Kicks [Mass Market Paperback]

Janet Fitch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 1996

LAURIE THINKS CARLA IS THE LUCKIEST KID IN LOS ANGELES
After all, Carla has parents who let her do anything she wants. Laurie's mother keeps her on a short leash, demanding that she keep the house clean, cook for her sick father, and stay out of trouble. Still, at Carla's instigation, they manage to keep things on the street exciting. Sometimes it's shoplifting, sometimes it's hitching a ride, sometimes it's smoking and flirting on the beach with older guys. If Laurie could only be as brave and daring as Carla, she knows her life would be a lot more interesting.
But Laurie also knows that Carla sometimes takes crazy chances. And one night when Carla is in trouble only Laurie can help her--only Laurie and one other person, someone who loves Laurie more than she realizes, someone who would do anything to be with her. . . .
"Capture[s] the dark underside of growing up . . . Teens will empathize with Laurie's desire to be free from familial rules and responsibilities, and the realism of some scenes will horrify yet fascinate them."
--School Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Laurie Greenspan thinks her hip friend Carla has "the coolest parents in the world," especially compared with Laurie's Russian emigree mother ("You only had to screw up once around Lena Greenspan to figure out which side of the Volga you'd landed on"). Her father, once a rising academic, is utterly ineffectual, a "shell of a man" since a traffic accident 10 years ago, and her geeky older brother, Murray, gets all the praise and attention. Rebelling, 15-year-old Laurie tries to act like the ever-wilder Carla, who hooks up with a group of drug-dealing bikers. First-novelist Fitch's dialogue can be pungent ("'You think I give a flying fuck if [my parents] CARE?' Carla shrieked....'Go take your sympathy and cram it up your ass'"). In contrast to, for example, Shelley Stoehr's graphic Weird on the Outside (reviewed Dec. 12, 1994), Fitch's use of explicit language and her close-up treatment of seamy scenarios serves a clear purpose: it demonstrates her understanding of teenage temptations. In this way Laurie's final rejection of the fast life seems part of the drama, not a cautionary message. True to its title, this accomplished work packs quite a kick. Ages 14-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-10?Gritty and explicit, this novel of peer pressure explores the lure and false glamour of L.A. street life. Laurie, 15, spends her summer vacation caring for her brain-damaged father, while her strict Russian-emigre mother works grueling hours to support the family. A bright but sheltered teen, Laurie wishes that her life could be more like that of her hip friend Carla, whose psychologist parents give her lots of spending money and freedom, with no questions asked. Sneaking out in the afternoons, Laurie joins Carla and the two shoplift or hitchhike to the beach. Caught riding home with some boys, Laurie is grounded for the summer, but her mother helps her to get a job. She sneaks out to a party with Carla and her biker rock musician boyfriend. There, nearly raped while stoned out of her mind, she wakes up. When Carla ODs, it is Laurie and her mother who come to her aid because the girl's parents want to "let her make her own mistakes and experience the consequences of her choices." Teens will emphathize with Laurie's desire to be free from familial rules and responsibilities, and the realism of some scenes will horrify yet fascinate them. Fitch's writing doesn't match the humor or lyricism of L.A. street novels such as Ron Koertge's The Harmony Arms (Little, 1992) and Francesca Lia Block's Weetzie Bat (HarperCollins, 1989), but it does capture the dark underside of growing up. It shows two kids teetering on the brink of disaster, at risk because their parents are too busy or too self-involved to supervise their activities.?Alice Casey Smith, Monmouth County Library Headquarters, Manalapan, NJ
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 10 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett (March 2, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449704521
• ISBN-13: 978-0449704523
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,181,361 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Janet Fitch was born and raised in Los Angeles, a third generation Angelino.
She attended Reed College in Portland Oregon, graduating with a degree in history, and attributes much of her storytelling ability to her training as an historian. Since then, she has worked as a proofreader, typesetter, graphic artist, newspaper editor, magazine editor, freelance journalist and teacher of creative writing--not to mention Manpower Temp and worst waitress in Los Angeles. If she spilled coffee on you, she apologizes.

Her second novel, Paint It Black, has just appeared in paperback and in Dutch, Italian, Swedish, German, Hebrew and Polish. Jennifer Jason Leigh performs the audiobook. Fitch's first novel, White Oleander was an Oprah Book Club selection, and was translated into 24 languages, including Mandarin, Turkish and Finnish. It served as the basis of a motion picture starring Michelle Pfeiffer, and the audiobook is read by Oprah Winfrey. Her early young adult novel, Kicks, sometimes surfaces. The anthology Los Angeles Noir (Akashic Noir) and Black Clock 7 both carry recent short stories.

Fitch currently teaches fiction writing at the University of Southern California Master of Professional Writing program. She regularly participates in the Squaw Valley Community of Writers summer workshops, and will be teaching at the 2008 Virgina Colony for the Arts' summer program in France. She lives in Los Angeles, in the hills where Rena Grushenka's girls picked trash in White Oleander.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great!, July 25, 2004

By 

Sherry Mauro "EVEN ANGELS FALL" (CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kicks (Mass Market Paperback)

I have to admit, the ending makes this story. If you're looking for a light, easy read,then pick up this book. If you're looking for a story that will keep you turning pages to discover what secrets will be revealed next then this is definitely the story for you!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars DONT COMPARE..., January 2, 2007

By 

idonottell (BUFFALO, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kicks (Mass Market Paperback)

This is not on the same level as 'White Oleander', it's a quick, light book, pretty good story. There isnt as much of the author's unique, poetic, metaphors etc. like in her other books, but the plot of this book is simple and nice.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Overlooked by Newbury, April 28, 2004

By 

Chandler Gardiner "Russ" (Alexandria, Virginia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kicks (Mass Market Paperback)

Not your typical book for middle school girls. But perhaps it should be. There is much more to life than what is on the surface. Now I see where White Oleander came from. Before you decide to "go with the flow", its best to understand the flow. Don't miss this treasure. Make sure your daughter reads it by the end of 9th grade. Very well written. Excellent story. Plenty of surprizes and suspense. "All is often not what it seems" is the powerful message. Realistic characters, especially Carla's parents. RG