The Most Excellent book of the semester?

Okay, sorry, the titles of these posts are really sort of cheesey. I just can't help myself.

Anyway, as the last book of the semester, I couldn't help but think back on all of the ones I've read. The one that stuck out most in my mind was Looking for Alaska. I just so enjoyed that book, and after that, nothing ever quite met that expectation. Sometimes it was the genre, sometimes the characters or the plot itself, but I never quite reached the satisfaction that I had while reading Alaska... until My Most Excellent Year, by Steve Kluger. The story is one of three friends growing up, dealing with love and loss, friendship, and mostly hope.

I know many people didn't like the varying format, but I thought it so enhanced the book and kept it interesting. It gave great insight on each of the characters and helped me better get into their heads and understand their motivations. I just thought the format was appropriate. No complaints.

I also think that one of my favorite parts of the book was its ability to get across a point without making it glaringly obvious. I don't think that it had an "agenda" so to speak, but I think it's fair to say that Kluger was trying to make a point about homosexuality, mostly by not making it at all, less perhaps one line, said by Augie's dad, "I realized that we'd never had the "I'm gay" conversation. Has this generation finally made it superfluous? If only."

Though homosexuality was a theme throughout the book, it was just that, A theme, not THE theme, and nothing jammed down your throat or shoved in your face. I so appreciated that. Perhaps it was an ideal world, perhaps it wasn't "realistic" enough, but the first step to accomplishing a social goal is to be able to envision it. And I think Kluger did an exceptional job with his handling of this social issue.

The rest of the book was simply about love. Father-son love, Mother-son love, friendly love, budding love, romantic love, the love of a child, among probably others. Yes, the world is full of horrible things, and often life is not fair... but sometimes it's nice to step outside of that and remember that love prevails. It was a pick-me-up book, an easy read, something fun, and it left me with a smile. I would give it my highest recommendation for any student looking for this sort of feeling.