Slate Blues - Hardcover

Sinykin, Sheri Cooper

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688112129 ISBN 13: 9780688112127

Publisher: Lothrop Lee & Shepard, 1993

Synopsis

When the famous rock star Slate comes to Reina's home to recuperate, Reina learns that Slate is her aunt, and she discovers more about Slate, her mother, and herself. By the author of Next Thing to Strangers.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

The premise couldn't be more enticing: Reina discovers that a mega-popular heavy-metal rock singer is her own aunt. After ``Slate'' collapses during a concert, the eighth-grader opens her bedroom and heart to the musical icon now revealed as her mother's sister Amanda. Reina actually prefers the Beach Boys to Metallica, but she accepts Amanda/Slate despite her mother's warnings; and the tension builds as she moves further from family and true friends and closer to Slate and her band. Meanwhile, the story's emotional line frequently trips over itself: Is the book about familial relationships, or Reina's longing to hang with the in-crowd? Is it about friendship or fraud? Many questions are raised; too few are answered. The effort is made more dissonant by inconsistencies (why wouldn't Reina remember her aunt if communication broke off only six years ago?) and by a disturbing dismissal of ``attention deficit disorder'' as simply a bid for most-favored status in the family. An enticing premise, but the end result hits a sour note. (Fiction. 10+) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly:

Reina and her best friend Nikki have a critical goal: being accepted by Sable, high priestess of the eighth grade. The startling discovery that heavy metal superstar Slate is Reina's estranged aunt could pave the way toward instant popularity, providing that Slate/Aunt Amanda will appear at a fundraiser Sable is chairing. Charismatic Slate agrees, but Sable admits only Reina and not Nikki into her select group. Sinykin ( The Next Thing to Strangers ) merely updates a tired story line containing the standard cliches: the mean-spirited "in group," the hurt excluded friend, the overdetermined moment of disillusionment and the protagonist ultimately learning that "she should never have risked a real friendship for a bunch of fake ones. It's not worth it." Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Lothrop Lee & Shepard
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0688112129
• ISBN 13: 9780688112127
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 154