Here it goes!

Alright, to cool down from post-VMA Kanye-bashing, I'm here with my very first book review! I want to start with Dog Sees God by Bert V. Royal. I'm not a huge fan of the "typical" Young Adult novels, as I just tend to get bored around 20 pages in. So to attempt to remedy this, I'm experimenting with different genres, focusing right now on dramatic literature.

Dog Sees God is a play dealing with an ensemble of adolescent characters in the throes of teenage turmoil: drug/alcohol use, sex, homosexuality, bullying, and just growing up. What goes unstated, however, is the fact that this cast is the teen versions of Charles Schultz's Charlie Brown characters. In past productions, this show has had an all-star cast, including John Gallagher Jr, Michelle Trachtenberg, Anna Paquin, and America Ferrara, Eliza Dushku. There are subtle references along the way to the characters' identity, including CB writing to his old pen pal, an old dog dying of rabies having eaten his best friend-a little yellow bird-, and lighting fire to the red hair of a certain little girl. The references are hard to catch sometimes, but I imagine the visuals of a production would help clue in the audience.
This is a tear-jerker of a play, featuring characters that generations have grown up with in extreme emotional pain. They face very massive choices in a very believable way, and it will definitely hit home to any reader who remembers these characters. There is a shocker of an ending that brought tears to my eyes quicker than several scenes along the way, as well as being very theatrically interesting in its creative staging. This play is a great read, too, because it spells out many of the choices that other plays leave to actors, directors, producers, etc., that would necessitate actually seeing the play performed.

Recommended grade level: 10-12
Appropriateness: mature themes not appropriate for inside the classroom, but recommend for outside reading

Thank you for checking out my first installment of YA book reviews! Coming up on my "to-review" list will be Looking for Alaska as an assigned class read, as well as another play, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, and a special review of one of my all-time favorite books, The Perks of Being A Wallflower.