A *No Spoilers* Review of David Lubar’s Character Driven

Many people are familiar with the works and writings of David Lubar.For example, his Weenies collection, which to this day can be found scattered upon the shelves of scholastic book fairs, or of his novels for older readers, like Hidden Talents, dubbed an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. I was lucky enough to have the book lent to me by Joan Vicari, whose head librarian of the Ocean City High School Library for which I volunteer, and a friend of the author. This novel is called Character Driven for a reason, so if you are counting on an action packed thriller with a fistfight and a plot twist around every chapter, you obviously didn't read the title. However, the main character Cliff Sparks, a humorous yet strikingly intelligent teenager, never allows you to grow bored. Right from the first sentence you are thrust into Cliff’s world, full of teenage drama, violence, family issues, and anxiety over his impending, and frighteningly empty future. And if all this wasn’t enough for him to worry about, he falls head over heels for the new girl Jillian.

Character Driven is most definitely a YA novel, but tastefully so. Cliff and Jillian’s love story is realistic and highly relatable(A breath of fresh air from the glorified dramatic romance that is found so often in the genre), and all of the characters are quirky and vivid.Cliff himself is the narrator, and is prone to abusing his power by leading an audience down false roads and laughing as he reveals his tom foolery. My personal favorite part about Cliff was his constant love of breaking the fourth wall, and adding witty commentary to every memory he shares. This, along with his tendency to often acknowledge the reader makes one feel like they are a participating in the story, which the reading much more interesting and tangible.

Cliff’s uncensored comical voice often lulled me into a false sense of security, and with a turn of the page everything would often go from funny to chillingly serious. This book is an emotional roller coaster, with a surprise ending that leaves you choked up, and staring at the page for hour afterwards, wanting more. Even if you are a person who has a hard time reading books, don’t be worried.  It is very easy to read, and only 290 pages long. Character Driven  is officially available for purchase on March 1st of this year, so pick it up if you can; I rate it 4.5 out of 5 stars.