Alice is an awesome mother: funny, smart,
creative, protective and loving. Her son, Tony, is a twelve-year- old budding, talented artist. Alice works as a dancer at the Kitty Kat club, a place where Tony seeks
the models for his artworks.
When Tony’s drawings reach the local art
museum, they attract unwanted attention, ignite distrust and spark concerns about
Alice’s parenting. Rumors spread like wildfire and people question how
responsible Alice is as a mother. The social services agency ends up getting
involved…
Both
Alice and Tony are quirky and charming. The more I get to know them, the more I
like them. The narrative of the novella is comical and witty. It is told from
Tony’s point of view in a lively, unique voice that will entertain both
teenagers and adults of all ages.
The
Glass Café is so engaging that I completed the read in about one hour; the
ending left me feeling joyful and satisfied. Writers can learn a lot from Mr.
Paulsen’s writing style, for there is no unnecessary rambling to bore the
reader in The Glass Café.
It is not
easy to find young adult fiction books that do not portray mothers as
dysfunctional characters, so this story was refreshing.
I appreciate the ways Mr. Paulsen shatters
social prejudices. He mocks rigid-mindsets and pokes fun at bigoted
attitudes and sexist, misogynistic stereotypes that put women down. He does
so with grace and humor.
Those who judge Alice’s character are probably
projecting their own perversions and expressing their deep-seated
bigotry. (I wonder if those readers even finished the book).
Five stars are not enough for The Glass Café. I want to award this book many more stars.
Gary
Paulsen was a prolific writer and a three-time winner of the Newberry Honor
Awards. You can check his books here:
