Haycak, Cara. Living on Impulse. Dutton Books. Aug 2009. ISBN: 978-0-525-42137-5. Gr 8-11.
-- School Library Journal, 5/20/2009
Finkelstein is a scientist who hires Mia to breed flies, and becomes a source of stability for her. His main love, science, influences him to spread his passion to others. The change he elicits in Mia is one of the more touching aspects of the book, but he so clearly fits the stereotype of an antisocial nerd that his message is bogged down by clichés. Even his name seems to add to the creation of the friendless geek, so his character is not much more than a caricature with a good message to send.I was enticed by the minor plot line between Mia's growing relationship with Clancy, the owner of the club where her destructive behavior finally gets the best of her. However, much of the development of that storyline came from disjointed coincidences. Clancy shows up randomly in short spurts, and then all the sudden, he becomes a large part of the novel. His fragmented plot line had potential to be interesting, but Haycak decided to forgo adding compelling details to enrich the plot.
The cover accurately depicted the basic plot of the novel. But even though it clearly showed a girl stealing a pair of sandals, the cover still seemed disconnected from the book itself. While Mia's habitual thefts were a large part of the book, the novel focused on other themes. Aesthetically, the cover also seemed very busy. The model in the photo had a busy print shirt, and her wrists were adorned with stacks and stacks of chunky bracelets. I was put off by the mess of colors to the point where I didn't focus on the title at all.
This review is from a member of the Teens Know "Best" YA Galley Group of the St. Paul Public Library and the Metropolitan State University Library and Learning Center (MN), a part of YALSA's Young Adult Galley/Teen Top Ten Project which uses 15 public libraries and school library media centers from across the country to provide feedback to publishers of young adult books.
