Paper Covers Rock

Paper Covers Rock is a beautifully written book. It is written in journal style not the normal form. As I kept reading it, it kept reminding me of a book that I read back in high school but I couldn’t put my finger on the title. When I finished reading it, it suddenly dawned on me that it was similar to A Separate Peace by John Knowles ( I loved that book back then).

The cover doesn’t do justice to the story within. After the death of their friend Thomas, Alex and Glenn begin a journey full of lies to cover for them being at the river. As we keep reading, the journal style narration slowly begins to unravel what happened to the days leading up to the fateful day of Thomas’ death and what happens after. The tension slowly begins to build up as Alex and Glenn’s try to find out exactly how much their teacher Miss Dovecott knows about that day.

The characters were well characterized and we’re able to relate to Thomas and Miss Dovecott, and despise Glenn and his selfish actions. The boarding school politics come into play here as well and people get away with things that should not be possible.

Overall, Paper Covers Rock kept me on my toes, waiting to see what really happened and why it happened to Thomas. ( )

1. I like that this is set in the 1980s and not in the present day - after reading so much contemporary fiction set in the modern day, this was refreshing, and it was achieved delicately, without lots of heavy-handed references to the Reagan administration or KISS. The main difference, actually, is in the attitudes toward homosexuality.

2. It is reminiscent of A Separate Peace, but there are a few key differences: one, there's no question of Thomas having been pushed to his death by the narrator; two, the narrator, Alex, was not the only one there when Thomas died. Instead of dealing with grief and guilt alone, he has a friend in the same situation - but that friend complicates more than he simplifies.

3. As in much of YA literary fiction, other literary works are used as a touchstone, especially Moby-Dick (though Alex does not ever make it past the first chapter - again, refreshingly honest). A few of "Alex's" own poems are scattered throughout the book and they are pretty good - not cringe-inducing failed attempts, nor so good that they couldn't have been written by a teenager.

4. The letter Alex writes to Thomas' parents (p. 64-65) is as good a condolence message as any I have ever seen ("...Now I realize that I will never know exactly what to say or how to say it...")

Read to your heart's content. Though if you are a reader, the heart is never content. (2)

Loss of innocence is the knowledge that your brain, no matter how much you cajole it, can never make your heart pure. (73)

The brain is like a tree, and the tree has roots so deep that you have no idea what it is that grounds you. (130)

Lose an arm in the tow,
shed the shell, breathe
farewell in the waves. (130)

Poetry is a way of seeing the world with your feelings. (148)

...and he'll leave it as others have left it, as others will leave it, boys stepping into who they are without ever having known who they were. (163)

( )

Paper Covers Rock
By
Jenny Hubbard

My "in a nutshell" summary...

Boys...private school...drowning...lies!

My thoughts after reading this book...

Why do certain opening sentences just sing to me...I knew I was going to love reading this book from the start! It was adventurous, sad, confusing, and more. Choices made were not good ones...I still don't know why Thomas died...and un golden boy Alex...had far too many secrets.

I felt sorry for Miss Dovecott but admired her teaching at the same time. I didn't like the way her story ended.

What I loved about this book...

Alex's potential? Hmmm...

What I did not love...

That's simple...the ending? I am still wondering what happened.

Final thoughts...

A bad incident at a boarding school leads to tragedy. Characters are key in this sad story. ( )

I listened to this on audio (a short one, only 4 discs) and it captivated me from the very first lines. With audios, I usually instantly love it or instantly hate it; I'm a sucker for a great narrator. This was a beautifully written story about the aftermath of a drowning accident at a strict all boys boarding school. I recommend this book to everyone, and after loving the audio I am curious to read it in book form- there is a lot of poetry that I'd like to see on paper. Also, fair warning, this book may make you want to go pick up Moby Dick if you haven't already. ( )

Alex, a junior at a boys' boarding school, cannot save the life of a friend who has had an alcohol-related accident on a nearby river. A newly minted teacher arrives on the scene and may have seen more than she is saying. She encourages Alex to explore his talent as a poet and share his feelings. This book is set in 1982 which may make it difficult for young readers to relate to; the stigma of homosexuality seems extreme by today's standards. Hard not to think of John Green's superior "Looking for Alaska" when reading this book. ( )