Customer Reviews

Johnny's in the Basement

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Louis Sachar demonstrates genius in this book by drawing a very fine and distinct line between childhood and adulthood from the parents' point of view. From protagonist Johnny's point of view, it is not as clear-cut.

Johnny wants nothing more than to be grown-up the way all kids do. But reality isn't quite as pretty. Sure, they give him a later bedtime, but when you have to spend that extra time before bed washing dishes and doing chores, it's not quite the same. Nor are his "adult" birthday gifts (aka boring stuff that he'd never use, except for dance lessons he cannot avoid). On top of that, the silly parents make him get rid of his life collection of bottle caps.

In addition, he begins to discover his new feelings for girls when he meets young Valerie...a girl smarter than all the rest of her family put together, who likes Johnny for a very special and unique reason. And knows how to say JUST the right things to make him feel good.

Johnny's conversations with the moon also add an interesting twist.

The little sister Christine fits in just dandy in the story, making all of Johnny's little annoyances that much worse.

The one gripe I have about this book is the author's casual treatment of the kids smoking cigarettes. When Johnny discovers them and gets to the point where he can smoke without coughing up a storm, it's just too easy for him to quit and condemn it without a real reason. He describes his smoking as "to feel nothing, to not have the pain" without getting into the seriousness of how addictive it can be.

Louis Sachar is a great author, and "Jonny in the basement" is good too. Not his best, but it is excellent. I'd have to congratulate Louis for all his success. Congratulations! And to anyone who wants to read this, do, it's a good book.