Ron Koertge

I picked this book up at the library because the cover caught my eye. This is a darkly fun and twisted set of poems covering a number of fairy and folktales. I enjoyed it and thought it was a quick and fun read.

This was an interesting, disturbing, and darkly humorous collection of poetry retellings of fairy/folk tales. Everything from Red Riding Hood to the Little Match Girl is covered in this mix.

The artwork throughout this book is stark black and white cut-outs which match the twisted show more and blunt style of the poetry well. Many of the poems are full of irony and unexpected twists. Some of the poems also have a bit of a modern twist to them; for example the Little Match girl sells CDs not matches on the street.

I found this in the young adult section of the library, which kind of surprised me. There is implied rape, incest, cannibalism, and all other types of violent and somewhat questionable content in here. None of it is explicit, but it’s there. So I would recommend for older young adults only.

Surprisingly this poetry does an excellent job of echoing the dark and grisly nature of the original Grimm fairy tales. The poetry also adds some humor and irony to the mix which makes it even more fun to read.

I love fairy tale retellings and ended up enjoying this collection a lot. It was a quick and amusing read and echoes the original Grimm Fairy Tales well.

Overall I enjoyed this. It is a great collection of humorous, twisted, and dark fairy tale retellings. The artwork is stark and matches the tone of the fairy tales well. I would recommend this to those who like fairy tales retellings that are dark, slightly disturbing, and a bit humorous. show less

Do you want to sleep? Find another storyteller. Do you want to think about the world in a new way? Come closer. Closer, please. I want to whisper in your ear.

Koertge presents a new, modern take on the fairy tales most of us remember from our childhood. What happened to the stepsisters after Cinderella married her prince? Was Rapunzel really happy with her life or did she crave for what she couldn't have? What about the Little Match Girl? Seen a waif sitting on a street corner selling CD's show more lately? And, what really happens when you are the only one in the village to notice that the King's isn't wearing any clothes and voice it for all to hear and the reaction isn't quite what you expect it to be? What do you do then?

In sort, concise free verse format, Koertge' 23 vignettes are a refreshing if subversive viewpoint of a number of the fairy tales of old. If you aren't up to speed on your fairy tales, brush up before diving into this slim volume: some of these vignettes are written with an expectation that the reader is already versed in the stories that they refer to. The artwork by Dezso is a nice compliment. All the images as black cut paper silhouettes that are eye-catching with a subtle 3-D effect.

Overall, an enjoyable and quick read. show less

At first I was a bit put off by this book. Boy Girl Boy is told through three different characters, and I make no qualms in saying that I am not a big fan of this format at all. I think that it is very difficult to pull off. Rarely does an author capable of creating three distinct voices. Koertge is not an exception here.

Elliot, Teresa, and Larry are three very different teens who have all been friends with one and another since they were kids. Elliot is the gorgeous jock, Teresa is the show more brainy chick who’s been hot for Elliot for a couple of years, and Larry is the token gay boy living in a small town that believes his gayness is a sin.

OK, I realize so far this book doesn’t seem like it would be worthwhile, right? I mean, already, I’ve snubbed the writing convention and then I rolled my eyes at the stereotypical teen characters. But here’s the thing. I don’t know why it works, but it does!

Elliot, Teresa, and Larry all plan on escaping their small town immediately after graduation. California seems like just the place to start a new life. Their motivations are all quite different – Teresa’s father has become emotionally empty since the mother ran away and Larry knows that as an out gay man, he needs to go to a larger city where acceptance is closer to the norm rather than prayers. Only Elliot is reluctant about the move. He’s pretty okay with being in the small town for the most part. Sure, he won’t go to college, but he could take over his father’s butcher business. He happens to be pretty good at that, even if he’s not so good at being smart.

It’s interesting to see how the three friends change over the course of a couple of months. Between Larry meeting someone, Teresa fighting her feelings of Elliot, and Elliot caught in the middle of his friends’ dreams and his, Boy Girl Boy is a quick read.

[Side note 1] On the GLBT focus, Larry truly is a great character. Although he is casted as the token gay kid in a small town, there is much more to his personality. He’s clever and caring…you know, essentially believable and a person that I’d probably want to hang out with IRL. The attacks on Larry are also portrayed in a realistic manner without going over and beyond to illustrate a point.

[Side note 2] Terresa got on my last bloody nerve. What is up with me not connecting with the female ladies lately? Sheesh. I have personality, why can’t they? show less

In Bed
Being sick is like taking a trip, isn’t it
Going to another country, sort of.
A country nobody wants to visit.
A country named Fevertown.
Or Virusburg. Or Germ Corners.

So starts the wonderful Shakespeare Bats Cleanup, a novel in verse by Ron Koertge. Fourteen year old Kevin Borland is sidelined from his baseball team with a bout a mono…monouglyosis. His father, a novelist, gives him a ‘marbly black-and-white notebook’, you know, the kind you used in third grade and suggested he try show more writing, nothing formal. Hey, baseball players don’t write. But laid up in bed with nothing to do, Kevin starts to scribble. He then goes down to his dad’s library and borrows a book on poetry. What the heck, he’ll give it a try.

The result is Kevin’s attempts, some of them silly, some serious. Kevin reminisces about his mother who passed away. His mind rambles about the girls he’s dated

Confession
I liked Sherry Toi
because
she
liked
me
first.

or how the guys on the team treat him now that he’s sick or will a car salesman sell a convertible to a geeky guy. He tries his hand at haikus and sonnets and couplets and the sestinas (which I won’t even try to explain to you).

What’s great about Shakespeare Bats Cleanup is that the poems are everyday poems. The sonnets don’t sound like Shakespeare. Who knows what a pantoum is supposed to sound like, anyway? The subjects of his verse are everyday occurrences. If you can believe it, poetry made Kevin a better baseball player. And who knows, if you try writing poetry, you might get a girlfriend, like Kevin did, because poets are sensitive and girls like that. So, enjoy Shakepeare Bats Cleanup. Enjoy the poetry and story and maybe, just maybe, you’ll learn something about poetry too. You can’t go wrong. And stay tuned for my review of Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs, coming soon. show less