Best in Show: Book Covers 2011 Children’s Picture Book edition

In the third and (probably) final post in my Best in Show series, I wrap up a year of unforgettable children’s books by listing best in cover art design. The competition was stiff, the entries superb; but these books stood head and shoulders above the rest with their excellent use of color, space, and text.

We start off the selections with my personal favorite, Grandpa Green by Lane Smith. I simply can’t get over the brilliant combination of color and pencil drawing. This story is not only a triumph of design, but also of story. It made a huge splash when it was released in August, and will no doubt be collecting awards for years to come.

 

Zero, by Tom Leveen

The Book:

Zero
By Tom Leveen
Random House Books
Due out April 24, 2011

 

     For aspiring artist Amanda Walsh, who only half-jokingly goes by the nickname Zero, the summer before college was supposed to be fun—plain and simple. Hanging out with her best friend Jenn, going to clubs, painting, and counting down the days until her escape. But when must-have scholarship money doesn’t materialize, and she has a falling out with Jenn that can only be described as majorly awkward, and Zero’s parents relationship goes from tense to relentless fighting, her prospects start looking as bleak and surreal as a painting by her idol Salvador Dali. Will life truly imitate art? Will her new, unexpected relationship with a punk skater boy who seems too good to be real and support from the unlikeliest of sources show Zero that she’s so much more than a name.

The Review

As you can gather from the description, Tom Leveen’s second foray into the adolescent teenage mind (his first book, Party, came out in 2010) is all about the awkwardness of first love and the arduous journey of discovering one’s own worth. The main protagonist, who goes by Zero–an obvious indicator of her own selfworth–has angsty issues aplenty. She hates her body, her art, her family, and now her bestfriend. And, like all teenagers, she simultaneous craves and fears the spotlight. After plucking up the courage to talk to a skater boy who also happens to be the drummer in an up-and-coming band, Zero falls head first into a relationship that makes her take a hard look at how she treats herself and what it is she wants out of life.

Tom Leveen does an excellent job capturing the voice of a teenage girl, especially considering he was never one himself. Zero feels authentic in a way that is both interesting and familiar. She is smart, creative, and funny, if you don’t mind 13-year-old-boy humor. Her relationships with her parents and boyfriend are believable, and not overdramatized. In short, she is a character many readers will relate to.

The book deals with a lot of  heavy issues without feeling too depressing. Zero worries constantly about her body image, choosing to view herself only through the reflection of the glass framing her Salvador Dali reprints collection–the distorted image obviously mirroring (hehe, pun) the twisted way in which she views herself. Her relationship with her parents is on the rocks. Her father is a heavy drinker spiraling out of control, and Zero places the blame firmly at her mothers feet. She also has had a falling out with her bestfriend–perhaps the most evocative relationship in the entire book, and something, I’m sad to say, that wasn’t as fully explored as it could have been.

The text itself is paired down to the basics. Simple sentences (sorry, no flowery verbosity here), firmly bring about Zero’s viewpoint and also make the book a quick read (I finished it in under five hours).

However, this book does have one major drawback: the plot. A whole lot of nothing goes on during the book. The characters and interactions Leveen has built are fantastic, but they accomplish next to zilch. The biggest achievement for the main character–giving up her moniker, Zero, for her real name, Amanda–is something that goes unremarked upon, Leveen choosing instead to build up Zero’s indecision whether to follow her rocker boyfriend to LA. When at last Zero makes her decision, it still feels like more like an afterthought than a declaration of selfworth. This feeling carries through to the other, quickly hashed out resolutions concerning Zero’s parents’ marital strife and the conflict with bestfriend Jenn. At the end of the book, everybody–characters and readers alike–are left with the feeling that more could have been said and done, but regrettably was not.

The Rating

Readability:         
Originality:           
Believability:        
Thematic Quality:
Connectability:     

Overall Rating:

The Recommendation

Read it if you like character-driven books. People who enjoy Ellen Hopkins’ Crank will find it lighter, but still probing. People who enjoy John Green’s Paper Towns will find it a less philosophical, but quicker read.