Hometown CL

Border is none too happy about being uprooted-once again-when his divorced father, Gumbo, moves the two from Albuquerque to his small Minnesota hometown.The locals are none too happy to see Gumbo, either-many still resent Gumbo for fleeing to Canada to avoid the Vietnam War draft and now, on the eve of the Gulf War in 1991, hawkish patriotism is surging. Ironically, the 16-year-old son rather than the father bears the brunt of the community's long-simmering resentment, which has been passed on to its teenagers. Incisively and eloquently, Qualey (Everybody's Daughter) explores Border's turmoil. Always adept at ignoring the world around him (""Shut it all out-my personal secret of success""), Border is torn between closing out others for self-protection and reaching out to his father and the handful of other very appealing, believable characters Qualey surrounds him with. Giving this novel uncommon dimension are the author's cunning use of irony; a variable narrative voice that, while retaining a third-person perspective, slips easily into Border's thinking; and several dexterously crafted subplots. A first-rate novel for older readers. Ages 12-up. (Oct.)