Beige

This was delightful, from the little French touches in Katy's emails home, to the whirlwind that is Lake.

Katy's summer visit to her punk rocker dad in LA gives her glimpses into her mother's past, and the possibilities for her own future. This story is about not conforming to nonconformity, finding you own level of loud, and talking when you're angry.

What I enjoyed most was that Katy was changed by her experience, but she still remained true to her own character, she didn't become a echo of her new California friends.

Katy, daughter of an anthropology student and a burnt out rock legend, winds up spending the summer with her estranged father amid the L.A. Music scene. While there, she learns more about her past and herself as she grudgingly befriends the people around her.

This book is a good argument for sticking with a title you don't think you'll like. Left to my own devices, I probably would have bailed half-way though this one, as it features unlikeable characters, a music scene I have no real interest in, and takes place in that mystic LA that only exists in teen novels.

If I had bailed, I would have missed out, because while Castellucci doesn't make her characters anymore likable, she does make them a whole lot more sympathetic and show more understandable. And while I'm not sure that the LA setting is all that realistic, it is more recognizable than that of Block or Rachel Cohn. Much to my surprise, I really enjoyed this book. The characters are well drawn, their back stories skillfully introduced and the ending, while upbeat, is not over the top happy. show less

Katy has been transplanted from Montreal to LA for the summer to stay with her ex-punk-rocker dad while her mom is out of the country doing research. Katy has only met her dad a handful of times and hasn't seen him since she was seven. She has no desire to make up for lost time. She's thrust into this greasy, sweaty, dark punk-rock world and she knows that she doesn't fit in. Compared to the people around her, she's so... beige. She tells herself that she'll hold her nose, power through, and pretend she's somewhere else. But things don't always turn out as planned and once Katy gives this world half a chance, it might be the very thing that will help her figure out who she really is.

I almost put this book down after about fifty pages. show more I hated Katy. HATED. She was such a bitch! She didn't give anything a chance before she decided that it was terrible and she hated it. She was terribly dishonest with everyone around her, preferring to be nice and bite her tongue instead of experiencing the world.

Luckily, I did not put it down because by the end of the book I loved Katy. So, pick this book up. And don't put it down until you've finished it. :) show less

This isn't your average protagonist's story of a summer spent reconnecting and bonding with an absentee parent. The premise that Katy's dad is also a recovering addict and aged Punk Rock band member adds a twist to their communication gap. Castellucci reveals what makes Katy beige as she introduces the reader to the truth about the girl's parents' meeting and parting of ways. Castellucci colors Katy's metamorphosis beyond beige in the reveal of her true self in the final chapters. Castellucci connects with the teen angst of internal and external conflicts--relationships with parents, friends, and oneself.

Merideth says: Katy, daughter of an anthropology student and a burnt out rock legend, winds up spending the summer with her estranged father amid the L.A. Music scene. While there, she learns more about her past and herself as she grudgingly befriends the people around her.

This book is a good argument for sticking with a title you don't think you'll like. Left to my own devices, I probably would have bailed half-way though this one, as it features unlikeable characters, a music scene I have no real interest in, and takes place in that mystic LA that only exists in teen novels.

If I had bailed, I would have missed out, because while Castellucci doesn't make her characters anymore likable, she does make them a whole lot more sympathetic show more and understandable. And while I'm not sure that the LA setting is all that realistic, it is more recognizable than that of Block or Rachel Cohn. Much to my surprise, I really enjoyed this book. The characters are well drawn, their back stories skillfully introduced and the ending, while upbeat, is not over the top happy. (cross-posted from MeriJenBen) show less

Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce for TeensReadToo.com

When Katy is shipped off to Los Angeles to live with her father for the summer, she is less than pleased. Why couldn't she stay in Canada, or go with her sensible mother on her trip? After all, her father is Beau Ratner, the aging punk rocker known by his fans as "The Rat."

Katy is not a punk rock kind of girl. She's not even a music kind of girl. Katy's a good girl. Even if that means keeping it all inside. Even if that means hating everything to do with music--everything that, all those years ago, made her mother run off, do drugs, sleep with "The Rat," and get pregnant with Katy.

BEIGE is a fantastic novel, and Cecil Castellucci is a very talented writer. Her characters are wonderfully show more real and fresh. Her story is absorbing enough to be read all in one sitting (so start this one on an empty Saturday!). BEIGE is an honest, real, intelligent, and very well-written book for music lovers and those of us who can't tell the difference between the great and the popular alike!

It's a good music story, sure, but, more than that, it's a wonderful and amazingly good life story. BEIGE is one of my top picks for 2007 so far, and I'm definitely moving Cecil Castellucci's other two teen novels (BOY PROOF and THE QUEEN OF COOL) up on my to-read list. show less

While a good book, I don't think I would recommend it to any young adults. There is a very disturbingly real scene at a party involving drunkenness, "promiscuity" and giving in to peer pressure.

At first I didn't like Katy (Beige). She was very whiney in her mind while presenting a very shallow and false persona to the world. I guess that part disturbed me because I related to it so well. Especially the smiling while being miserable inside. Parts of the book were great, but other parts didn't delve deeply enough. When Katy gets the first revelation from her mom and is so gracious and accepting it just seemed unreal. When she got the second one it seemed like she should have spoken explicitly to her mother or had a bigger tantrum. It show more didn't seem genuine to me. Still, again I would have done similar things and wish I could have acted out more.

I would say this book is more young college adult than high school book. show less