Since You Left Me

Since You Left Me by Allen Zadoff
4/5 stars
Egmont USA, 2012
314 pages
YA Contemporary Religious

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

After reading Zadoff's previous works Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have (which apparently I did not review) and My Life, The Theater, and Other Tragedies, I requested this expecting another great contemporary read from the male perspective. And I would say that I found a sensitive and endearing male voice in the person of Sanskrit Aaron Zuckerman (yes that is his first name as bestowed upon him by his yoga-obsessed mother).

Sanskrit's life isn't going so well. As evidenced by the title, he feels pretty abandoned. His parents are divorced with his mother deeply enmeshed in her yoga studio and his dad barely managing to parent on the weekends. His younger sister Sweet Caroline (yes, that is her full name, like the song) is kind of annoying, as younger sisters are and she seems to be developing her own life away from the family. Sanskrit's crush is forever out of reach. And his former best friend has discovered God after a trip to Israel. His now-deceased grandfather left him an inheritance that can only be spent on school where he must receive a Jewish education despite his own lack of faith.

But the book opens at the parent conference for his orthodox Jewish private school, his flaky mother doesn't show. Since his stubborn behavior already has him on the trouble-list, he blurts out a lie, just a little lie to buy him some time. Unfortunately that little lie has big consequences; some people start to draw nearer but what will they do when the truth is discovered?

Like I said above, I really liked Sanskrit whose voice is compelling and kept me turning the pages even though I knew some bad things would happen as his lies are found out. Because once you tell one lie, you usually end up telling more to cover your tracks. His lies get pretty big but I never lost my sympathy and connection to Sanskrit.

What I didn't like so much was his mother whose guru comes to visit before taking her back to India with him. I just could not handle how selfish she was. I get being frustrated with your life but you don't abandon your kids; you just don't. Plus she was so resistant to Sanskrit's opinions, which were spot-on  even if he wasn't always able to present them as well. I just really disliked the mother and consequently the end. I didn't think much of the father either but he wasn't in the book that much. Sweet Caroline, though somewhat a pain, was pretty cute :) I want to emphasize the importance of their family to the story as it comes to take center stage while the lie percolates at Sanskrit's school.

Overall: A warm novel about family and truths featuring a strong male voice.

Cover: I really like the colors-they're very bold and bright and stand out from all those covers with people on them. The plane is also relevant to the plot.

My Life, The Theater, and Other Tragedies

My Life, The Theater, and Other Tragedies by Allen Zadoff
Egmont, 2011
288 pages
YA; Contemporary
4/5 stars

Source: Received an ARC through Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.

After enjoying Zadoff's Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have, I kept this on my radar once I heard about it.  I love high school theater stories and Zadoff's writing so I knew this would be a win.

There were two main threads to the story that eventually intersected.  The sadder, more emotional thread was Adam missing his father who had died the previous year.  His father painted and proved an inspiration to him and he felt lost.  Furthermore because his father died alone in the dark, Adam seeks the light and struggles with sleep.  Obviously this section is not as fun but I thought it was well-done with enough punch, especially for younger readers.

The other segment is the war between actors and techies (think Romeo and Juliet) that is threatening in many ways.  The student director is an arrogant control-freak who might jeopardize Adam's future prospects in the high school theater.  The actors think the techies (especially Adam) want to jeopardize the show and their director is suffering from a mid-life crisis.  Lastly Adam has a crush on an actress which could send the two sides spiraling completely out of control.  In general these were the humorous sections; although Adam does not see the humor, they were fantastic to read.

Overall: Another great read from Zadoff!

Cover: I knew it was a theater story so the lights make sense but since Adam is also the light guy, it actually makes even more sense.