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  • Grendel's Guide to Love and War by A. E. Kaplan
  • Karen Coats
Kaplan, A. E. Grendel's Guide to Love and War. Knopf, 2017 [320p]
Library ed. ISBN 978-0-399-55555-8 $20.99
Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-399-55554-1 $17.99
E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-399-55556-5 $10.99
Reviewed from galleys         R Gr. 9-12

Though he's never gotten over the death of his mother, Tom Grendel is reasonably content in the quiet Virginia neighborhood his military dad has moved them to in order to minimize the triggers of his PTSD. Neighborhood peace is broken when Willow Rothgar, Tom's long-time crush, and her bullying brother, Rex, move in next door and turn the house into party central; Tom's father takes a remote work assignment to escape the noise, and Tom enlists the help of his best friend, Ed, to put an end to the nightly raves. An epic prank war ensues, escalating beyond all reason when Rex's cousin Wolf arrives, and Tom's sister, Zipora, comes home. Even taking the names and the explanation in the author's note into account, the connection to Beowulf is obscure, and in fact there are rather more unacknowledged nods to the Odyssey than the Old English epic. Fortunately, even broad familiarity with any source texts doesn't matter here, as the action and the characters give readers plenty to both enjoy and ponder in a contemporary context, including the debilitating effects of grief and PTSD, the connection between intimacy and love, and the fear of losing one person too many in a life already haunted by unresolved grief. These more serious themes are counterbalanced by the over-the-top zaniness of the pranks; Rex, Wolf, and at least one of the old ladies are cartoon villains; Tom, Ed, and Zipora are effortlessly witty conversationalists; and even the stoned artisanal pigs play their part with alacrity. Fans of Hattemer's The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy (BCCB 5/14) will enjoy this. [End Page 415]

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