaurant. But there are about twelve different places to buy junk for your lawn."

Yet there's a conversational tone, like you're talking to your best friend. It's hard to believe that Suma isn't a teen herself, the dialogue is that accurate, that real. You'll see a little bit of yourself and other people you know in the characters, and although Dani may be thirteen, the situations in her life - friendship, divorce, big city dreams in a small town, etc, will resonate with you. In the end, there's only one mystery left to Dani Noir, and that one is for the reader: why didn't a book like this arrive sooner?

Dani Callanzano is stuck in her nothing-ever-happens town with only her favorite noir mysteries at the Little Art movie theatre to keep her company. Her best friend has moved out of town and no longer calls Dani often. Her father also is getting remarried and she will be getting a mean sister-in-law, Nichole. So she is alone in the town. But one day a real-life mystery begins to unravel at Little Art! And it all has something to do with a girl in polka-dot tights. Dani is armed with a vivid imagination, a flair for the dramatic, and a knowledge of all things Rita Hayworth. She sets out to solve the mystery and learns more about herself than she ever thought that she would.
This book had an awesomeness that is hard to explain. Dani is stubborn, which is usual for most thirteen years old. I am going to have to check out some more noir movies, since I haven't seen them all. It was great to see Dani's love of movies and how passionate she was about all things Rita Hayworth. I also could relate to the problems at home and the lost of her best friend, because that happened to me around the same age. The plot was really interesting and created a great story. Suma was a great writer and created a story like no other. I recommend that you check out this book for a great mystery.

When a tragedy or change strikes a family, sometimes the kids will grasp at whatever sense of stability they can. Novels for youth may include foster children and the kids of divorcees grasping at everything from saving Redwood forests to becoming the lead in the school play, as long as it means concentrating on something outside of their own misery. To the best of my knowledge, however, I've never seen a middle grade novel where the main character went in for noir cinema. Dani Noir does just that though. First time novelist Nova Ren Suma presents us with a sympathetic if not entirely charming protagonist. Bound to create plenty of discussion, if you're looking for a book that will get kids talking, I think this one has your number.

When Dani's mom and dad split up she made one thing very clear; She wanted to stay with her mother and not her double-crossing, two timing, cheating traitor of a father. So why is her mother making her spend a weekend with the man? This summer, Dani hasn't any plans at all except to sit back in her tiny town's solitary art house theater and watch all the film noirs she can. Unfortunately, now she has her dad's new life (and new upcoming wife) to distract her, as well as a mystery at the theater. Who was that mysterious girl she saw exciting the projectionist booth unawares? Is there a double cross going on? Who's going to find out? Conjuring up everything from Gilda to Double Indemnity, this Rita Hayworth-obsessed heroine finds a mystery of her own and sets out to solve it. But are all mysteries meant to be solved? And what happens when uncovering the crime makes you more culpable than the people committing it?

Suma does a nice job with Dani's voice. This particular heroine has a tendency to waver between the inherent romanticism and drama of her black and white noir world, and the reality of her low-rent little town. Right on page one she tells you, "There's the one supermarket, the one movie theater, the one Chinese restaurant. But there are twelve different places to buy junk for your lawn." Really, the descriptions in this book are a lot of the fun. Sentences like this one about putting butter on movie popcorn may even make you physically ill. "The what-we-assume-is-butter sinks down into the lower reaches of the popcorn slowly, like ear wax coming alive and spreading down your body to your feet." Suma also describes characters in an almost visceral sense. Of the mysterious "other woman" Dani has taken to spotting, she says that the girl has, "... oddest of all, footless tights with spots all over them, dark pink and star white, like she broke out in some sort of heinous rash just on her legs." Or of her future stepsister, "Her eyes are like the sharp little stones you step on when you're running down the driveway to get the mail..."

