Boston - February 24, 2009

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

“The Local News,” by Miriam Gershow

Your older brother worked hard to prove his love. Dunking your hand in warm water while you slept; incessantly giving you noogies. There were times you wanted him to disappear.

In first-time novelist Miriam Gershow’s The Local News, socially awkward 15-year-old protagonist Lydia Pasternak longs for some time away from her popular older brother Danny — until he actually goes missing.

Lydia is immersed in a complicated stew of grief, relief, and guilt when Danny’s football and cheerleader friends rally around the girl they’ve always ignored (or worse). As the search drags on, she learns to navigate a shifting world.

But it’s not all doom and gloom: Lydia’s clever quips pepper amusing images throughout, like when the heroine, drunk for the first time, suddenly discovers her extra-large pores.

It’s enough to make you love your brother — wedgies and all.

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