Donorboy: A Novel [Paperback]

Brendan Halpin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 10, 2004

Rosalind had two mommies. Now, thanks to a tragic accident involving foodstuffs, she has none. And Sean, the sperm donor responsible for half her DNA (and nothing else), is taking custody. Rosalind finds herself adjusting to a new life that seems both hateful and surreal–she’s an orphan with a new father, surrounded by friends she is beginning to despise and well-meaning adults who succeed only in annoying her.
Sean made a donation fifteen years ago, and his life since has not gone according to plan. Thirty-five, single, and still grieving the loss of his own mother twenty-seven years ago, he decides to take on the overwhelming task of caring for an unhappy teenager he doesn’t know.

Told entirely through e-mail, instant messaging, journal entries, and other random communications, Donorboy is the comic, compellingly readable novel of how these two people learn to converse, cook, write heavy-metal songs, and nail windows shut on their way to becoming a family. Brendan Halpin has written a universal story of how we laugh, cry, and occasionally punch our way to a new life in the face of tragedy.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A teenage girl becomes the ward of her sperm-donor father after losing both of her gay parents in a bizarre accident in this first novel, a modern spin on grief, catharsis and the art of parenting told in journal entries and electronic missives. Rosalind Butterfield is the rebellious but sweet 14-year-old whose home life is suddenly decimated when her two lesbian parents—one of whom is a former sitcom star—die in a freak accident. Rosalind's unlikely new guardian is her biological father, Sean Cassidy, a geeky, single public-service lawyer whose lack of parenting experience turns the initial chapters into a comedy of errors, starting with his first icy meeting with Rosalind. She writes about her life in a grief journal that she dubs "Fluffy"; he fills her in on his past in a series of e-mails. The tide begins to turn for Sean when he defends Rosalind at a school expulsion hearing after she decks a hockey player for making fun of her late mom, and slowly Sean and Rosalind cobble together an uneasy relationship that allows them to co-exist and finally respect each other. The unusual setup may strike some potential readers as contrived, but Halpin's storytelling flair and compassion make this an engrossing read.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School–When Rosalind, 14, loses her mom and her mommy in a freak auto accident, she suddenly finds herself living with Sean Cassidy, her donor father. The baffled Sean has had little to do with Ros since her mothers asked him to assist in her conception. Told as a series of e-mail and text messages, as well as diary entries, Donorboy is a funny, poignant tale of a bereaved teen and a novice father coming to terms with one another. At first Ros refuses to speak to Sean. He communicates with her by e-mail and parries her hostile questions on how, exactly, she was conceived. He responds with a detailed description of his part in the in vitro fertilization process. As Ros negotiates her grief and the pitfalls of adolescence, he confides his doubts and anxiety in e-mails to a married friend, fearing that he took on his daughter for selfish reasons. But over time the two learn to communicate, cook, write heavy-metal song lyrics, and become a family. Readers will respond to Ros's authentic voice as she tries to sort through her loss, as well as her struggles with normal adolescent conundrums such as who her real friends are or doubts about her sexual identity. They will also glimpse how a caring but befuddled surrogate father learns to be the parent she needs.–Pat Bangs, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Villard (August 10, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400062772
• ISBN-13: 978-1400062775
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 4.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #977,532 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a writer and a teacher. I've written memoirs, novels for adults, and novels for young adults. I don't know if my interest in and talent at writing YA comes from my experience as a high school teacher or my immaturity. Either way, it's good.

I live in Boston with my wife Suzanne and our three children and our dog, Cooper.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Halpin Captures Teen Cyberspeak in a Powerful Tale, December 9, 2004

By 

Daniel J. Maloney "Daniel J. Maloney" (Saint Paul, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Donorboy: A Novel (Paperback)

In Donorboy, writer and teacher Brendan Halpin does a remarkable job in capturing the ways of adolescent communication in this online world.

The basis of Donorboy is the union of an orphaned girl, Rosalind, and Sean Cassidy, the man who donated the sperm that resulted in her conception. When Rosalind's lesbian Mom dies, custody falls to Sean, a totally unprepared, poorly domesticated, never married, thirtysomething lawyer. The union is heart wrenching and comical by turns.

Rosalind spends her first months of mourning writing an online Grief journal which is deeply sad, extremely angry, and hysterically funny all at the same time. A great deal of her journal rage is directed at Sean, who is a safe bet since its "not right to be angry at her mom" and since Sean is an unknown quanity whom she has been forced to live with. So he makes for the object of a pretty safe scapegoat -- especially since he doesn't get to read what she is writing.

The story is initially told in the adolescent voice of Rosalind in the language that kids use to write online. In that respect, it is somewhat awkward to catch its rhythm right at the start, unless one speaks (and reads) Adolescent as a Second Language.

Through the story, we come to admire these two strong characters as they attempt to come to some truce and a common ground on which to create a relationship and an amicable life together.

Sean recognizes that speaking directly to Rosalind is only met with stoney silences. So he takes to e-mailing her and to that extent the entire book is really a series of online and e-mail entries that document the union of these two characters.

Despite her anger and her tremendous sense of loss, Rosalind eventually opens up to Sean and they find themselves bonding.

Halpin has done a remarkable job of truly capturing the teen voice and in expressing the profound loss and the anger of a teen who loses a parent. The story is comical, touching, sad and full of hope for better times.

In the last four years Brendan Halpin has become a fresh new voice on the scene. He draws much from his own life experiences and does a remarkable, and often enough, humorous job in whatever story he is telling.

Highly recommended -- especially for a teen who may be struggling with loss.

Daniel J. Maloney
Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible, September 8, 2004

By 

D. Zirkler (Gilbert, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Donorboy: A Novel (Paperback)

A *MUST* read! I happened to pick it up on its release day by some miracle while strolling through the bookstore! It's an extremely fresh voice! Its all told through email, IM, text messaging, etc. It is about a 14 year old girl whose two lesbian moms were killed in a car accident. Her "father" fights for custody and wins. The story is about the struggles they go through in the early stages of their relationship. Its extremely funny, but extremely heartbreaking at the same time. Its an amazing read, and I couldn't put it down. I read it in about a 7 day span, 3 of which I was sick and didn't pick it up.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Roller Coaster, August 16, 2004

By 

Clily Stevenson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Donorboy: A Novel (Paperback)

I loved this book and read it from cover to cover in one sitting. The presentation of the book made it easy to relate to all the characters, not just one. Those who think e-mail is an impersonal form of communication will quickly change their minds. It showed the complexity of human emotion in a time of grief and change. The characters pain was very real but was nicely balanced with humor. This book reminded me of the best roller coaster I'd ever been on: lots of ups and downs, twists and turns, scary and exciting at the same time. I was disappointed when it ended, and it left me waiting for Halpin's next novel.