A review by jennifermreads
Confusion Is Nothing New by Paul Acampora
4.0
Right before the football game, Ellie’s dad told her that her mother was dead. Granted, Ellie had never known her mother but had hoped to one day meet the woman. So, when a little disagreement between her friend and the marching band instructor begins to escalate, Ellie causes a distraction: she hurls her glockenspiel toward the teacher. Well, that did go as planned.
So, this book starts off with a reference to a glockenspiel (and then said instrument is mentioned frequently throughout the story) and I’m like “What the heck is a glockenspiel?!” So, Google saves the day and I learn that it looks quite a bit like a xylophone but, while a xylophone has wooden bars, a glockenspiel has steel bars. Lesson learned!
And then the 80s references begin. My first thought is “what middle schooler is going to get these references?” But I kept thinking it through “Wait. I knew about my mom’s music from when she was young! I knew Elvis, The Everly Brothers, Jan & Dean, and, of course, the Beatles.” So, if I knew my own mom’s music, is there any reason to think that today’s parents haven’t shared the music of their youth with their kids? I mean, isn’t it a rite of passage? To groan over your parents singing at the top of their lungs to that “old people music?” I know that, if I had become a parent, my children sure as heck would have been subjected to Michael Jackson, Prince, and Cyndi Lauper! So, the argument that kids won’t get the references? Maybe … but I bet many do! Oh, and if they don’t know the songs and/or musicians, won’t they run to Google? As I did with the glockenspiel? And then Cyndi Lauper gets a whole new generation of fans!
What I truly loved about this story was how such a deep subject, a girl who never met her mother, was presented with humor, love, and a lightness that was refreshing. This could have been one heck of a dark and depressing story. Instead, it is laced with jokes, love, friendship, and, well, lots of 80s music! A true gem – and it should be on every library’s shelves.
So, this book starts off with a reference to a glockenspiel (and then said instrument is mentioned frequently throughout the story) and I’m like “What the heck is a glockenspiel?!” So, Google saves the day and I learn that it looks quite a bit like a xylophone but, while a xylophone has wooden bars, a glockenspiel has steel bars. Lesson learned!
And then the 80s references begin. My first thought is “what middle schooler is going to get these references?” But I kept thinking it through “Wait. I knew about my mom’s music from when she was young! I knew Elvis, The Everly Brothers, Jan & Dean, and, of course, the Beatles.” So, if I knew my own mom’s music, is there any reason to think that today’s parents haven’t shared the music of their youth with their kids? I mean, isn’t it a rite of passage? To groan over your parents singing at the top of their lungs to that “old people music?” I know that, if I had become a parent, my children sure as heck would have been subjected to Michael Jackson, Prince, and Cyndi Lauper! So, the argument that kids won’t get the references? Maybe … but I bet many do! Oh, and if they don’t know the songs and/or musicians, won’t they run to Google? As I did with the glockenspiel? And then Cyndi Lauper gets a whole new generation of fans!
What I truly loved about this story was how such a deep subject, a girl who never met her mother, was presented with humor, love, and a lightness that was refreshing. This could have been one heck of a dark and depressing story. Instead, it is laced with jokes, love, friendship, and, well, lots of 80s music! A true gem – and it should be on every library’s shelves.