A review by rustbeltjessie
Althea & Oliver by Cristina Moracho
5.0
The characters and (many of) the situations in this book were so familiar to me - being that I was around the same age as Althea and Oliver, at the same time (mid-late '90s). I felt like the characters were all people that I was friends with, or could have been friends with. Honestly, though, Cristina Moracho's writing is so gorgeous and descriptive that I think anyone who has ever been a teenager, in any time period, can recognize themselves and their friends (or enemies) in the characters; also, she makes all the experiences relatable so that even if you've never been through them, by the end of the book you feel like you have.
Of course, and this is speaking as a former misfit teen myself, I think that anyone who was a misfit teen in some way - a punk or an outsider, or anyone who found 'salvation' in things like punk shows, chapters of 'Bread and Roses,' Replacements records, and aimless drives - might relate to this book especially well.
And the ending made me cry like a baby. Perfect.
(Plus - Non-Stop Party Wagon! I remember that from an issue of Burn Collector, and reading about it in Althea & Oliver inspired me!)
Of course, and this is speaking as a former misfit teen myself, I think that anyone who was a misfit teen in some way - a punk or an outsider, or anyone who found 'salvation' in things like punk shows, chapters of 'Bread and Roses,' Replacements records, and aimless drives - might relate to this book especially well.
And the ending made me cry like a baby. Perfect.
(Plus - Non-Stop Party Wagon! I remember that from an issue of Burn Collector, and reading about it in Althea & Oliver inspired me!)