Review of The Big Door Prize by M.O. Walsh

 

Walsh, M.O.  The Big Door Prize.  Putnam, 2020.

 

A new machine has made an appearance at Johnson’s Grocery Store in Deerfield, Louisiana, and lots of people are standing in line to use it. For only $2 and a mouth swab, users receive a blue slip of paper with their life station printed on it.  After reading their results, citizens of the town are buying new clothes and supplies to change what has long been their jobs.  Suddenly, the mayor of Deerfield thinks he should be a cowboy; the school principal wants to retire and become a carpenter; a local musician wants to be a magician; and a high school student thinks he is going to be a major-league pitcher.  It seems like the whole town has gone crazy!

 

Douglas Hubbard, the history teacher at Deerfield Catholic, and his wife, Cherilyn, were high school sweethearts and have been happily married for years.  However, after Cherilyn uses the DNAMIX machine, she thinks she is “royalty” and is no longer content to be just a housewife and make crafts in her kitchen.  On a whim, Douglas buys a trombone and starts taking lessons, but not because the machine gave him the idea.  In fact, the machine told him he was a “whistler” and a “teacher”, which is disappointing to him.  Douglas doesn’t know why Cherilyn is suddenly acting strangely, but he also doesn’t know that she used the machine.

 

Deuce Newman, the town photographer, has had a crush on Cherilyn ever since high school and is still mad that she married Douglas instead of him.  He is hoping to change that result because the DNAMIX machine tells him that he is “royalty”, just like Cherilyn. 

 

There are more subplots involving revenge, a possible school shooting, a gang rape, a Catholic priest, a free taxi driver, a local band, and Cherilyn’s mom, who has the beginnings of dementia.

 

The Big Door Prize is M.O. Walsh’s second novel, and it is humorous and delightful.  It has an old-town nostalgia feel similar to books written by Fannie Flagg.  The book is character-driven, filled with quirky and charming characters and multiple subplots that mesh finely together at the end.

 

Each chapter of the book begins with a cute, engaging title that foreshadows what will occur within that chapter.  The novel is well-paced and the action will keep readers turning the pages.  The book raises an interesting question of what a person would do differently in his life if he has a choice and a second chance.

 

The Big Door Prize received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist.  Give this book to readers who enjoy humorous fiction, books with intriguing characters, and fans of Louisiana novels.  I recommend it for public libraries and give it four out of five fleur de lis!

 

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for allowing me to read and review this book!

Review of What Boys Really Want by Pete Hautman

What Boys Really Want by Pete Hautman. Scholastic, 2012.

Lita Wold and Adam Merchant have been friends since they were very young, and now they are juniors at Wellstone High School. Lita, who is working on a romance novel, aspires to be a writer like her famous author mother. Unbeknownst to anyone, Lita also secretly writes an advice blog under the alias, Miz Fitz, doling out answers on dating and boys. Adam, on the other hand, has no interest in writing, so Lita is surprised, but also a little upset, when Adam announces his intentions to write a book on what boys really want from their relationships with girls. Writing a book turns out to be a lot of work, so Adam ends up obtaining much of his book from material he finds online. Unfortunately, a good bit of it comes from Miz Fitz’s blog!

What Boys Really Want is a quick, playful read about relationships built on a book about relationships! It is told in the alternating voices of Lita and Adam and spiced up with “quotes” from Lita’s Miz Fitz blog and Adam’s book. There is a lot of humor in the book; I found myself laughing out loud at some of the scenes in the novel!

I loved both Lita and Adam. Lita is a sarcastic, tough realist; she tells it like it is. Adam is exactly the opposite; he is easy-going, fun-loving, and happy-go-lucky. Adam’s eventual love interest, Blair, who some students think is a “skank”, actually has the same type personality as Lita. It is no surprise Adam is drawn to her. Dennis, Adam’s friend, is the typical geeky tech guy. I was delighted to find that two school librarians figure prominently in the story. One is the strict, stereotypical librarian, and the other is a cool, laid-back bibliophile.

The dialogue is realistic and believable, and the teen interactions are spot-on. The blog and book snippets at the beginning of each chapter add a lot to the mood of the book. There are some surprises and twists in the story that I did not expect! Although the book is a little over three hundred pages, it did not take long to read at all.

Teens will easily relate to the events, dialogue, and characters in the book! I recommend What Boys Really Want to middle school, high school, and public libraries.

**Note:  The copy reviewed was an advanced reader's copy obtained from Library Media Connection in exchange for an honest review.