“The Opposite of Music,” by Janet Ruth Young (Atheneum, 352 pages, $15.99)
Terrified as his father disintegrates under the weight of depression, Billy and his sister and mother first try the conventional approach of anti-depressants and family therapy. When the medications’ side effects seem as bad as the depression, and the therapist’s bromides ring hollow, Billy’s family decides to tackle his care on their own.
Predictably, the vitamin/aromatherapy/light treatment fails to end Dad’s sleepless nights, listless days and increasing withdrawal. Billy reads research papers on depression, alarmed at the familiar symptoms.
“Could this be why Dad has stopped communicating?” he wonders, reading about a suicidal patient.
“What is it that Dad finds when he hides in HIS inner room? That’s what I want to know. Maybe it’s some sadness that’s stuck in there and isn’t coming out, like the opposite of music.”
Direct and compassionate, “The Opposite of Music” is an honest examination of the havoc that depression can wreak on a family. Ages 12 and up.
“Games: A Tale of Two Bullies,” by Carol Gorman, HarperCollins, 288 pages, $16.99)
Longtime rivals Mick Sullivan and Boot Quinn never miss an opportunity to lob an insult or a fist at each other, even after their new middle-school principal tries to rehabilitate them by having them spend 90 minutes a day playing board games.
Initially, the enforced game sessions only make the boys even more antagonistic, and the school hottie seizes the opportunity to raise the stakes by playing on their affections. After parading through two stunningly dumb dares, and stumbling onto a comprehension of each other’s lives, the boys achieve a rapprochement.
Ages 8 to 12.
“The Secret History of Tom Trueheart,” by Ian Beck (Greenwillow, 352 pages, $16.99)
In the spirit of “Ella Enchanted” and “Mira, Mirror” – and “Fractured Fairy Tales,” if you’re old enough to remember those wry cartoons – author Ian Beck, an established British illustrator, re-invents timeworn tales of irascible giants, sleeping beauties, magic beans, etc., with vivacity and sly humor.
Hero Tom is the seventh and youngest son of the adventuring Trueheart boys, renowned for their quests in the (unfortunately named) Land of Stories. Don’t let the syrupy language put you off: Beck is more akin to “Shrek” creator William Steig than to the unctuous Thornton Burgess and “Old Mother West Wind.”
When Tom’s acclaimed brothers – Jack, Jacquot, Jacques, Jackie, Jackson and Jake – mysteriously vanish, it’s up to Tom to rescue them and set the stories back on their narrative axis. The only clinker in this otherwise lively tale is the villain, a scorned writer bent on ruining all the happy endings. His role is regrettably limited, considering his considerable potential for fairy-tale mayhem. Ages 8 to 12.
“Converting Kate,” by Beckie Weinheimer (Viking, 320 pages, $16.99)
This thoughtful story presents an odd form of religious rebellion – a teenager rejecting the extremely provincial church embraced by her devout mother. Does the (fictional) Holy Divine Church truly own exclusive rights to God and heaven? Formerly homeschooled Kate was brought up to think so, but now is entertaining doubts about being told what to think, how to dress and what to read or see.
When Kate starts attending a more conventional church, Kate’s mother feels horribly betrayed – hey, Kate’s mother! Go read “The Opposite of Music” for a reality check – that turns out to be led by a gay pastor. Even the conventional congregation isn’t down with Friends of Dorothy, though, posing Kate with the problem of losing her religion almost as soon as she finds it. Ages 12 and up.
Staff writer Claire Martin can be reached at 303-954-1477 or cmartin@denverpost.com
