Anyone who sees the title of Melvin Burgess' novel, Doing It, has a fair idea of what this book is about. It is, quite simply, a book about teens and sex. In some ways, it is a teen sex comedy, the literary equivalent of American Pie and its ilk. A large portion of the plot even revolves around someone having a party while his parents are out of town. The characters are even drawn in broad, archetypal terms-- the handsome guy, the fat girl, the geeky guy, the pretty girl-- that are easy for teens readers to relate to. Keeping physical descriptions to a minimum also helps the reader insert himself and his friends into the book quite readily. That having been said, it is a book with layers, and it deals very directly with things that most teens are very interested in. Writing frankly, accessibly, and entertainingly about sex are some serious gifts, and Burgess appears to have all three.
For the most part, this book is about sex at its most basic: the boys pursuing (and being pursued by) the girls, with a bit of the boys against the girls as well. He makes an effort at being egalitarian in this regard, but it's obvious that he's primarily writing for a male audience. There are female points of view expressed in the text, but when it comes to actual sexual encounters, nearly everything is expressed from a male perspective. Along with the sex itself, there is a lot of emotion and teenage drama mixed in as well, and these portions should appeal to and be familiar both genders. There's no way to get through high school without a lot of heartache, and this book gleefully acknowledges that fact.
There are some important adolescent issues dealt with in this book as well. Parental divorce occupies and important place, as do peer pressure and simple sexual confusion. Sexually transmitted diseases are obliquely referred to, and visits to the doctor are encouraged, via one character's humorous fear that he has "cancer of the knob." Perhaps the novel's most serious content is reserved for its depiction of a teacher-student romance that turns emotionally abusive. The teacher, an attractive twenty-something named Ali Young, seduces an impressionable student named Ben. Before long, the relationship turns coercive, and even as Ben becomes more aware of the fact that he is trading a lot of experiences he wants for this illicit relationship, Ali becomes more possessive. The whole episode culminates with Ali staging a bloody-but-ineffectual fake suicide attempt when Ben attempts to leave the relationship. Burgess does a good job describing this relationship in realistic terms, recognizing that Ms. Young is obviously a person in a lot of pain. He makes it clear that a woman is capable of abusing a young man, and if anything Ben's confusion over his situation is even more painful given his preconception that men are stronger than women. Ali is causing a lot of harm, and is using Ben in a profound way, and Burgess makes all of this very clear. If Marilee Sprenger is correct and "adults must act as the frontal lobe for [teens]," then Ali Young has done Ben a tragic disservice. Male or female, the advantages that adults have over teens are profound.
3 comments:
I enjoyed this book a lot. I think most teenagers, especially boys, would like it too. Your review does a good job pointing out all the ways it can appeal to teens, not just the obvious ones.
The relationship with Ben and Ali is important, because we don't think about that form of abuse as often (older woman, younger man), but that doesn't mean it is any less harmful. I think many teenage boys would see it as a good thing. For that reason, I think the author presents it very effectively. Ben starts out thinking he is lucky, but then the situation deteriorates over the course of the story.
There is a similar effect with Dino, who starts out as the popular guy who always gets what he wants. Readers might wish they were like him in the beginning of the story, but by the end, less are probably thinking that way.
Dino is a compelling character. It's easy to hate him, label him as an irrepressible jerk, but like all people (and well written characters) he isn't all bad and he isn't immune to being hurt by others. I'm not excusing his behavior toward Jackie or Chloe (although Chloe got her revenge in the end) but I think the way he handles his mother's affair is telling. Dino gets angry at his dad for letting his mom steamroll over him. While part of that anger stems from Dino's own feelings of betrayal, I think another part is out of concern for his dad's well being.
Ben ends up telling Jon about Ali, but he considers telling Dino first. I think that consideration shows the strength of their friendship. Dino's behavior toward Jackie and Chloe is less than admirable but I don't think it precludes him from being a decent son and a decent friend.
Doing It was a very raw book. Although it was not my usual taste of book, I did feel that YA's would love it. The book's characters were like real high school students. Dino was the popular jerk with problems at home. Ben was being abused by his teacher and the other boy liked a fat girl. All of theses characters acted like teens and becuase of this I feel real life teens can relate. This book does not teach a life lesson, but teens could relate to the characters.
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