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Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy from Mars | Rating | |
| A | |||
| Daniel M. Pinkwater | |||
| Series | Related Books | ||
| N/A | N/A | ||
Leonard Neeble's parents just bought a new house in the suburbs and moved out of the city. Now he's miserable. His new school is terrible, with teachers and students interested in appearance and fitting in more than teaching and learning. His parents aren't much help, since all they are interested in is being the perfect suburbanites. Leonard does his best to just disappear, resulting in his failing every class. This in turn results in the introduction of an equally clueless psychologist.
But things take a turn for the better when Alan Mendelsohn moves in nearby. Alan refuses to be ignored, he fights, he enjoys tripping people up - and not just physically. Soon Leonard is having fun, too. Then they wander into Samuel Klugarsh's occult bookstore, buy his mind control course and Omega Meter, and their lives take a turn for the strange.
The two main characters are wonderfully engaging, especially to anyone who ever thought of himself as a social outcast in school. Leonard's situation is the logical endpoint, the worst it can possibly be, and almost any reader will know something of what he went through while at the same time being relieved that it was never really that bad for themselves. Scenes and character are described very well, in succinct but copious detail. Meanwhile, the plot is weird and bizarre and quite funny in spots. There are areas where, even on my fourth reading of the book, I simply cannot help but laugh aloud, thanks to the many off-kilter people the pair meet and the strange dialogue that results.
The book is really aimed at young adults, and was printed at the start of the 80s. It's probably not easy to find. But if you do, I heartily recommend that you buy it, even if you have no teenagers to give it to. It's a very good read.
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