The Fool Reversed - Hardcover

Whitcher, Susan

3.25

36 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374324468 ISBN 13: 9780374324469

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 2000

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"[A] probing, acutely observed novel about a girl's dangerous first liaison. Anna is only 15 when she falls in love with Thorn, a peot nearly twice her age, and begins a sexual affair . . . Readers will see that Thorn is a predator, pushing Anna into unsavory situations . . . Memorable scenes and insights." -Publishers Weekly

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About the Author:

Susan Whitcher is the author of, among other books, Real Mummies Don't Bleed: Frily Tales for October Nights and The Key to the Cupboard. She lives in West Linn, Oregon.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 10 Up-Whitcher's writing is cohesive, well constructed, and compelling, which makes this disturbing novel all the more bleak. Anna, 15, loses her virginity to Thorn, an English professor/poet. He is clearly manipulative and perverse-he pressures her into sleeping with his boss and he, in turn, sleeps with her best friend, Pauline. Dylan, a teenaged boy whom Anna meets accidentally, provides ballast in her life. The two tell each other that they are otherwise romantically engaged but their friendship grows, as does his disapproval of her adult lover. In a horrific party scene (reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut), Dylan is arrested and Anna prevails upon Thorn to get him out of custody. This leads to a believable, yet frightening discourse in which Thorn warns Anna about how careful they need to be about their relationship in front of the authorities. Dylan's rescue reveals his life to be more unfortunate than he had led Anna to believe. Nevertheless, after a violent climax in which she is almost raped by some reckless teens, he rescues her and their romantic future seems likely. The adult lover, in the meantime, never receives censure from any other quarter. While Whitcher's alarming plot, skillfully embedded themes, and clear voice are reminiscent of Francesca Lia Block's The Hanged Man (HarperCollins, 1994)-both protagonists even obsess over the tarot-Block's heroine seems to become empowered by The Hanged Man's denouement whereas Anna simply changes alliances. This disconcerting book demands discussion rather than solitary reading.
Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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