Theories of Relativity [Hardcover]

Barbara Haworth-Attard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 11, 2005

My fingers search the cardboard container, but I’ve finished the fries. I squirt ketchup on my fingers and lick it off. I’m never full. I think it was one of the reasons I had to leave, or, rather, my mother kicked me out. Jenna’s a runaway, but I’m a throwaway. Tossed out. Like garbage.

Keep your wits about you. Check your back.
Do what it takes to survive on the streets.

Dylan is living on the streets not through any choice of his own, unlike some of the teenagers he meets in the same situation. He’s been cut loose by his unstable mother, and lost most contact with his two younger brothers. He has nothing but his backpack stuffed with a few precious belongings and the homeless kids he meets. At least he has his theories. No one can take those away from him. Like how every fourth person throws him spare change; how no one does anything for anyone without a price; and how he just might be able to find a place in this complicated world.

Disturbing, gritty, painful, hopeful—this is a story of a sixteen-year-old determined to survive against all odds.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up–Dylan Wallace, 16, lives on the streets of an unnamed Canadian city. His cruel, useless mother threw him out to make ready for her fourth man, whom she hopes to marry. The teen's only refuges are a youth center, a 24-hour doughnut shop, and the library. He keeps a biography of Einstein with him and tries to make sense of theories of time travel and black holes in the context of his own lack of relatives. He tries to get a job, but he's too dirty to hire. He can either continue to panhandle or work the streets for Vulture, which Jenna, a sexually abused runaway, has been doing, first by begging, then by dealing and prostitution. When Dylan tries to get her away from the pimp, he is beaten and drugged. The prose is simple and direct, and the protagonist is a believable combination of bumbling and brave. As in Todd Strasser's Can't Get There from Here (S & S, 2004), the plot hinges on the drama of staying alive on the streets. While Strasser's narrator is flat and distant, Dylan's pain is acute and accessible. Long, bitterly cold nights set an appropriately bleak mood and remind readers of the protagonist's constant struggle to stay warm and fed. The use of Einstein's theories to mirror the isolation and inertia of street life feels forced and distracts from the considerable emotional impact of the narrative. This honest look at the desperation of teen homelessness is thought-provoking enough to spark discussion.–Johanna Lewis, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 8-11. Kicked out to make way for his mom's latest lover, Dylan is on the streets. He's warier than many of the other teens he meets--he knows that offers of "a party, a beer, a snort of coke, a joint, a night of warmth" usually come with strings attached. After a disappointing attempt to contact his long-out-of-touch grandfather, Dylan starts feeling less scrupulous. Will he wind up as some thug's creature, hustling for drugs and necessities, or will he take steps to redirect his life? Dylan's brainy inclinations (he totes a biography of Einstein in his backpack) serve mostly to attract concerned adults, but more effective characterization comes from ties to his younger brothers and his bitterness toward those who have failed him: "My theory of relativity is that all relatives suck." This is indisputably a problem novel, but it's one that shows the realities of the streets (not every homeless teen depicted finds a mentor, as Dylan does, in a corporate executive) while suggesting brighter times ahead for its strong-willed protagonist. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 231 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) (August 11, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805077901
• ISBN-13: 978-0805077902
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,425,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic Read, June 13, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Theories of Relativity (Paperback)

Theories of Relativity is a great novel. It allows you to travel into the mind of a 16 year old teen named Dylan who was recently kicked out of his house. He struggles day after day begging for money to be able to buy food to live. He finds a few friends and thinks he has a tight relationship with all of them, but unfortunately one of them ends up betraying him. Throughout the novel Dylan has to face a few but tough obstacles that confront him and they leave him both physically and emotionally scarred for life.

Also, I agree with Marsha Skrypuch, who previously said that "The story will stay with you." It has definitely touched me and will stay with me in the future. Not only has it influenced my perspective on life, I think it will influence anyone else who reads it. After finishing reading this book I took a moment and thought about how most people have very easy lives and how Dylan had to struggle during his life, both when he lived in his house with his family and also when he lived on the streets.

This fantastic book has left a deep imprint on me and it will on anyone else who reads it. I recommend everyone to read this book as it is most definitely a MUST READ!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I have a theory.... this book is great!, June 9, 2005

By 

Wylee Co (Toronto, ON Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Theories of Relativity (Paperback)

The novel starts out with a 16-year old teen named Dylan, a bright but emotionally damaged boy because of the bad breaks that he has gone through. When his mother got pregnant, his father left her to fend for herself and Dylan. In the present, Dylan was kicked out of his house because of his bad attitude and his mother's innate hatred for him. Now on the streets, Dylan must face the unrelenting and harsh reality of the world. Dylan must learn to protect himself and his values or the streets will have taken another victim....

Overall, I think this book was great because the author has made it seem like what happened to Dylan could happen to anyone. This book also portrays the awful truth about homeless teens and how low that some of them may go to survive just a few days on the streets.

This book is masterfully executed with little flaws and I would totally recommend this book to anyone who is interested in these issues or if you just want a good book to read.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book that will stay with you, April 5, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Theories of Relativity (Paperback)

For about 3 months I had not read a book because I just did not have any motivation to read. I found this book, read the first page and knew that I would read this from finish to start unlike the other books that I bought and got sick of. I could not put down this book and it is very sad but the ending gave me a touching feeling. Some parts were quite disturbing. This book has made me aware of the kids on the street. I hope more people will read this so they too will be aware.