Friday, November 16, 2012
Book Review - Tess Masterson Will Go to Prom - Emily Franklin and Brenda Halpin
Title: Tessa Masterson Will Go to Prom
Author: Brendan Halpin and Emily Franklin
Review: I picked this up at my local library without reading the back. When I started reading I realized what the book was about and thought, ‘OK I’ll give it a few more pages.’ Well I’m glad I did. This book will make you laugh, it will make you cry and it will make you think about how you treat people who are not the same as you are. I really enjoyed this book and I think you will also.
Who said that we all have to be the same to get along? I hope no one because it isn’t possible for one thing and it would be extremely boring if it was. I like the difference in people it keeps things changing and it keeps me thinking. I am a every Sunday church going Christian and I have to say that people who use Jesus Christ as reason to hate and discriminate against others(for any reason under the sun) do not understand Christianity at all. Christ taught of love and non-judgment, he taught of peace and goodwill to all. He never taught of hate and discrimination, he never taught of bombing abortion clinics, or violent protests again homosexuals, Christ taught of patience, long-suffering, charity and most of all love. Not just love for those that are like us and easy to love, but for all people. Christianity is about love, not hate…..never hate.
This book made me really think about the way I treat those who are different from me….those who are from a different race, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, intelligence, value system, religion, and I have to say that I did not enjoy what I saw in myself. Work is needed on my part to be a true Christian and to truly follow Christ. Christ is love, don’t mix that up with right or wrong…..Love is all that matters in this world.
The authors may not have intended for this to be the theme of their work, but to me I had a hard time seeing anything else. Thank you for this book and the feelings it brought up in my heart.
Publisher: Expected publication: April 2nd 2013 by Walker & Company (first published March 27th 2012)
ISBN: 9780802723598
Copyright: 2012
Pages: 257
Quick Review: 41/2 stars (out of 5)
Why I Read It: I saw this on the new book shelf at the library and it looked interesting.
Synopsis: Lucas and Tessa’s friendship is the stuff of legend in their small Midwestern town. So it’s no surprise when Lucas finally realizes his feelings for Tessa are more than friendship and he asks her to prom. What no one expected, especially Lucas, was for Tessa to come out as a lesbian instead of accepting his heartfelt invitation. Humiliated and confused, Lucas also feels betrayed that his best friend kept such an important secret from him.
What’s worse is Tessa’s decision to wear a tastefully tailored tuxedo to escort her female crush, sparking a firestorm of controversy. Lucas must decide if he should stand on the sidelines or if he should stand by his friend to make sure that Tessa Masterson will go to prom.
Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin tackle both sides of a ripped-from-the headlines story to show that true friendship will triumph after all.
Author Biography:Brenda Halpin - I grew up in Cincinnati, went to college in Philadelphia, and also lived in Taipei and Edinburgh along the way. I've lived in Boston since 1991.
I became a professional writer in 2000, writing about my late wife Kirsten's breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Kirsten died in 2003, leaving me and our daughter Rowen. I married Suzanne in 2005 and got her kids Casey and Kylie in the deal too. Bargain! Suzanne and I live with our three kids and dog in the shadow of Franklin Park in Jamaica Plain, best neighborhood on earth.
Growing up, Emily Franklin wanted to be “a singing, tap-dancing doctor who writes books.”
Having learned early on that she has little to no dancing ability, she left the tap world behind, studied at Oxford University, and received an undergraduate degree concentrating in writing and neuroscience from Sarah Lawrence College. Though she gave serious thought to a career in medicine, eventually that career followed her dancing dreams.
After extensive travel, some “character-building” relationships, and a stint as a chef, Emily went back to school at Dartmouth where she skied (or fished, depending on the season) daily, wrote a few screenplays, and earned her Master’s Degree in writing and media studies.
While editing medical texts and dreaming about writing a novel, Emily went to Martha’s Vineyard on a whim and met her future husband who is, of course, a doctor. And a pianist. He plays. They sing. They get married. He finishes medical school, they have a child, she writes a novel. Emily’s dreams are realized. She writes books.
Emily Franklin is the author of two adult novels, The Girls' Almanac and Liner Notes and more than a dozen books for young adults including the critically-acclaimed seven book fiction series for teens, The Principles of Love. Other young adult books include The Other Half of Me the Chalet Girls series, and At Face Value, a retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac (coming in September 2008).
She edited the anthologies It's a Wonderful Lie: 26 Truths about Life in Your Twenties and How to Spell Chanukah: 18 Writers Celebrate 8 Nights of Lights. She is co-editor of Before: Short Stories about Pregnancy from Our Top Writers.
Her book of essays and recipes, Too Many Cooks: Kitchen Adventures with 1 Mom, 4 Kids, 102 New Recipes ~ A Memoir of Tasting, Testing, and Discovery in the Kitchen will be published by Hyperion.
Emily’s work has appeared in The Boston Globe and the Mississippi Review as well as in many anthologies including Don't You Forget About Me: Contemporary Writers on the Films of John Hughes, When I Was a Loser: True Stories of (Barely) Surviving High School by Today's Top Writers, and Because I Love Her: 34 Women Writers on the Mother-Daughter Bond. Emily writes regularly about food and parenting for national magazines and newspapers. She travels, teaches writing seminars, and speaks on panels, but does not tap dance. Emily Franklin lives outside of Boston with her husband and their four young children.
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