Picked it up after hearing all about it during CBC Canada Reads 2009

Brian Francis writes with honesty, humour and intelligence. He taps into the pre-teen mind and immediately brings you back to your own socially outcast years. The book doesn’t have much of a plot, but sort of follows different threads in Peter’s life: from friends and family to weight loss to his sexuality.

I found the portrayal of Peter’s questions about his sexuality to be incredibly well-written. Although I can’t relate exactly with Peter’s uncertainty, I do remember similar questions of “is this normal?” Peter has a number of quirks and habits which I’m sure everyone can identify with at least one.

Read my full review on my blog: http://www.monniblog.com/2011/08/fruit-by-brian-francis/

Bringing it to The Lower Mainland Bookcrossing Meetup Group - June Monthly Meetup in Vancouver.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012
7:00pm - 9:00pm

Rhizome Cafe
317 E. Broadway, Vancouver

Meetup Details Here

If no one takes the book, it will be by the front door of the café.

I loved this coming of age tale of an overweight, shy, just beginning to figure out he's gay, thirteen year old boy. He's very naive, and is highly uncomfortable with the changes that puberty has wrought upon his body. Like most teens he feels alienated from his caring but clueless parents who are dealing with their own problems and his self absorbed older sisters who treat him as a nuisance at best and pariah at worst. He has a friend in Daniela, the foul mouthed neighbour girl that works in her parents restaurant. She's crude, and overly confident; but Peter is both loyal and protective of her. He becomes a closet Catholic for a while, thanks to Daniela's influence, but he is more entranced by the pageantry then any actual spiritual calling.
I loved Peter and would have liked to know how he was doing in 2012. I figured he must be just under 40 years old if the story took place in the mid to late 80's. I'd like to think for Peter Paddington it did indeed get better.

Releasing at the Rhizome Cafe. If not picked up, it shall travel on to Princeton to CoCo's Bistro.

This was a first novel in which the author has spilled an entire childhood of fear and loathing onto the page. Peter is horrified by his suddenly noticeable nipples talking to him, criticising, bullying, and generally making his life miserable. He buys rolls of making tape and tapes himself up to hide the nipples and later substitutes an elastic bandage. He tries to figure out what the world is about, why he doesn't have friends, what the code is that everyone seems to be speaking, and what he should do about anything and everything. The writing is so funny that laughing out loud would be inevitable if it weren't so sad. He can't get up enough nerve to tell anyone about what is happening to him so he doesn't get any help, but given that this is not a present day story he probably wouldn't have got much help, except possibly from his mother who realises what her own brother is.

Gave this to a friend in the West End to read. It will be up to him where it goes next.