Book Review: Viola in Reel Life by Adriana Trigiani

Release Date: September 1, 2009
Publisher: HarperTeen
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 288Summary:
I'm marooned.

Abandoned.

Left to rot in boarding school . . .

Viola doesn't want to go to boarding school, but somehow she ends up at an all-girls school in South Bend, Indiana, far, far away from her home in Brooklyn, New York. Now Viola is stuck for a whole year in the sherbet-colored sweater capital of the world.

Ick.

There's no way Viola's going to survive the year—especially since she has to replace her best friend Andrew with three new roommates who, disturbingly, actually seem to like it there. She resorts to viewing the world (and hiding) behind the lens of her video camera.

Boarding school, though, and her roommates and even the Midwest are nothing like she thought they would be, and soon Viola realizes she may be in for the most incredible year of her life.

But first she has to put the camera down and let the world in. (From Amazon.com)
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Viola in Reel Life is a novel that is what it sounds like--plus a little extra. As the summary suggests, Viola goes to boarding school, complains, meets people, learns Important Lessons, and spends a lot of time with her camera. But there is also a ghost, massive amounts of creativity, phenomenal friendships, a wonderful depth of emotion, a lot of laughs--and it just made me happy.

I really enjoyed listening to Viola tell her story--Adriana Trigiani crafted a good-natured, savvy, and funny narrator. Viola makes one hilarious--and true--observation about life after another. On Viola's first night at her new school she says:

I'm sure everybody will be wearing new pajamas tonight. I know I will. My mother got rid of my "Vote for Pedro" T-shirt and cupcake jam pants because they had holes in them. I'll be mad at her until the day I die for that one. This is one thing all mothers have in common. When it comes to boarding school, or sleepaway camp, or a visit with the grand-p's, a girl needs a new wardrobe from the underwear out.

That statement is so true I guffawed and got a strange look from my college roommate.

As for the plot, I enjoyed it: there are a few twists and turns, but nothing that shook my world too drastically--it's predictable in a comfortable, fuzzy slippers sort of way, and I had no serious issues with anything in the writing.

The most striking element of Viola, however, is the close friendship that develops between Viola and her roommates. It's genuine and downright heartwarming. In fact, all of the relationships in the novel are very well-drawn, as are the characters from Viola herself to Trish, the sparkly, enthusisastic resident assistant who lives on Viola's floor.

Viola in Reel Life is a feel-good book; Trigiani tells the story she chose to tell well, and I recommend reading it. I laughed, I said, "Aww," and I closed the book with a satisfied smile.

Book source: My local library.