The Falconer is a perfect book for any high school junior or senior. What does it mean to grow up? We witness Lucy in the midst of learning this question. Joining the ranks of classic coming-of-age novels like Hinton’s The Outsiders, Czapnik captures the essence of the adolescent soul.
The Falconer opens by showcasing Lucy Adler’s athletic and mental prowess. From working with her unrequited crush to obliterate the opposing team in a pick-up basketball game to calculating the parabolas the ball follows to the basket, Lucy is a force to be reckoned with. Although Lucy spends a significant time admiring her crush, Czapnik refuses to let him be the focus of her story. In addition to Percy, Lucy’s other significant friends include two artists; one a bookworm who never fails to give Lucy the perfect philosophical book to read, and another an ardent activist organizing local protests and making Lucy consider the practical implication of the philosophers she reads.
Dana Czapnik writes with the rare ability to engage with the mundane and captivate the reader’s attention. In an off-hand meta-comment, one of her characters states “If I ever write a book, I’m going to call it Not Much Happens in This Book.” Czapnik has done just this. She deftly grasps the urgency of the moment felt by maturing young adults, creating a tense, anticipatory atmosphere, yet the stakes are incredibly low; Lucy is just learning and deciding who she wants to be.
The Falconer is a perfect book for any high school junior or senior. What does it mean to grow up? We witness Lucy in the midst of learning this question. Joining the ranks of classic coming-of-age novels like Hinton’s The Outsiders, Czapnik captures the essence of the adolescent soul.
The Falconer opens by showcasing Lucy Adler’s athletic and mental prowess. From working with her unrequited crush to obliterate the opposing team in a pick-up basketball game to calculating the parabolas the ball follows to the basket, Lucy is a force to be reckoned with. Although Lucy spends a significant time admiring her crush, Czapnik refuses to let him be the focus of her story. In addition to Percy, Lucy’s other significant friends include two artists; one a bookworm who never fails to give Lucy the perfect philosophical book to read, and another an ardent activist organizing local protests and making Lucy consider the practical implication of the philosophers she reads.
Dana Czapnik writes with the rare ability to engage with the mundane and captivate the reader’s attention. In an off-hand meta-comment, one of her characters states “If I ever write a book, I’m going to call it Not Much Happens in This Book.” Czapnik has done just this. She deftly grasps the urgency of the moment felt by maturing young adults, creating a tense, anticipatory atmosphere, yet the stakes are incredibly low; Lucy is just learning and deciding who she wants to be.