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Apr
26
Just Read It: THE HOUSE OF TOMORROW by Peter Bognanni
2010 at 10am Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
Published March 2010 by Amy Einhorn Books (an imprint of Penguin Group)
Sixteen-year-old Sebastian Prendergrast lives with his grandmother in central Iowa in a geodesic dome. Isolated from the outside world except for the occasional trip into town to run errands for Nana, Sebastian’s only contact with people his own age occurs sporadically and usually depends on tourists who pull off the highway to see “the house of tomorrow” and local parents dragging their unwilling teens for a tour they hope will be an educational experience. Sebastian’s home is large, but his world his small, and his Nana has created it to be that way.
Nana idolizes futuristic philosopher Buckminister Fuller, whom she calls Bucky and with whom she claims to have had an affair decades earlier, and she believes that she is raising Sebastian to change the world, to fulfill Bucky’s vision. So she homeschools Sebastian herself, limits his use of technology, and does not allow him to be exposed to any of the cultural and social experiences we expect for typical teenagers. Sebastian has little interest in girls, virtually no knowledge of sex, and seems only semi-aware of the fact that he should be going through some MAJOR changes both physically and emotionally. Sebastian gives off that uncanny feeling that he really is just a little adult, but he also seems robotic in some ways, and stunted in many others.
But everything changes when fellow sixteen-year-old Jared Whitcomb and his mother show up to tour the dome one day, and Nana has a stroke. Sebastian finds himself hurled into the world beyond the dome, and he doesn’t know what to make of Jared—who chain smokes, wears a lot of black, and is obsessed with punk rock—and his family, who communicate in what seems like an entirely different language and actually display some signs of affection for each other. Jared mocks everything about Sebastian—his clothing, the way he speaks, his social awkwardness—and introduces him to punk rock, rebellion, bad language, and girls.
And that’s all I’m telling you because I really want you to go read this. I might not have picked up The House of Tomorrow on my own, but I’ve learned that when Jen and Heather both rave about a book, I should just listen to them, and this was no exception. The House of Tomorrow is a coming-of-age story, but it is so much more than that. Sebastian’s narrative voice is quirky and humorous and incredibly sympathetic, and it was the highlight of the reading experience for me. Bognanni’s use of punk rock and the adolescent discovery of music as an outlet for emotion are well-drawn, and he works in the punk rock references perfectly.
The voices in this book ring with authenticity and leave you feeling like you know the people within its pages, and you care what happens to them. Bognanni’s dialogue snaps and crackles with the angst and tension of teenage identity crises and family turmoil, and it’s all just kind of perfect. Other reviewers have discussed The House of Tomorrow as a YA book, but I agree with the publisher’s decision to sell and market it as a work of adult fiction. While the central issues of the book will appeal to teen readers, adults who have the benefit of grown-up perspective are more likely to appreciate the narration, humor, and spot-on awkwardness.
I found The House of Tomorrow to be unexpectedly delightful and almost impossible to put down, and it’s only by the beauty of the book blogging community that I decided to read it in the first place, so I’m hoping to pass on the spirit of book evangelism that Jen and Heather bring to our little “triumvirate of awesome” by encouraging you to read it too. You needn’t like (or even know anything about) punk rock. You only need to remember what it’s like to feel like an outsider discovering a whole new world. 4.75 out of 5.
Also: The House of Tomorrow would make a great movie. I could see so many of the scenes as I read them, which is a true testament to Bognanni’s descriptive powers.
Since thanks to Jen and Heather for handselling me The House of Tomorrow on Twitter. I’m so glad I listened!
Hey, FTC: I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
I am an IndieBound affiliate and will receive a small commission (used for blog-related expenses) if you purchase The House of Tomorrow through one of my links.
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I really, really hope this gets optioned for a movie. it was cinematic, and not in the way people mean it when a book is shallow and seems like it was written only for a screenplay.
I can definitely see this as a movie and one I would love to go see. I am so glad you enjoyed the book Rebecca and that our “triumvirate of awesome” is complete!
I completely concur with Jen and Heather — it reads like a movie in a good way.
While it may blur the boundaries of YA and adult fiction, I have passed this ARC around to a lot of my students who are obessed with it. In fact, I caught one of them doodling the heart picture from the cover on his notebook.
You had me convinced when you said that we “really really had to read it”. When I read on and saw that it makes use of the discovery of music and punk rock in the story I was even more convinced.
Thank you for the review!
Thanks for the review – this looks great. Adding it to the list…
Well, every other book you’ve pushed that I have tried has been incredible, so I will have to read this soon!
I’ll probably pick this up eventually. The back cover blurb reminded me of “Whit”, an awesome novel by Iain Banks (here I go bigging him up again) about a teenage girl who, having spent all her life in a secluded Scottish cult, is forced into an alien outside world in order to save a relative. There’s also a teen/grandparent dynamic too.
I’d thoroughly recommended “Whit” as a companion piece to “The House of Tomorrow”.
Ok, Ok! I can’t take it anymore! It is for this very reason why I cannot make any dang headway on my challenges…
I NEED TO READ THIS! Thank you for convincing me!
This is a great review of a book that we agree on completely! Not to mention the fact that I also read it based on Jen’s recommendation. It also makes me realize how much I like Twitter. There have been so many books I have read that I might never have heard of without Twitter friends’ recommendations.
I just want to add the thing we decided on this morning re: adult v. young adult. I think it can be classified as either and can appeal to a lot of people from teenaged on up, but I think the demographic to which this book would most appeal is actual young(er) adults in their 20s and 30s.
I saw this cover a few times and skimmed over it just because I didn’t care for the cover. The premise does sound promising though.
Oh my, I hope to get to this one soon – it sounds fabulous!
I”m adding it to the list…
Interesting that this was marketed as adult rather than YA fiction, despite having teenaged protagonists. I always thought that books centering on kids were automatically relegated to the kids’ section, like what happened with The Book Thief.
This sounds awesome! I’m definitely going to pick this up and send a copy to a crazy (bookish) friend of mine who is designing his own geodesic home that will be powered completely by solar panels.
Hmmm, honestly, the description of the book didn’t grab me, but your “triumverate of awesome” may push me to read it. I’m (ahem) a bit (ahem) older than late 20s to early 30s (as Jen suggested) … do you think I’ve aged out of this one?
No. I think you’d get the quirky narrative voice and the humor just fine!
I passed the young at heart test
With Aunty G, you’ll always be young at heart!
I’ll definitely be picking this one up soon, thanks for the review! And by the way, I LOVED the post about your sister and her fiance, but was too lazy to click through my Google Reader and comment on that post. So I’m doing it here. Because apparently I wasn’t too lazy to click through for this post.
Okay, I’m quitting while I’m ahead, or at least, not TOO far behind.
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