What the Manolo Is…

Manolo says, it is Tuesday, time to see what the Manolo is…

As great as the movie Paper Moon is, and it is great, the book on which it is based, Addie Pray, is even better.

One of the Manolo’s biggest complaints about modern young adult novels (at least those not involving wizards or vampires) is that the central character is more often the victim than the hero, who triumphs not through wits and action, but through simple endurance.

Imagine, then, how the writers of 21st century young adult fiction would treat the problems of Addie Pray, the newly orphaned 11-year-old girl released into the custody of the nomadic petty criminal who may or may not be her father, and then do it in exactly the opposite manner, and you would have Joe David Brown’s book, which is by turns sweet, hilarious, and wonderful.

And, among the most amazing things is that this wonderful book could then be translated into the wonderful movie, something which may be confirmed by watching the famous Nehi and the Coney Island scene…

And which after viewing makes you feel sad about the fates of Tatum and Ryan O’Neal.

Comments

jelodi97 15 years ago

Addie Pray/Paper Moon is a wonderful book! One can’t help but root for this petty crime duo, even though morality might dictate otherwise. And for me, this author really created something special with the Addie character.

floretbroccoli 15 years ago

The lesson I took away from the wonderful “Addie Pray” was that if you give a large sum of money to a rich person and to a poor person, the rich person will be able to spend it faster, because s/he knows about things to buy that the poor person has never heard of.

I find reason to quote that several times a year.

Gigi 15 years ago

Sometime in my teens, I read the book. Found it in my parents bookcase, a movie tie-in paperback with the movie poster on the cover. Loved it. Didn’t see the movie until I was well into my 30s. Tatum O’Neal and I are the same age. I wasn’t old enough to see the movie when it was released! There is a lot about that book that I still think back on to this day.

Nina A 15 years ago

If you’re looking for YA where teens have more agency, try Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. It’s post-apocolyptic SF.