Release Date: June 14, 2011
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 192
Source: My local library.
Summary:
At the beginning of his junior year at a boys' boarding school, 16-year-old Alex is devastated when he fails to save a drowning friend. When questioned, Alex and his friend Glenn, who was also at the river, begin weaving their web of lies. Plagued by guilt, Alex takes refuge in the library, telling his tale in a journal he hides behind Moby-Dick. Caught in the web with Alex and Glenn is their English teacher, Miss Dovecott, fresh out of Princeton, who suspects there's more to what happened at the river when she perceives guilt in Alex's writing for class. She also sees poetic talent in Alex, which she encourages. As Alex responds to her attention, he discovers his true voice, one that goes against the boarding school bravado that Glenn embraces. When Glenn becomes convinced that Miss Dovecott is out to get them, Alex must choose between them. (From the publisher.)
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Alex Stromm, a student at a North Carolina boarding school in the early 1980s, begins keeping a journal after his friend Thomas drowns in a river near the school. He hides his "journal/Not-So-Great American Novel" behind an ancient copy of
Moby Dick in the library. He greets the reader on the first page:
My apologies to Herman Melville, from whom I may have to steal a few words to tell the story that is about to be told, that is in the middle of being told, that will never stop being told. Such is the nature of guilt; such is the nature of truth. But it is also the nature of guilt to sideline the truth.
Welcome to the sidelines, Dear Reader.*
The sidelines of Alex's thoughts are an intriguing place to be: the story of what happened at the lake the day Thomas died unwinds slowly, and details come to light that surprise even Alex, who was there. What Alex knows for sure, however, is that if anyone finds out what happened before Thomas drowned, he and the other two boys who were at the river--Glenn and Clay--will be expelled. And Glenn, the ringleader of the group, is not about to let that happen to himself.
Miss Dovecott, a new English teacher and recent Princeton graduate, was out for a run when she stumbled on the scene of Thomas's death. Glenn is certain that she knows more about what happened at the river than she lets on, and he suspects that she's waiting to use her knowledge against them. Glenn's plan to find out what Miss Dovecott knows (and get rid of her if necessary) coincides with Alex's growing relationship with Miss Dovecott. (It's not a romantic one, although Alex spends a lot of time writing about his awkward crush on her.) Miss Dovecott notices Alex's talent for writing, and she begins meeting with him one-on-one to encourage him to develop his skills.
Glenn is the one to suggest that Miss Dovecott may be using Alex to see if he reveals anything about Thomas's death in his writing. Glenn--who grows increasingly paranoid that Miss Dovecott plans to expose them--pushes Alex to choose between him and Miss Dovecott.
Alex's choice is guaranteed to spark conversation between readers.
Paper Covers Rock is a short novel, but I read it slowly. Author Jenny Hubbard's prose is beautiful and full of thoughtful observations about life and literature, yet still believable as the journal of a precocious high school poet-boy. Literary allusions springing from Alex's studies fill the novel's pages, too;
Paper Covers Rock is as much about poetry as it is about the aftermath of Thomas's death.
(And in spite of the plot's intensity,
Paper Covers Rock finds time to be funny: the school installs a fountain in memory of Thomas, who--let's not forget--drowned.)
Paper Covers Rock isn't a fantasy, but it is set in another time and-- unless the reader happens to be at a boarding school for boys in rural North Carolina--another place, and the setting feels real. For this reason, and also for the novel's prose, tight plotting, and wide appeal,
Paper Covers Rock is one of the best books I've read in the past few years.
Paper Covers Rock possesses crossover appeal; Alex's struggle between self-preservation and doing the right thing is universal, and Miss Dovecott--although seen through the eyes of a teenage boy--is a strong adult character who provides someone for older readers to identify with. I recommend
Paper Covers Rock to readers who appreciate psychological drama, mysteries, and realistic fiction.
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*This book may shame me into reading
Moby Dick . . .**
**Bad English major, I know.