In a book of this sort, the primary difficulty comes in maintaining Dani as the kind of person you want to read about. To be blunt, she is often not very likeable. Sympathetic, oh yes! But not likeable. I'd love to poll kids on the moment when they start breaking with her, mentally criticizing her for her choices. Near the beginning? Halfway through? Right at the end? Or are there kids out there who feel like Dani is justified on acting on her whims at the expense of others every step of the way? For me it was around page 16 when you hear Dani say of her old friend Taylor, "I could compliment her hair, but I don't. Besides, she's in my way." Taylor, for the record, is a pretty interesting character too. She begins the book just as someone for Dani to be dismissive of. The kind of girl who has t-shirts with fuzzy tiger heads on them, and unicorns on her books. But as the book goes on, Taylor becomes the kind of person who would normally be the hero of a middle grade novel. She learns, grows, and even begins to question why she would even want to be friends with Dani as the story goes on. I do believe that there will be some kids out there who don't like Dani and who will put down the book because they can't make themselves spend any more time with her. Most, however, may not like her but they'll relate to her, and in the long run that's what's more important.

There were particularly contemporary plot details that I thought worked very well in the context of the story. Perhaps the use of Facebook in the plot will date it as the years go by, but I prefer to think of it as an element that simply solidifies it in a specific moment in time. As for cell phones, Suma's very good at using them perfectly. Sometimes I feel like many middle grade authors today are more comfortable writing historical fiction because they won't have to deal with the problem of how to incorporate cell phones into their stories. Smart authors use them strategically like Ms. Suma does here. Everything from ringtones to spotty cell service caused by nearby mountainsides has a purpose here. A tip of the hat to that.

Not to give anything away, but I was very pleased with how the book ended. Aw, what the heck. Spoiler alert if you don't want to know the ending! Okay. So at the end of the book Dani could do a crazy 180 degree turnaround that is completely wrong for her character, and embrace her new stepfamily. Doesn't happen. Her dad is a jerk of the first order and he's not getting off the hook all that easily. And while there may be some hint that Dani will be going to his upcoming wedding after all, I wouldn't necessarily bet on it. That's part of the charm of Dani Noir. Even while you may not agree with everything it does, you are emotionally involved from page one onward. Dani's anger and frustration is your anger and frustration. So at least she's understandable.

It's funny, but there's a fellow debut middle grade novel that has come out in 2009 that acts as almost a companion to this book. Neil Armstrong is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me by Nan Marino would never be confused with Dani Noir but on paper the similarities are there. Both books star bullying, selfish, single-minded female protagonists who are dealing with the fact that their best female friends recently moved away and their parents are not getting along smoothly. In both cases there's a boy who goes out of his way to be nice to our heroine in spite of the fact that she treats him like garbage. There's even an older absent brother in both of the books who is unable to give our heroine the support that she really needs. Of course, these are just surface similarities. You'll find the tone of the two tales very different indeed, but I still think that kids who like one will be naturally drawn to the other.

Though it stands entirely on its own, Dani Noir may be one of those books that lends itself to a sequel or two. Certainly Dani's story isn't done. Nor, for that matter, are the stories of her friends. It will be interesting to see the extent to which kids go for a character this self-involved. Still, let's remember that Katherine Paterson's The Great Gilly Hopkins was the ultimate litmus test in me-focused children's novels. The real question may be this; Does Dani change enough by the book's end? Some will say yes. Some will say no. I say, read the book for yourself and find out.

Divorce sucks. There's no other way to put it. Especially when there are children involved. Some people believe that children are resilient and that in time, they'll recover and even perhaps benefit from having two separate families. Quite often though, this is not the case. Children can become very damaged in the divorce process. It's hard enough for a child to even begin to understand how serious of a commitment marriage is, but to expect them to understand why on earth the two people raising them no longer want to do it together . . . that's almost unreasonable. Children are internally selfish by nature. It's only normal for them to want an outcome that best fits their needs, their wants. Which brings me to DANI NOIR . . .

