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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Well Written, But Who's It For?, August 14, 2007
This review is from: The Spell Book Of Listen Taylor (Hardcover)
This book threw me off a bit. The Spell Book of Listen Taylor begins by focusing on a seventh grader named Listen Taylor, addressing her troubles with her old friends at a new school. Listen finds an odd spell book and the spells might actually work, though Listen seems less informed than readers about the spells' outcomes. (Despite the wonderful cover, this is NOT a fantasy--it's contemporary realism with hints of whimsy and magical realism.) Anyway, I quickly allied myself with Listen as the main character, only to find that she was a member of an ensemble cast--many of whom are adult characters.
The narrative is framed by the Zing Family Secret, which impacts a surprising number of lives. Listen's father's girlfriend Marbie is a Zing, and a large portion of the book is about Marbie, Marbie's sister Fancy, and Fancy's daughter Cassie's second-grade teacher, whose name is Cath. I should note that people cheating on their spouses or boyfriends is a strong thread running through the narrative. It occurs three and a half times in key subplots--the half being an imaginary affair. (The affairs are treated as troubling, but not entirely objectionable.)
Of course, readers will spend much of the book trying to guess the Zing Family Secret; it turns out to be both ordinary and extraordinary when it is finally revealed. Moriarty's characters are likable and the humor is subtly ironic. There are also a number of fresh plot points and details, plus the author has a very appealing voice.
I soon found myself wondering, however, whether this is truly a book for Young Adults. The majority of the book is about the adult characters, which is usually a no-no when writing for children or teens. Listen's piece of the plot is certainly compelling--Moriarty captures the random cruelty of middle schoolers with laser-like precision. But Marbie, Fancy, and Cath--grown-ups understandably preoccupied with their adult relationships--are given an awful lot of page time. A reader Listen's age may be unwilling to sit through long passages about adult women's lives (mothers, teachers, and grandmothers, no less!), but perhaps older teens will.
In a way, what throws me here is the juxtaposition of the story of a cluster of affairs with the humorously cloak-and-dagger plot line of the Zing Family Secret, as well as with Listen's school troubles. These story strands feel like they could have been three different books. Connections are eventually made between the strands, but in the meantime, they make for a slightly uneven braid.
Yet I found a lot to like about the book. Certain characters are particularly intriguing--Cassie, the second grader, could do with her own book, in my opinion. And there are so many nice touches, like the thread about hot-air balloons and the role of pies in one of the subplots, also a sly, funny bit about writer's block--how writing manages to emerge in someone's life even when she thinks she's stuck. Obviously, I have mixed feelings about The Spell Book of Listen Taylor, but I'll end by happily vouching for Jaclyn Moriarty' talent.
P.S. Update: It's been a few weeks, and I just have to say, "Aha!" Last night I read a Horn Book review that says Listen Taylor is "a revised version of an adult novel." So that explains a lot!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, August 22, 2007
This review is from: The Spell Book Of Listen Taylor (Hardcover)
12-year-old Listen Taylor, whose friends have decided to ditch her at the beginning of junior high, finds a spell book that claims it will mend her broken heart. Her father's girlfriend, Marbie Zing, struggles with her fears of losing her happiness and makes a terrible mistake. Marbie's sister, Fancy, speculates about her marriage as she works with Marbie to maintain their family secret. And Cath, a young teacher, falls for a married co-worker and discovers her life has a lot more to it than she ever suspected.
These four stories intertwine in THE SPELL BOOK OF LISTEN TAYLOR. Jaclyn Moriarty skillfully weaves together the narratives over the course of a school year, drawing the characters closer and closer together, and closer to a climax that is both surprising and inevitable. With each new strand, events that seemed unimportant in one narrative take on new significance. Each character's story adds to the others, creating a bigger picture that is far more satisfying than any one story would have been on its own.
Each of the characters are well-developed in their own right. Teen readers will likely sympathize most with Listen, who must overcome the unspoken rules of popularity and friendships, and Cath, who is young enough to still be uncertain of her place in the world. They may have more trouble relating to Marbie and Cath, who are dealing with issues of settling down and marital satisfaction, subjects which rarely affect teens. However, this also means the book will appeal to adults as well as children, and perhaps give teens a glimpse into the lives of their parents and teachers.
Despite the title and the spell book Listen finds, the spells which provide some framework for the story, THE SPELL BOOK OF LISTEN TAYLOR is mainly a realistic novel, with a light shading of magic. Readers expecting sorcery and special powers may be disappointed. But the hints of magic, in many ways, are far more enjoyable than if this book were outright supernatural or fantasy. They suggest that the extraordinary is possible in everyday life, even if you're not a witch or a wizard.
If you're looking for a quiet, thoughtful, but still suspenseful read, with a magic anyone can believe in, run out and grab THE SPELL BOOK OF LISTEN TAYLOR. It is one of the most unique books I've read this year, and one I never wanted to put down.
Reviewed by: Lynn Crow
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent as Chick-Lit, Bad as YA, April 3, 2008
This review is from: The Spell Book Of Listen Taylor (Hardcover)
I picked this book up on a whim at a bookstore, attracted mostly by the cover and the description, and I am so glad I did. This was probably the most enjoyable new book I've read in months; maybe years. I laughed out loud frequently, and just "had" to show my husband some of the funniest parts. I highly recommend this volume to women with a taste for magical realism and a quirky sense of humor.
Notice, however, that I say "women." As other reviewers have noted, this book centers more on adult characters than on children. Three of five main viewpoint characters are adult women. One is a suburban mother; one is a late-twenties white collar worker; one is a school-teacher. This suggests to me that the book is really intended for 20-30 something women with careers and long-term relationships. In other words, it seems more like chick-lit than YA fiction to me.
I think if you had handed this book to me ten years ago, when I was an undergraduate, I would have enjoyed it, but I wouldn't have "gotten it" the way I do now. I suspect that in another ten years, there will be a new level of enjoyment if I were to pick it up and reread. In the same way, I think older teen girls might like the quirkiness of this book, but I think they'd enjoy it even more in a decade, after more time spent playing the relationship-and-career game (and after reading Foucault, of course, as Leonie Marple-Hedginton would tell us).
P.S. I see from other reviews that this is actually a revision of an adult novel. If so, I hope Moriarty's publisher makes the original available, too!
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