Margaux with an X [Hardcover]

Ron Koertge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 2004

A sharp-tongued beauty meets a quirky, quick-witted loner in this funny, poignant new novel from the author of SHAKESPEARE BATS CLEANUP and STONER & SPAZ.

She's drop-dead gorgeous, has a razor-sharp wit, and is a charter member of the school's most popular clique. Margaux (with an x) is the dream catch of every teenage male within her radar. Encouraged by her caustic friend Sara, she's perfected the art of the sarcastic tease, while keeping her sweaty-palmed suitors just far enough at bay. It's a dreary game, but at least she's not home with Mom, the shopping channel addict, Dad, the professional gambler, and a certain haunting secret from her past. Then along comes Danny Riley — a scrawny, weak-chinned, animal-loving oddball with a quaint chivalrous streak, a kindhearted kid who can match her banter to the polysyllable and who harbors a few painful memories of his own.

Only in the hands of Ron Koertge would such an unlikely pair find each other — and reward the reader with such satisfying, straight-shooting repartee, full of angst and wisdom, humor and heart.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up–Margaux is both beautiful and popular, with the most fashionable clothes and her own red Mustang. Every guy in town wants to date her. Despite living almost every teenager's dream, she is miserable. Her father is a professional gambler, and her emotionally oblivious mother spends her days watching the shopping channel. Powered by her sarcasm and intellectual wit, the teen keeps everyone at bay until she meets Danny, a lanky, poorly dressed school outcast who unwittingly charms her with his own intellect and politeness. It is Danny who gives Margaux the courage to escape her parents and her former shallow self. Although the book is not strong on plot, it excels in character development. It is an intriguing story that constantly provokes readers' curiosity as Margaux and Danny shroud themselves in mystery to escape their own family secrets, which aren't fully exposed until the novel ends. Koertge juxtaposes two seemingly stereotypical characters from opposite ends of the high-school social spectrum, but he destroys all assumptions, giving readers a glimpse into the complexities of the hidden emotional struggles of teenagers. His style is succinct; his language at times is advanced, an accurate reflection of his characters' intellectual capacity.–Leigh Ann Morlock, Vernonia School District, OR
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 9-12. Like Ben and Colleen in Koertge's Stoner and Spaz (2002), the author's latest dissimilar teen protagonists find refuge in their unlikely friendship. Gorgeous Margaux has grown weary of her usual social scene: cynical repartee with her best friend, Sara; shopping; and dates with vacuous jocks. Home with her remote parents--a "dazed," channel-surfing mother and a professional gambler father--is even more bleak. Desperate to find a meaningful connection with someone who can match her sharp wit and astonishing vocabulary, Margaux finds herself drawn to Danny, a skinny, bookish junior. As the surprising pair forms an intense bond, each confronts deep childhood sorrows. Margaux's "specialty" is "conversation meant to baffle," and Koertge's own narrative, like Margaux's speech, is laden with self-consciously challenging vocabulary and opaque, overreaching metaphors, resulting in a confused blurring between narrative and character voices. Still, the dramatic situations and sympathetic characters' painful secrets will intrigue teens, particularly language lovers who, like Margaux and Danny, have opened a thesaurus for fun. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (August 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763624012
• ISBN-13: 978-0763624019
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,264,130 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sharp insightful glimpses into the tumultuous lives of teens, October 22, 2004

By 

Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Margaux with an X (Hardcover)

Nothing is what it seems because there are secrets to keep. Margaux, by far the best-looking girl in her class, smart and witty, knows this "secret stuff" at an early age. She and her father share a dark secret. Her father is good-looking and funny, but is always the con artist and spends his life gambling --- sometimes he wins, sometimes he doesn't. Then there is her mother, locked in her own world of TV shopping, getting her nails done, and sharing her husband's excitement at the racetracks. So while Margaux makes the good grades, dates one boy after another and hangs out with her shallow friends, she is lonelier and angrier than anyone could ever know.

Danny Riley is a walking resale shop. His clothes are too big; he has a plain face and a manner about him that says he just doesn't care what other people think. Danny has his secrets too --- the father who beat him, the aunt who saved him (he hopes) and the devotion to the humane society where he volunteers. Danny is not considered "cool" by his peers and is, in fact, an outsider simply by the way he dresses.

Like Ron Koertge's STONER & SPAZ, Danny and Margaux are a little oil and water. They come together with an unexpected attraction, which at first totally confuses Margaux:

"...Margaux looks for Danny/is afraid he's looking for her/wants to see him/wants to avoid him/wonders why he hasn't sought her out/is afraid he will. Really, what can she be thinking; that uncomely face, the spindle-shanked meagerness of him, the teakettle thinness of his breath. His daunting goodness."

As the relationship develops, Margaux meets Danny's aunt Evie, who suffers from debilitating MS. Margaux also meets the darker Danny --- the Danny who is his father. But out of the chaos in both of their lives, they are pulled together and Margaux does not run from the opportunity to learn from Danny and his wise aunt.

Koertge is a master at exploring teens on the edge. Like Paulsen, Cormier and Brooks, Koertge gives us sharp, insightful glimpses into some darker aspects of adolescents and their lives. Teens will be attracted to these unusual characters and a well-paced story.

--- Reviewed by Sally M. Tibbetts ([e-mail])

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Koertge Does It Again!, September 2, 2004

By 

beckyjean "beckyjean" (East Granby, CT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Margaux with an X (Hardcover)

This book reads like an edgier version of Koertge's other odd-couple book, "Stoner and Spaz." In "Margaux WIth an X," Margaux is this book's version of "Stoner." She's the prettiest girl in her school, blazingly intelligent, and witheringly apathetic. She runs with a shallow crowd and is getting tired of them.

Enter Danny, this book's version of "Spaz." He's a loner who wears thrift-store clothes, lives with his aunt who has MS, and works at a dog shelter. While he's darker and not as charming as the "Spaz" from "Stoner and Spaz," he's sufficiently intriguing and helps Margaux find out who she is, apart from her ditzy friends. Danny's sick aunt also gives Margaux some of the tools she needs to confront her irresponsible parents, who are little more than a career gambler and a TV addict.

Margaux, in turn, doesn't desert Danny when he shows her a sinister side of himself. These two are far from being a match made in heaven; they may not last a year. But they're getting what good can come out of their friendship while it lasts.

If you liked Koertge's other books, you'll like this one. It features his trademark sharp, intelligent humor and dialogue that rings truer than most YA books out there.

"Smart" teens, "weird" teens, and adults who enjoy YA literature will love this book. I found it beautiful, intelligent, disturbing, and uplifting. But "Stoner and Spaz" is still my favorite!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely sharp and entertaining, June 2, 2005

By 

Grietjie "grieterjaps" (Tampa Bay, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Margaux with an X (Hardcover)

This book, despite an serious and well-developed plot, had me cracking up. The sarcastic and intelligent humor it is written in, most notably Margaux's voice, is hilarious. Margaux experiences changes and deep hurt, while running a higly entertaining and sophisticated track of commentaries on everything. I really loved this book, and literally read it in one sitting. The entire book is well thought out, and leaves you with the good feeling of having read a witty, self-contained book. I really recommend this to any young adult readers out there.