The Downside of Being Charlie (review)

It's senior year, and Charlie has returned from fat camp thirty pounds slimmer and determined to make the best of it. Odds are against him from the start, however, since his mother has disappeared again, and he is assigned the school pariah for a locker partner. On the upside, he seems to be attracting positive attention from Charlotte, a girl he only dreamed about in his pre-fat-camp days. Her signals are confusing, though, as she also seems to enjoy the company of the school bully. As Charlie tries to sort out his feelings about his silent dad, his absent mom, and his confusing almost-girlfriend, he starts to binge and purge, and his usual outlet of photography ceases to work for him. His mom's return is no cause for joy, as he discovers his dad is having an affair, and his mom has a psychotic break. It isn't until he produces a daring sequence of photographs that he is able to process his turbulent emotions and begin to heal. In the vein of Chris Crutcher, this story pulls no punches when it comes to exploring the ways parents can mess up their kids; Charlie's righteous anger toward his father, who refuses to acknowledge his mother's erratic behavior and instead leaves Charlie to deal with it without any emotional or other kind of help, is as searingly honest as it is tragic. Charlie's responses, though destructive and ill-conceived, are all credible and even somehow appropriate given the limited resources he has to cope with his wrecked emotions; many readers will relate to his sense of anguish and his desire for a girl to be his savior. Readers drawn to tales of teens pushed to the breaking point before their lives turn around will appreciate Charlie's plight.