Book Review - The Glass Cafe

Courtesy of Random House

The Glass Cafe is the kind of book that might have been banned from libraries 50 years ago. You see, it's all about 12 year-old Tony and his mom Al, who's a stripper at a local bar called the Kitty Kat Club. Al is trying her best to support Tony while going to graduate school but her job soon gets Tony into trouble.

Since he's always emerged in the world of stripping, Tony's art starts to take on a new edge - one where all of his subjects are naked. Suddenly, social services is investigating Tony and Al's unique lifestyle and the government is looking to take Tony away. But Al isn't about to stand back and let that happen.

The whole story is told from the perspective of Tony, which is pretty cool because it's not every day you get a 12 year-old talking so openly about stuff like strippers and court and all that other dramatic stuff. The Glass Cafe isn't written in journal form but it sometimes takes on that kind of feel.

Unlike like The Princess Diaries, Dancing in my Nuddy Pants and other books written in diary form, The Glass Cafe isn't that easy to follow. Gary Paulsen tends to write his books as though he's just talking aloud, letting his thoughts flow, and it's hard to get it sometimes. Despite this, The Glass Cafe is definitely a book you'll wanna pick up if you're looking for something just a bit more edgy and controversial.

For a look at other Gary Paulsen's novels, and some info about the author himself, head to Random House's official site, www.randomhouse.com Rating:

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