Things have not been going so well for Danielle Callanzano. She hates her father. Her lying, two timing, jerk of a father. He cheated on her mom, divorced her, and moved in with his girlfriend Cheryl. And Dani is not about to forgive him. Her best friend Maya moved away and has not kept in touch as often as she promised. And Jackson, the high school boy she's befriended at The Little Art movie theater, is keeping something from her. Hoping to become the femme fatal in the noir movie that has become her life, Dani sets out to find what secret Jackson is hiding. And do a little soul-searching along the way.

To those that would suggest children of divorced families carry more emotional and psychological baggage than others, they can use this book as an example, because Dani Callanzano is a mess. I can forgive her snotty behavior toward her father and his new girlfriend. He is a jerk. He's made a selfish decision and deserves to face the consequences. Dani's behavior being one of those consequences. But her behavior toward her friends and worst of all, her mother, is hard to ignore. She knowingly uses her mother's divorce as an excuse to misbehave and she selfishly expects her friends to drop everything for her but offers nothing in return. She's a hard girl to like, yet many characters in the story are drawn to her and seek her attention. She is a rather compelling main character. She can be funny and witty and many of the most memorable characters in novels do tend to be flawed characters. Real characters. Characters who aren't afraid to make mistakes. Well, Dani makes plenty of them in this novel! But her witty, first-person narrative shows the reader there's potential beyond the cold, harsh exterior and maybe it's that potential that children would be able to relate to. Or maybe they'll just see her as a rude little brat and put the book down without finishing it!

The mystery that makes up the plot of DANI NOIR will definitely hold the reader's attention, but it isn't much. In fact, when all is said and done, it's rather predictable. An average reader will be able to infer quite early what is going on. I kept returning to the story hoping the end result wasn't as obvious as it seemed. But it was. The mystery is actually so poorly constructed, I have to wonder if author Nova Ren Suma meant for it to be that way. Because the mystery really isn't what this book is about. It's about Dani coming to terms with the changes happening around her. As a way to escape all the drama in her life, she loses herself in old noir films wanting badly to be a "femme fatal" like her favorite actress Rita Hayworth. So I wonder if Nova Ren Suma wanted the mystery to be something simple, in order to emphasize how obsessed Dani had become. At one point, her friend Taylor asks her, "Why you?" Why does Dani feel the need to uncover what she's about to uncover and not stay out of it and let the situation play out by itself? It's a question that the reader will ask as well and believe me, the answer is heart-wrenching and sheds light on most of Dani's behavior throughout the book.

One little thing . . . I found it ironic that modern technology would play such a key role in a book draped so heavily in the nostalgia of classic movies. On one page Nova Ren Suma will be writing about Hollywood stars like Rita Hayworth, Lana Turner, and Orson Welles and on the next, she's writing about Facebook. Dani's detective work relies heavily on the use of her cell phone, its reception and picture-taking abilities, and tracking down one lead involves "befriending" someone she doesn't want to on Facebook in an effort to learn more information. I understand the difficulties in writing a young adult novel set in the present day, and NOT incorporating Facebook somehow. Facebook is a big deal right now, but will it be in a few years? I just hope that Nova Ren Suma didn't negate the classic, film noir atmosphere she was going for by having modern technologies like cell phones and Facebook play a significant role in her novel. Maybe she liked the contrast between the "classic" and the "modern".

If you're looking for a good mystery, don't pick up this book, because I'm afraid you'll be disappointed and judge the book accordingly. However if you're looking for a good young adult, coming-of-age novel with a very real but flawed main character, a character that makes mistakes like you and me, give DANI NOIR a try. Near the end of the novel, Dani is engrossed in an old movie with a friend, and she offers up this thought: "Movies can do that: make people forget everything that's bad about their lives, and bad about the world, even make them ignore the fact that they've run out of popcorn. Movies really can make it better." I think that's Nova Ren Suma's message, that we all need an escape from the drama of the real world every once in a while. But we have to be careful not to get lost in the noir. I don't think Dani's story is finished quite yet, and I'll be interested in seeing her and her relationships grow and mature in the future.

DANI NOIR is a powerfully entertaining and heartfelt middle-grade novel by a talented debut author to keep an eye out for. Dani is pitch-perfect and has ageless appeal, and it's easy to connect with the issues she faces in this story.

The star of the novel is without a doubt Dani, who's precocious with her interest in noir films, yet just self-centered enough in that way of preteens to be infuriating and endearing. She may remind you of your best and worst self in middle school--and if she doesn't, then she is that girl in your math class, or the kind of girl you wish you had been back in the day. Dani is far from perfect: other characters rightfully call her "selfish," but you can't help but feel close to her, because not only is she terribly real, she's also incredibly funny and entertaining.

Dani's quest to expose Jackson's lies is lighthearted enough, but, unbeknownst to her, carries a strong connection to her feelings of paternal abandonment. Separation and divorce is a common enough subject in middle grade fiction, but Nova Ren Suma deals with it delicately here, not allowing it to consume Dani's life and thus make DANI NOIR just another serious issues book.

DANI NOIR has a great protagonist and would make for a good read for middle schoolers, their older siblings, and their parents and grandparents. Don't miss out on this wonderfully sweet debut novel!

DANI NOIR is a sharp look at the life of 13-year-old film noir buff (and big Rita Hayworth fan), Dani Callanzano, during a pretty tough summer. Her parents have divorced, she's angry at her father, her mom still hasn't gotten over it, and her soon-to-be stepsister is a nightmare. The only place Dani can find a little peace of mind is at the Little Art movie theatre... but not for long. When a girl with polka-dot tights shows up, Dani finds herself with a full-blown mystery on her hands and if she doesn't solve it--and soon--someone she really cares about could be hurt.

This is an incredible debut by Nova Ren Suma and Dani Callanzano is one of the most memorable protagonists I've ever read. A total snarky delight from start-to-finish. With a very thoughtful and caring hand, Suma explores Dani's world candidly and honestly and the narrative is charming, hilarious and heartbreaking all at once. On one page, I would laugh out loud at one of Dani's zingers and the next, my heart would ache at Dani's vulnerability and need to find balance and control in the way you need to find balance and control when things are changing around you in really difficult ways. And it's a page turner, too. Once I started, I only stopped once--and that was to make POPCORN. The movie theatre scenes are so well drawn--I COULD SMELL THE POPCORN!--it was impossible to resist. And so I highly recommend making popcorn when you pick this book up because it will complete the experience.

The whole time I was reading Dani Noir, I wished fervently that I'd had Dani as a fictional companion when I was her age. I remember the books I carried around then like lifelines, and I know that had Dani Noir been on shelves, I would've toted it everywhere. I would have aspired to Dani's cleverness, her wit, her charm, her sense of adventure and I know that Dani's razor-sharp outlook would have made me feel less alone. I can just imagine how many girls out there will benefit from reading a novel like this, which is why Dani Noir gets all five stars from me. This is not just the kind of book you read and enjoy in the moment, it's the kind of book you treasure and love and pass along. So do that. Don't you dare miss this one.

This is one of the best books I've read all year. It's witty, dark and sincere. How can you not pick up a copy?

DANI NOIR is an intriguing tween mystery from Aladdin. The protagonist, thirteen-year old Danielle, is witty, sarcastic and a character that tweens and teens can relate to. The film references, which often feel forced in many novels for young readers, flow seamlessly with the plot.

The cover, which was the first thing to draw me in, is phenomenal and matches the high quality of the writing.

If your tween (or you, for shame!) don't know the name Rita Hayworth, they certainly will after reading Nova Ren Suma's fantastic mystery! Touching and spirited. Fun, fast-paced, and moving, DANI NOIR transcends the tween age group by truly becoming a tale for ALL ages.

The writing is beautiful, the imagery is dark, mysterious, and gorgeous, and Nova Ren Suma's characters come right off the page to life!

An absolutely essential read for your tween, you, and just about anyone who enjoys a good tale told well. Film Noir fans especially!