A good book about a moment in time that most of us usually would rather forget.
While firmly rooted in its time, Brockheimer's "memoir" captures those universal aspects that link young teenagers across generations -- the awkwardness, the yearning to fit in, the identity crises. At the same time the narrative is very particular to Brockheimer's experiences as an intelligent, sensitive, observant teenager -- which ultimately gives the book a quirky quality and prevents it from resonating fully.
I came across this book and found the premise to be quite interesting. After all, how many novels propose to revisit those years that were awkward and amazing all at once.
If you have ever desired to relive the awkwardness and confusion of seventh-grade, this is the book for you. If you have no wish to even think about that terrible and painful period, this is still a well-written and beautiful book.
This is the first I've heard of Kevin Brockmeier, but I really loved his memoir "A Few Seconds of Radiant Filmstrip," where he writes about his year as a nerdy seventh grade student. He tells his story in third person.
I've yet to find anyone willing to say that they actually enjoyed 7th grade. Braces, zits, height spurts, body changes and other uncharted territory all make for trauma at the time and rueful laughs in retrospect.
After reading through a few chapters I was surprised to discover that this is actually a memoir chronicling the (minor) triumphs and tribulations of author, Kevin Brockmeier's seventh-grade life in mid 80's Arkansas. Told from the 3rd person the book reads completely like fiction with no setup, reflection or explanation and with such a honed perspective Brockmeier really succeeds at getting you placed into the headspace of his preteen self.
At first I didn't like this book because of the author's use of a third person narration for what is essentially a biographical look at the 7th grade, and also because I felt he went overboard trying to jam picturesque language into his narrative that interrupted the flow. I got used to the 1st complaint above but I still feel a lot of his descriptive phrases were trying too hard to be clever and really didn't work.
I wanted to love this book because Brockmeier is an amazing writer, but the content was essentially absent. I kept waiting for something to grab me or be truly interesting, but to me it added up to a memoir about average experiences (with a really bizarre chapter about a daydream or something with people who were alive choosing whether they wanted to be born or not).
This is an odd book; weirdly entertaining, some moments of poignancy and insight. But I had to work very hard to not think of it as “contrived.
I can't imagine a more rotten representation of humanity than 7th grade, and nothing in this book changed that perception. I was glad to see Kevin Brockmeier ignore any rose-colored memories and focus on the brutality - but rare moments of good humor - that junior high was filled with.
Brockmeier thinks back to his seventh grade year and his journey to find himself. He wants big changes to happen and to stop floating through life in his dreamworld.
This memoir simply did an amazing job at capturing the feel of a year of a special, but also universal, childhood. Kevin (he uses the 3rd person, although he's the author) is starting a new school in 7th grade, and many parts of his life are changing.
Kevin Brockmeier was that sensitive future writer guy when he was in the 7th grade. He remembers it all in detail, from the ever-changing rules of coolness to the not-so-loyal friends, to the assorted deceptions and nastinesses practiced on one another by kids, cool and uncool alike.
I read enough of this book to determine that the writing is well done and evoked the angst of middle school as I remembered it, but that wasn't the real test. Getting my 7th grade grandson's opinion was.
