TANGERINE

A teenager's struggles to break free from the denial his family has lived in for years: denial about Paul's mysterious accident, which causes him to wear thick glasses; denial about his father's overwhelming interest in his older brother's football stardom while completely neglecting Paul's life; denial of the futility of his mother's constant efforts to "fit in" and make them all appear normal to the outside world. But when Paul enrolls in Tangerine Middle School, he is given a chance to be someone completely unique for the first time. Told in the first person by Paul, this is a thought-provoking, yet highly readable and entertaining story. Narrator Ramon de Ocampo conveys what it's like to be a teenager, a person with almost no power over his own life, yet full of his own strong beliefs about how things should be. He gives Paul an optimistic voice, making him come across as extremely likable, a person ready to learn and grow from life's experiences. D.G. 2002 YALSA Selection (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 02]