Customer Reviews

Stays Crunchy in Milk

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What at first glance appears to be a sugary simple tale turns out to be a deftly-layered exploration of the hero's journey. Pop culture references, cleverly described from oblique angles so as to provide the reader with continual starts of recognition as they move through the text, enhance this examination of what drives us: the need for love, the need for control, and especially the need to belong. Knave accomplishes all of this while delivering a fun read; recommended -- but be aware you may need to read this one twice to get everything Knave's packed in there.

There's a little bit of everything: buddy film meets road trip meets biting social commentary with overtones of Zen parable; I'm particularly enamored of the persistent need to find 'the other' -- in this case, the elusive Cherrygeist -- and Knave's examination of the role we all take in creating our own realities. Don't put this down as simple or gimmicky: the careful reader will discover that it is anything but.

Those who spent their childhood Saturday mornings still wearing their jammies and sitting too close to a television can't possibly be prepared for the trip down memory lane they'll find between the covers of Adam P. Knave's "Stays Crunchy in Milk." While references to 1980's pop culture abound, the writing is much more that that. This delightful novel about three friends trying to find their missing fourth pays homage to those long (and long ago) Saturday mornings yet remains accessible to all.

"Stays Crunchy in Milk" is a romp through your childhood, if you happened to have survived pop-culture of the 80's. Despite the cartoonish appearance of the lead characters on the cover, however, this is a view of childhood through an adult's eyes. It's also an uplifting road story about friendship and all the downs and ups that it brings.

Wereberry, Choco-Ra and The Creature from the Fruit Lagoon (we'll call him T.C. for short) are best friends who lead simple lives. And yes, they should remind you of breakfast cereal icons. That's part of the fun. One day they discover one of their number has gone missing, and set out on a quest to find their friend. As such things go, they didn't really know what they were getting into when they started, and would be forever changed by their journey once they reach it's end.

The magic of this book is that it stays bright, true and hopeful through-out but never pulls a punch. A friendship doesn't solidify until it's been challenged, and these characters definitely work their way through their fair share of challenges. Half the fun in reading is trying to find the cultural references that make up it's trappings, while immersing yourself into the life-lessons it teaches that are it's heart and soul. Every new place the friends find brings it's own rules, tribulations and joys. Just when things start to get stale, the rules change and we the reader ride along with the characters to figure things out.

The book reads quickly, but will surprise you with it's depth if you aren't looking for it. It will suck you in and pull you along as the characters go on their trek, releasing you only with the last words on the page, as all good books should.

Adam P. Knave really nailed this one. The premise, about three cartoon cereal characters -- Wereberry the strawberry werewolf, Choco-Ra the chocolate mummy, and The Creature from the Fruit Lagoon -- going on a quest to find their fourth friend, Cherrygeist the cherry ghost... who seems to have disappeared -- is obviously kitschy and funny, and while Knave embraces that, he also gives the book more character and heart than one would expect.

An adventure through the cartoon pop culture tropes of the eighties, Stays Crunchy In Milk is like Lord of the Rings starring Count Chocula instead of Gandalf... Highly recommended!