Be Good Be Real Be Crazy

September 5, 2016
Brothers Homer and Einstein were adopted by gay fathers years ago; their spirited, 19-year-old drifter-friend, Mia, is pregnant and on her own. Older brother Homer is in love with Mia, so he happily signs on to drive her from Florida to Cape Cod, with the aptly named Einstein in tow, peppering their journey with science facts from the backseat. Philpot (Even in Paradise) populates her novel with a quirky and diverse cast, which sticks to a familiar road trip formula with oddball pit stops and transitory characters, who lend bits of wisdom and instruction during the trio’s journey. Philpot repeatedly interjects fairy tale–esque parables intended to fill in the backstories of major and minor characters, but these interruptions slow momentum and keep this story from feeling entirely cohesive. This aside, the author has a talent for creating many-layered characters whose depth and vulnerability make for effortless and immediate connections with readers. Einstein, Mia, and Homer are easy and entertaining traveling companions, even if this story doesn’t pack quite the emotional punch of its predecessor. Ages 13–up. Agent: Stephen Barbara, Inkwell Management.

July 15, 2016
Two teens find romance on the road.White teen Homer spends his days working in his adoptive fathers' Florida tourist-trap gift shop and pining for the older, pregnant, mysteriously accented, and racially ambiguous Mia. When Mia decides to skip town and join her long-lost sister up north, Homer and his younger brother, Einstein, offer to drive her in a beat-up car purchased by their empathetic fathers. The resulting road trip ambles here and there as the trio encounters increasingly absurd characters, even taking along a teenage Indian-American historical re-enactment worker along the way. All this goofy nonsense is infused with several dashes of magical realism that allow the residents of each stop to happily provide a veiled piece of advice at the perfect moment. It all feels just a bit too twee, and the emotional story (Homer needs to admit his feelings to Mia and allow himself to let her go) has a too-familiar vibe. Readers will get deja vu as Homer and Mia circle each other flirtatiously over and over again, from the book itself and the better works that have come before. The quirkiness that surrounds the couple just overwhelms them. For this enterprise to work, the emotional truth needs to balance out the zany world they live in, and that balance simply isn't here. An agreeable but unbalanced work that aims high but ends up a bit too short. (Fiction. 14-16)

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August 1, 2016

Gr 8 Up-A thought-provoking, meandering love story that defies the heart palpitations so prevalent in the teen romance genre. The setting for this literary gem is a road trip in which Homer, accompanied by Einstein-his genius younger brother-is taking Mia, the pregnant girl with whom Homer has fallen in love, to the last known address of her foster sister. With careful attention to plot, Philpot introduces stops along the way in which the trio meet fascinating characters-who all have their own tales that are elaborated in parables found interspersed throughout the plot. These background snippets cleverly aid in building readers' appreciation of the uniqueness of each character. The author introduces diversity in gender identity and family structure organically and in a way that demonstrates the many layers of love. In defiance of happy endings everywhere, the end of the road signals a shift in the burgeoning romantic relationship between Homer and Mia. This is a novel to be savored and experienced, with characters who are every bit as quirky as those introduced in John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil sans some of Berendt's more adult scenes. VERDICT Readers who delight in beautifully complex characters and evocative plots will be drawn to this work, but it is not a title that will circulate widely without librarian or educator intervention.-Jodeana Kruse, R.A. Long High School, Longview, WA

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2017
Homer offers to drive his crush, pregnant nineteen-year-old Mia, from Florida to Cape Cod; Einstein, his socially inept prodigy of a younger brother, tags along. What follows is a series of humorous, provocative, and sometimes poignant encounters with eccentric locals on the journey. The thoughtful teens' own stories fade into a larger chorus of human experiences that gently affirms the importance of companionship and connectedness.

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2016
Three teens take a philosophical road trip in Philpot's (Even in Paradise, rev. 11/14) sophomore novel. Protagonist Homer, adopted son of a pair of jovial dads, is a "confused boy with a worried heart" and a mad crush on dreamy, pregnant nineteen-year-old Mia who arrived on their Florida island alone. Mia wants to raise her child on Cape Cod with a former foster sister; Homer offers to drive; and the dads will allow it if Homer's socially inept prodigy of a younger brother, thirteen-year-old Einstein, tags along. What follows is a series of humorous, provocative, and sometimes poignant encounters with eccentric locals at every stage of the journey. Each stranger is implausibly forthcoming and magnanimous, and their characterizations are theatrical. But along with "parables" to introduce each new friend, fortuitous plot turns, and frequent allusions to famous deep thinkers, this journey -- full of references to The Odyssey, Don Quixote, and other classic works -- quickly becomes better understood as a fantasy-like quest for wisdom rather than a realistic vacation. Homer's evolving perception of his unique brother and his own cautious, earnest pursuit of Mia thread together an otherwise episodic narrative. But as these thoughtful, optimistic teens discover more unexpected corners of American life, even their stories fade into a larger chorus of human experiences -- one that gently affirms the importance of companionship and connectedness to all travelers through the "imperfect miracle of atoms and chaos" that is life. jessica tackett macdonald

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)