Pepperland [Hardcover]

Mark Delaney (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up–Delaney's sensitive style and his development of realistic, multidimensional lead characters combine to create an absorbing story set in the early '80s. Star, 16, struggles to adjust to the death of her mother, who had loved '60s music and the Beatles in particular. Star, a guitarist, loves it as well. Her therapist suggests that she write a song about her mother, and throughout the book she tries to do so. When she finds her mother's guitar and a letter she wrote to John Lennon, they become the catalyst for Star to work through her anger and grief. She and her stepfather have a warm relationship, and they work together to deal with their mutual loss. While her friendship with Dooley, a talented artist, has been platonic, the relationship seems to be changing. When he is harassed at school and dubbed gay, she defends and supports him. Though the introduction of this plot twist is a bit jarring, it highlights the teen's loyalty and maturity. The homophobic bullies are stereotypical, and the woman who repairs her mother's guitar is conveniently generous, understanding, and nurturing, but this helps to move the plot along. The author shows how a love of art can help one cope with difficulties as he deftly balances the dual themes of dealing with tragic loss and with being different.–Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 8-12. "I'm . . . an anger salad," says 16-year-old Pamela Jean, or Star, as she calls herself. After her mother's death from breast cancer a few months earlier, Star lives with her sweet, Harley-driving stepfather, who struggles with his own grief. Listening to music (especially the Beatles, whom her mother also loved) and playing her guitar give Star the greatest comfort. She longs to write a song for her mother, but she can't seem to find the words and music through her sadness. Set in 1980, Delaney's novel tells a quiet, moving story about a smart, capable teen learning to cope with a parent's death. Star's first-person narrative sounds a bit too self-aware in places, and some readers will be puzzled by the teen's budding, unresolved romance with her male best friend, who seems to be questioning his sexuality. What works best is Star's believable, gradual healing, described in vivid details and memorable scenes, as she finds ways to stay connected to her mother through their shared passion for music. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Hardcover: 184 pages
• Publisher: Peachtree Publishers; 1 edition (October 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156145317X
• ISBN-13: 978-1561453177
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,406,274 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something Different for Beatle Fans, November 4, 2004

By 

Mark Delaney (Lyles, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pepperland (Hardcover)

Okay, yes, I'm the same Mark Delaney who wrote Pepperland. But since Amazon has yet to add any reviews or ad copy, I'd thought I'd at least take this opportunity to tell potential readers what the book is about. I know the five stars has no credibility coming as it does from the book's author, but I had to put down something to post this notice, and what do you expect?

Here's the publisher's copy on the book...

Pamela Jean (a.k.a. Star) is sixteen when her mother dies of breast cancer. Star is angry that her mother has died and left her, and nothing seems to make her feel better: Not talking to her shrink. Not playing music with her best friend Dooley. Not even listening to her mother's old familiar Beatles albums.

It is not until Star finds an unsent letter addressed to John Lennon and a broken-down vintage Gibson guitar that she begins to find a way out of her grief...and maybe even a way to take care of some unfinished business left by her mother.

That's Peachtree's description of the book. Now here's an early review...

"The fragrance of the long-past sixties suffuses this perfect YA novel. Mark Delaney shows a mastery of the genre in a touching and beautifully constructed story of two decent kids whose intelligence and talents make them special outsiders and whose simple caring for each other is messed up by the world around them. A tender and real love story and an enormously satisfying read."

--Patty Campbell
Editor of the Scarecrow Studies in Literature and
President-Elect of ALAN

(And if I may say so, thank you, Patty!)

From me: The book is an homage to the Beatles, to the healing power of music, and to the depth of the mother/daughter relationship. I'll let subsequent reviewers decide whether or not the story succeeds on those levels, but I can say I've never been more proud of anything I've written. Readers will meet Star's mother in a series of flashbacks, and they will watch as Star fumbles through a clumsy romance. Beatle fans will love the fact that the chapters are (I think aptly) titled after Beatle songs, and musicians should enjoy Star's attempt to restore her mother's vintage Gibson J-160 (that's the same model guitar Lennon plays in the train scene in the film A Hard Day's Night).

Thanks for listening!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pepperland--A Wonderful, Touching Book, December 20, 2004

By 

E. Tegge (Orange County, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pepperland (Hardcover)

I've always enjoyed Mark Delaney's books, and this one in particular. He's chosen a very difficult subject to tackle and has pulled it off with a naturalness and true emotion. Star is very real--he's impressively filled her with the sadness and the anger that her situation would bring while still making her extremely likeable. There are funny moments and exciting moments and his vivid, poetic language, but what stands out the most, for me, is the beautiful way Star's underlying strength and her love for music (shared with her mother) help her to work through the grief and the anger over her mother's death. This book moved me to tears a number of times. I loved the running thread of John Lennon--and the clever way the chapters were named after Beatles tunes. I loved the way Lennon's appearance, though strong, is only figurative, just as the letter Star's mother wrote to him is never actually presented to us to read--reminding us that everything, even Star's beloved music, is only secondary to the love of a girl for her mom.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real, unflinching look at the nature of grief., May 7, 2005

By 

James R. Cope (Atlanta GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pepperland (Hardcover)

Mark Delaney's Pepperland resonates like a Beatles tune. Set in 1980, the novel's structure results from John Lennon's lyrics and their significance to Pepperland's main character, Star.

Sixteen when her mother dies, Star hides behind her Telecaster during therapy with Dr. Artaud, avoids her biker stepfather Syke, and attacks when bullies harass her best friend Dooley.

When Dr. Artaud suggests Star write a song, she finally sifts through her mother's possessions, looking for clues to spark her imagination. Among the boxes, Star unearths her mother's letter to John Lennon and her damaged vintage Gibson guitar.

Trading out labor at Seegar's Guitar Repair for repairing the Gibson, Star reflects on her mother's memories as well as Lennon's disparate songs for his mother-the nostalgic "Julia" and the enraged "Mother"-and the song begins.

Love and loss are music's inspirations, and Delaney weaves their melodies together for this powerful, realistic novel.

Wendy Cope, Kennesaw State University, for SIGNAL magazine