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FindingJane
Jun 18, 2014FindingJane rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
With foreshadowing that happens in the very first chapter, it doesn’t take much to realize this story is going to be much darker than most coming-of-age tales. The novel features a character given to weird flashes of memory that seem almost like blackouts (until a moment when he actually does lose consciousness). But the oddness doesn’t begin or end there. Charting a rather grimmer path into mundane adolescence than would be expected for a book listed as for ages 10 and up, Tangerine shows the fluidity of memory, the stress of fitting in, the wish to stand out and the strain that growing up can mean for people. Every character is carefully written, with the adults given almost as much space for their individual dramas as the children are. The protagonist, Paul Fisher, is a boy with so much internal drama going on inside him you wonder how he’s able to stand upright and function on a daily basis. He’s got secrets, layers and an inner strength even he is unaware of until it comes time for him to speak out and tell what he knows. Powerful and haunting, "Tangerine" is an uneasily powerful book with dark themes that are belied by its innocent title and a shocking denouement. This is most certainly not a children’s book.