A Guide to Falling Off the Map

Gr 9 Up–This novel of opposites attracting will draw in mature high school strivers as well as those with less developed self-confidence. Arnot underpins issues of grief and serious illness with a quiet sense of humor and love in the character of underdog Ruben Carpenter—Roo but never Roo Bean, please. An impulsive high school dropout who can’t admit that he’d rather drive a cab than study what he loves—photography—in trade school, Roo may have problems, but his childhood friend Vicenze (Vinnie) Smith, a talented high school drama student, is the one in real trouble. She hasn’t been able to grieve the death of her mother Aggie, who had multiple sclerosis (MS) and died by suicide two years before. Roo knew Aggie; she and his mom Carla were best friends. He’s also in love with Vinnie; she’d rather “fix” him than admit to having the same feelings. Excessively shy, Roo misses Vinnie’s star turn as Daisy in The Great Gatsby, but he’s there to take her home after she collapses at a party; unlike her peers, he knows that alcohol exacerbates the MS symptoms of muscle weakness and chronic fatigue that Vinnie’s been experiencing. Vinnie convinces Roo to jump-start his photography career by documenting places they visited with their families as kids on a weeklong road trip. But when he doesn’t show on opening night of the photo exhibit she insisted on organizing, he defends his right to remain in the shadows. He’s more grounded than Vinnie; he may even still be around when she recognizes that she loves him, too.