A Face in Every Window

After the death of his grandmother, who held the family together, teenage JP is left with a mentally challenged father and a mother who seems ineffectual and constantly sick, and he feels everything sliding out of control. Reprint.

Life at James Patrick's house is a party that never ends--and he hates it. Grandma Mary was the caring matriarch who previously had held his small family together in a haven of comfort and order, a safe place where no one ever had to grow up. But now that she has died, Mam, his childlike and formerly introverted mother, has become enraptured in newfound self-discovery. After entering a contest and winning a country house, she invites a crowd of young wannabe poets, musicians, and lost souls to move in. All-night fun-a-thons, piano and guitar music, readings, arguments, and cookouts in the snow ensue. "Isn't this so fun?" says Dear Pap, JP's sweet-natured but "mentally challenged" father, as he surveys the scene from the roof (where he hangs out next to life-size Nativity figures). Mam's happy dream of "a face at every window" has come true. But JP wants stasis and order. He's miserable with these people he considers pretentious lunatics in his kitchen, his bedroom, his closet, and he wants his parents back for himself. Even worse, Mam is getting far too cozy with her arrogant friend Dr. Mike, and when she returns from a trip pregnant JP finds it impossible to face her.

Han Nolan, winner of the 1997 National Book Award for Dancing on the Edge, creates complex characters and an outlandish household in this richly textured novel about a young man learning lessons of life, love, and acceptance. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell