If you're tired of scholars and snooty old men with convertibles and cigars, or whatever snooty old men drive and do, saying that modern literature is not nearly as developed as the classics, this book will prove those people wrong.
How the Light Gets In was written a few years ago by M.J. Hyland. It's about a teen from Australia who moves to a suburb in Chicago as a foreign exchange student with a typical American family.
This book is a fascinating ride through the main character's adventure in America. It will make you evaluate several things...
-Teens in the 21st century- what the hell are we doing to them?
-"The good life"- life in the suburbs or middle class America
The main character/narrator reminds me a lot of Houlden from Catcher in the Rye. Hyland's narrator is female and is a little more modernized, but she still does and says the wackiest things that make you say, "who are you?" And the best part about a character like that is it makes you think about all the nonsense you say in your head aaaall day long, but unlike Houlden and Lou, no one writes 300 pages about YOUR brain.
Lastly, one of my favorite qualities of this book, and so many others, is the title. I love, love, love, when the title is in the back of your mind the whole time you're reading a book because you're straining to figure out how it all connects, like in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Anyway, read it, it's good, lots of action and livin' on the edge kinda stuff. And if that's not enough, buy it for the cover (red lips of a girl with a fat cigarette) and take it to a park and watch how many suburban moms cover their kids eyes and gawk at you for daring to show that foul book in public!
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