3 Nbs of Julian Drew [Paperback]

James M. Deem (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 4, 2000

 I am an abused child. (but I can't tell you that).
Sometimes my brain is so unhappy it doesn't know what 2 do at all. My body sits in my GB + my brain wishes me D. Would the police investigate? My brain says no. THEY don't leave marks. THEY don't B me w/ cigarettes, THEY don't S me in the bathtub with boiling water, H me w/ electric cord, or T me up in a plastic bag. Those kids are in the newspapers. But all U have 2 do is look at my face + U can see it. If U know what you're looking 4. My eyes see it when they look at myself in the mirror. It is hard 2 look 4 long.I am an abused child. (but I can't tell you that).
Sometimes my brain is so unhappy it doesn't know what 2 do at all. My body sits in my GB + my brain wishes me D. Would the police investigate? My brain says no. THEY don't leave marks. THEY don't B me w/ cigarettes, THEY don't S me in the bathtub with boiling water, H me w/ electric cord, or T me up in a plastic bag. Those kids are in the newspapers. But all U have 2 do is look at my face + U can see it. If U know what you're looking 4. My eyes see it when they look at myself in the mirror. It is hard 2 look 4 long.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Presented as a series of notebook entries by the mentally and physically abused Julian Drew, much of Deem's (How to Read Your Mother's Mind) erratic first YA novel is written in a simple but irritating code. Numbers replace letters in particularly loaded words or phrases: "1M155U" is the equivalent of "I miss you" and 543 is "she" (meaning the woman Julian's father has married following Julian's mother's death). Gradually the reader comes to understand that Julian's father and stepmother starve him for days, make him sleep in an unheated garage and otherwise mistreat him. As Julian confronts his vast grief about his mother, he uses less and less of his code, finally dropping it altogether-but not before the reader's patience has been taxed. Julian's voice is disturbing yet brilliant-however, aside from its almost surrealistic climax and improbably promising ending, this dark book rarely rises above the level of a moody character study. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up-A challenging and oddly compelling story of an abused teenager who fights a heroic battle to deal with his mother's death and to survive the mistreatment of one of the most vicious stepmothers in all of literature. NB, in Julian's shorthand, means notebook-the only means out of his profound loneliness and pain. His mother died when he was in the fifth grade, leaving him almost instantly in the hands of "stepnother." She locks him in his garage room, virtually starves him, and inflicts an endless string of verbal and physical abuses that drive him nearly to madness. NB1 expresses his complete isolation. In NB2, he begins to make contact with a girl in his Spanish class, his English teacher encourages his writing, and he gets a job. In NB3, it all falls apart and he runs away to Wheeling, WV, where his mother died. Here, his prophetic dreams of a letter from his mother, the book Portrait of Jennie, and his obsessive desire to go back in time to rejoin his mother converge. Instead, he nearly dies and is joined by Susan from Spanish class who has run away, pregnant, from her own destructive home to be with the "'weirdest, nicest person I've ever met and the biggest puzzle I've ever tried to solve.'" All of the characters, even the most minor, are surprisingly vivid and real. The plot structure and the parallels to Portrait of Jennie are consistent and logical, and they add an intriguing twist to Julian's search for his mother and his past. But best of all, Deem leaves enough literary space between dialogue and action for readers to infer character and emotion, which is a blessed relief from the heavy-handedness of so many YA novels. Overall, a well-written book about a character well worth knowing.
Kathy Fritts, Jesuit High School, Portland, OR
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: HarperTempest; Reprint edition (April 4, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380810980
• ISBN-13: 978-0380810987
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,306,135 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James M. Deem is the author of numerous books of nonfiction and fiction, including the 2009 Sibert Honor Book, Bodies from the Ice: Melting glaciers and the recovery of the past.

Born in Wheeling, West Virginia, he moved to Tucson, Arizona, with his family when he was eleven. He earned a Bachelor's degree in language arts from the University of Kansas followed by a master's degree and a doctorate in reading education at the University of Michigan. For twenty-seven years, he taught reading and study skills to underprepared college students. He once again lives in Tucson with his wife Susan and now writes fulltime.

His most recent books include the award-winning series: Bodies from the Bog, Bodies from the Ash, and Bodies from the Ice.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't start this book unless you can finish it all at once!, November 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: 3 NBs of Julian Drew (Hardcover)

This is a one-sitting book. Once you pick it up you can't put it down until you're done, and even then you want to keep going. As you break through Julian's secret code, you also break through the secret barriers even he can't seem to get around. Deem gives just enough clues to keep you guessing, and Julian lets you see just enough of his soul to keep you caring.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No word Can Fully Describe This Book, July 2, 2002

By 

Roshanda Cummings (Vallejo, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 3 NBs of Julian Drew (Hardcover)

This book seriously defies the mind. When I picked up this book + read the 1st page I knew that it was going 2 B like no book that I have ever read. I had some knowledge of pager code before hand so it was not as difficult for me as it would B for someone who hadn't. I was intrigued w/ 16 y.o Julian who's life + everything in it couldn't be described as anything but [the underworld]. This book kept me turning page after page determined to find if he gets away 4rm his abusive parents or ever meets this "U" th@ he obsesses himself over.
This book is a puzzle and unraveling it is only half the fun. I recommend this book 2 everyone. I thought it was a great story + if u take the time 2 sit down + read it, I'm sure you will think the same thing 2.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Holy cow. This is a good book., August 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: 3 NBs of Julian Drew (Hardcover)

I read part of this book and then had to go to work before finishing it. That was the longest shift I've ever had to work. Talk about hard to put down... it's gripping, compelling, and most of all, disturbing. But it sticks to you, somehow.