Hero-Type [Paperback]

 

 

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Kevin Ross is a hero, in his high school, his town of Brookdale, his state and even the nation, for he is a young man who single-handedly stopped a serial killer. He jumped on his back and put him in a strangle hold while a girl from his school who was about to become the next victim called 911. But what nobody knows is why Kevin was there in the first place and what he was doing. But Kevin does and it is tearing him to pieces. But just as quickly as he was placed upon the pedestal, he is torn down, as it gets reported that he takes 'Support Our Troops' magnets from the car the Mayor got him a deal on, and puts them in the trash. Soon he is being threatened, attacked and in a worse place than when people just ignored him. But no one stops to ask why he took them off. Soon Kevin is in a heated debate and battle with the school jock about flag-burning, the pledge of allegiance and what does it mean to support the troops.

This was the third of the books set in Brookdale that I have read. I find it interesting how Lyga can create so many different and yet all intense stories set in the same small town, with minor overlaps in characters. It's funny, but I think I would have liked going to this school and would have loved being in the Council of Fools. They are great stories for teens to read to show them different sides of hard situations, but also for adults to read to be reminded of what teens go through. This story was very interesting to read because of all the political drama and tensions. But it all comes down to what is a hero really, and what should we do with a platform once it has been given to us. It was another great read by an incredible storyteller!

"Young people speaking their minds, getting so much resistance from behind." -- Stephen Stills with Buffalo Springfield, 1967

Kevin Ross, known as Kross wears a double yoke. He wears the yokes of hero and good example because he saved a classmate's life when she was being attacked in an alley. His town of Brookdale, Maryland goes wild honoring him and local businesses promote his heroic act. One greasy spoon offers him free meals for life. His classmate Leah, whom he saved makes a cameo appearance in "Goth Girl Rising."

Kevin lives with his divorced father, a Gulf War veteran who won't discuss his military past. Equally taboo are the topics of Kevin's mother, who left with Kevin's younger brother for her partner in California. Kevin was given the option of who he wanted to live with and he chose to stay in Brookdale. Hard times and a financial downturn forced Kevin and his father to move from their comfortable brownstone into a modest apartment with one bedroom. Kevin's father, a sanitation worker spends most of his hours on the job and leaves for work in the wee hours of the morning.

Indeed, Kevin's father is so adamant about his military past that he makes Kevin remove two magnetic ribbons from his car. The car, which was a gift from the mayor/town used car dealer came adorned with two ribbons emblazoned with "Support the Troops." Apoplectic with rage, the boy's father makes him remove the ribbons. Kevin was caught on film and sadly, many of the townspeople turn against him. Instead of reporters jockeying to interview him for his heroism, they are determined to bring him down for "hating America." One reporter even threatens to expose Kevin's father in the local paper and makes good on his threat.

Going from hero to zero is a hard and long fall for Kevin. His friends, the Council of Fools (a motley crew of fun loving kids who go to bat for each other and throw in some pranks along the way) come through for him. An interesting assortment of characters, the 5 boys (including Kevin) and one girl make a good story even better. Had this story taken place in 1967, they might have been the Merry Pranksters.

Kevin is a very reluctant hero. He does not like the fanfare and public display. He also knows that his secret crush on Leah, whom he later describes as "not the hottest," as she is "too plump" with "a crooked face" and boy, she can at the very least, do something about her hair. Even so, he is attracted to her like a moth to a flame. In fact, so great is his feeling of guilt that he feels he can never disclose why he was in the alley when the killer nicknamed the Surgeon attacked her at syringe point.

Kevin's ribbon removal causes a maelestrom of Archie Bunker patriotism of the "America, love it or leave it" ilk. In an interesting twist, South Brook High's principal Dr. Goethe, whom readers of Barry Lyga's works are familar with in other books arrange for Kevin to debate another student with whom he clashed. Two debates were aired - the first prior to South Brook's first period class and the second some days later. Kevin presents his arguments in a brilliant, logical fashion. His friends, the Fools came up with a brilliant way to help support Kevin's statements. He danced verbal and logical rings around his opponent, who presented his case quite well. "Nobody's right if everybody's wrong." -- Buffalo Springfield, 1967

The debates and the Fools' silent input further illustrate that loving America is not limited to waving flags, wearing symbols and serving in the military. Kevin makes an excellent point when he says that the ribbons and other symbols "are more for us" than the troops. Making suggestions such as sending care packages and providing support for the returning troops were good ones that speak to a different way of expressing patriotism. Showing concern for one's fellow human beings and standing by one's convictions are good ways of expressing one's beliefs in a nonjudgmental and nonthreatening and nonviolent way. Readers are treated to lessons in civics and history in this extraordinary book.

Luckily, one kind teacher lends Kevin her support and to say his arguments and presentation were brilliant would be a vast understatement. Barry Lyga is a genius. It is as simple as that. His characters, plots, cameo appearances of familiar characters and curveballs make for very worthwhile reading.

Buffalo Springfield's early 1967 anti-war classic, "For What It's Worth" could easily be the soundtrack of this book.

Kevin Ross, known as Kross to his friends, has been called a hero in his hometown and beyond. But can the seemingly innocent decision to remove a couple of magnetic ribbons from the back of his ugly, brown used car catapult his hero status to that of hated enemy? You bet it can!

Kevin happened to be at the right place at the wrong time for a serial killer called The Surgeon. For potential teen victim and classmate Leah, it was a case of the right place at the right time. Since saving Leah from certain death, Kevin can't look anywhere in town without seeing his name and hers linked on "thank you" signs and congratulations of all kinds. People can't seem to be able to do enough for Kevin, and they watch anxiously as he appears on TV and waits to collect a reward for his heroism.

All this praise and excitement is confusing for Kevin. He has long had a crush on Leah and relishes the attention she is now giving him; however, there are several secrets in Kevin's life that cast a shadow on all this positive attention. One secret is his father's mysterious military history in the Gulf War. Even when Kevin's mother still lived with them, the subject of his father's military service was off limits. The other secret is Kevin's own guilt for some event that actually placed him with Leah in the alley at the time of the killer's attack.

On the day Kevin pulled into the driveway with his new, used car, his father angrily demanded that the "support our troops" ribbons be removed immediately. When Kevin innocently explains that the local car dealer had slapped them on as he drove out of the used car lot, his father still insists they need to go. Unfortunately for Kevin, a news reporter still following the local hero witnesses the removal of the ribbons. This news is interpreted as "un-patriotic" behavior, and it unleashes the fury of a town proud of its patriot values.

As Kevin battles the public, who days before spoke of his heroic deed, he learns more about his parents' divorce, his mother's decision to move to California, and his father's struggles in the Gulf War. Readers can watch as Kevin learns the true meaning of patriotism and the freedoms we all take for granted. His story is especially intriguing in this time of political turmoil and tension.

Author Barry Lyga clearly demonstrates the division that can be created by different interpretations of what it means to support one's patriot beliefs.

Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"

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