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Life: An Exploded Diagram

Mal Peet

Start date: November 16, 2011

Finish date: December 15, 2011

Discussion: Mock Printz 2012

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Mock Printz 2012

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What Members Thought

Mar 23, 2013 Amy rated it it was ok

Shelves: young-adult

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book, broken into three parts, starts with the story of Ruth Ackroyd who lives with her mother, Win. Both have married and bore the children of servicemen. Win's husband, Percy Little, was killed while fighting in WWI and Win gives birth to Ruth shortly thereafter. Ruth marries George Ackroyd and gives birth to Clem while George is away fighting in WWII. Part one is mostly back story and is very slow-going; and it takes up until page 133 when the story really starts to focus on Clem and his This book, broken into three parts, starts with the story of Ruth Ackroyd who lives with her mother, Win. Both have married and bore the children of servicemen. Win's husband, Percy Little, was killed while fighting in WWI and Win gives birth to Ruth shortly thereafter. Ruth marries George Ackroyd and gives birth to Clem while George is away fighting in WWII. Part one is mostly back story and is very slow-going; and it takes up until page 133 when the story really starts to focus on Clem and his first encounter with Frankie that it gets good! I thought several times of abandoning the book during this beginning section but am glad I stuck it out; part two was much better!

Part two focuses on the story of Clem himself, his secret relationship with Frankie, and the Cuban Missile Crisis, something that I knew little to nothing about. Clem meets Frankie, the daughter of Clem's dad's boss, while picking strawberries and falls head-over-heels in love with her. He is the son of a working class, blue-collar family and Frankie is the daughter of a rich landowner. Their relationship would not go over well if anyone found out and so, they meet in private and while they are first attracted to each other physically, they soon develop a friendship, talk about their lives and the differences between them, share their passions (for Clem, his drawing and art) and truly fall in love with one another. The Cuban Missile Crisis is coming to a head and US citizens are afraid that the Soviet Union will launch nuclear missiles from Cuba. Clem decides to use this crsis to his advantage and convinces Frankie that they should have sex while they are still alive; the bomb is going to incinerate them all and they only have a short amount of time left. They meet on a secluded beach and while there, a bomb left there during WWII, explodes, leaving the two of them very injured and torn apart. Neither of them knows what happened to the other.

Part three is the story of Clem as an adult, living in NY, and telling about his current life but also the adult lives of several characters from his childhood. At the beginning of part three, it seems as if everything will be nearly tied up, with no loose ends to leave the reader wondering, "what happened to . . .?" but that assumption is completely false! Frankie calls Clem out of the blue. They reconnect but the timing could not be worse. Her call to Clem comes on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. The ending is a shocker and leaves us with more questions than answers.

If this book began on page 133, I would be highly recommending it! It is that beginning section that totally bogs the story down and quite honestly, I'm not sure what teenager would still be at it by then. This book needed the Frankie and Clem love story to be the incentive to keep reading at the very beginning, and instead, we get a whole lot of back story which made me want to give up. I'm glad I didn't, but I'm not sure how many others will stick with it to get to the good stuff! ...more

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Oct 08, 2011 Jess rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, historical-fiction, war

Mal Peet can write like nobody's business. He can make the Cuban missile crisis compelling, for crying out loud. He can make the world' most annoying characters readable. He can also write an ending (a non-ending?) that makes me want to throw the book across the room.

I didn't actually throw it - it was a library book - but I did toss it onto the coffee table in disgust. I would also argue that maybe this shouldn't have been published as a young adult book in the US - although the main characters ...more

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Dec 11, 2011 Mary rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed this novel for its beautiful writing, the characterization of Clem and the British take on cold war events.Once I started reading I was swept into the story and finished it in one day. The romance between Clem Ackroyd and Jackie Mortiner was touching and sad and the touches of humor in their dialogue was fun. It really is a crossover book for boomers and I do question its appeal for teens.

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Feb 04, 2012 Erinn rated it really liked it

The settings and characters make this a perfect dreary weather book. I imagine you have to be in the right mood to want to undertake the kind of sprawling narrative but Peet pulls it off and it definitely works. Interesting choice for SLJ battle of the books though, as I can't immediately think of a kid I would recommend this to. It's nice to read YA that's a bit ambitious in scope as well as reflective of a historical moment that is recent but feels very far away ...more

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Dec 14, 2011 Kim rated it it was ok

Shelves: historical, teen-ya

Clem and his family live on an estate run by the Mortimers in the English countryside. Clem is growing up during the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis and he falls in love with Frankie Mortimer - the daughter of the wealthy Mortimers. I don't think this is a Teen book. Moves very slowly and I don't see the teens sticking with this one. ...more

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Oct 17, 2011 Jan rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction

Mal Peet is one of the best writers of teen fiction today. Don't miss this wonderful historical novel about life post WWII in Great Britain. Peet takes us through the lives of three generations of a working family and, as always, the story and characters are fantastic. ...more

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