What do you think?
Rate this book
Celine
"Show a little maturity," he said, which I've doped out to Pass all your courses, avoid detection in all crimes and misdemeanors, don't get pregnant.
Celine's father has left her with these instructions. She's not too worried about the last two, but she'll fail English unless she rewrites her Catcher in the Rye essay. And she keeps being interrupted, especially by Jake, the neighbor's boy, who's been dumped on her for the weekend.
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year A Booklist Best Book of the '80s A Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of the Year
Celine's father has left her with these instructions. She's not too worried about the last two, but she'll fail English unless she rewrites her Catcher in the Rye essay. And she keeps being interrupted, especially by Jake, the neighbor's boy, who's been dumped on her for the weekend.
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year A Booklist Best Book of the '80s A Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of the Year
Audiobook
First published January 1, 1989
9 people are currently reading
366 people want to read
About the author
Brock Cole
29 books30 followersBrock Cole was born a year before the Second World War in a small town in Michigan. Because of his father's work, his family moved frequently, but he never regarded these relocations as a hardship.
"I thought of myself as something of an explorer, even though my explorations never took me very far. I had a deep and intimate acquaintance with woodlots, creeks, lakes, back streets, and alleys all over the Midwest."
He attended Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, and received a doctorate from the University of Minnesota. After teaching philosophy for several years at the University of Wisconsin, he began writing and illustrating books for children.
"I had always wanted to write, and I loved to draw. I had small children, who were a wonderful audience. Children's books seemed a perfect fit."
His first book, The King at the Door, was published in 1979. Among his other picture books are The Winter Wren, The Giant's Toe, and Alpha and the Dirty Baby.
He now lives in Buffalo, New York, where his wife, Susan, teaches at the State University of New York. His sons both live in Athens, Georgia. Joshua teaches French history at the University of Georgia, and Tobiah is a painter and works as a waiter. Joshua is married to Kate Tremel, a potter and a teacher, and they have a little boy named Lucas.
Brock Cole's acclaimed first novel, The Goats, was published in 1987. It is set in the Michigan countryside of his childhood and captures the story of two loners' struggle for self-identity and inner strength after being made the targets of a cruel prank. In a Horn Book Magazine editorial, Anita Silvey wrote: "The Goats reaffirms my belief that children's literature is alive and thriving." Betsy Hearne, editor of The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, lauded The Goats as "one of the most important books of the decade."
In Brock Cole's second novel, Celine, sixteen-year-old Celine, a budding artist, is living with her young stepmother, only six years older than Celine herself, while her father is teaching in Europe. Celine dreams of escaping this situation, but she becomes involved with caring for Jake, her seven-year-old neighbor, who is going through his parents' divorce.
Since he began his writing career, Brock Cole and his wife have traveled a good deal, living for one year in Washington and another in Germany, as well as spending frequent summers in Greece and Turkey.
"To be honest, I simply tag along after Susan. It's her research which takes us all over the place. I enjoy it immensely, though. There's something about sitting down to work at a rickety table in a strange city that clears the head. It's the best thing for a writer, or for this one, anyway."
"I thought of myself as something of an explorer, even though my explorations never took me very far. I had a deep and intimate acquaintance with woodlots, creeks, lakes, back streets, and alleys all over the Midwest."
He attended Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, and received a doctorate from the University of Minnesota. After teaching philosophy for several years at the University of Wisconsin, he began writing and illustrating books for children.
"I had always wanted to write, and I loved to draw. I had small children, who were a wonderful audience. Children's books seemed a perfect fit."
His first book, The King at the Door, was published in 1979. Among his other picture books are The Winter Wren, The Giant's Toe, and Alpha and the Dirty Baby.
He now lives in Buffalo, New York, where his wife, Susan, teaches at the State University of New York. His sons both live in Athens, Georgia. Joshua teaches French history at the University of Georgia, and Tobiah is a painter and works as a waiter. Joshua is married to Kate Tremel, a potter and a teacher, and they have a little boy named Lucas.
Brock Cole's acclaimed first novel, The Goats, was published in 1987. It is set in the Michigan countryside of his childhood and captures the story of two loners' struggle for self-identity and inner strength after being made the targets of a cruel prank. In a Horn Book Magazine editorial, Anita Silvey wrote: "The Goats reaffirms my belief that children's literature is alive and thriving." Betsy Hearne, editor of The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, lauded The Goats as "one of the most important books of the decade."
In Brock Cole's second novel, Celine, sixteen-year-old Celine, a budding artist, is living with her young stepmother, only six years older than Celine herself, while her father is teaching in Europe. Celine dreams of escaping this situation, but she becomes involved with caring for Jake, her seven-year-old neighbor, who is going through his parents' divorce.
Since he began his writing career, Brock Cole and his wife have traveled a good deal, living for one year in Washington and another in Germany, as well as spending frequent summers in Greece and Turkey.
"To be honest, I simply tag along after Susan. It's her research which takes us all over the place. I enjoy it immensely, though. There's something about sitting down to work at a rickety table in a strange city that clears the head. It's the best thing for a writer, or for this one, anyway."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
July 11, 2008
"I don't know why I love you, but I do-o." Clarence "Frogman" Henry probably wrote this about Celine. I bought this book when I was nine because, as best I can recall, I was drawn to the cover. It took me all of an afternoon to fall in love with it. And I have no idea why. It's not really about anything, and not even in a Seinfeldian way. But the way Cole creates his characters, and the situations steeped in minutia in which they are placed, is magnetic. The book reads like reality television.
This is not great literature, no one I know has ever even heard of it, and I've never given it as a gift--but I have read it several times over the years and it's still capable of magnetism. Check it out.
This is not great literature, no one I know has ever even heard of it, and I've never given it as a gift--but I have read it several times over the years and it's still capable of magnetism. Check it out.
September 18, 2018
I love this book so much that I named the Ford Escort I drove in high school "Celine."
August 5, 2016
if you read the descriptions on the paperback of this book, you might never read it, because they make it sound... boring. or something other than what it is. I adore this book and i've probably read it ten times. It's funny and smart and snarky and talks about artists in a way that feels very real to me.
October 27, 2008
Maybe my favorite book hands down ever. It's a Young Adult book which shows that Young Adult books are not just for Young Adults. I reread it at least every few years and it is never not great. It inspired me to write my own YA book.
Merged review:
This may be my favorite book of all time and absolutely inspired my YA book coming out next year.
Merged review:
This may be my favorite book of all time and absolutely inspired my YA book coming out next year.
March 13, 2014
Wow. Such an enjoyable read. Celine is awesome and her mind is so quirky. I heard about this book in an old Sassy magazine and I was looking for something different to read. This book came out in 1989 (the same year i did) and is so relevant and accurate about a girls feelings and responsibilites that women have to juggle. Celine is hilarious, and this has become an instant favourite.
PS. Dermot is a Liar Liar.
PS. Dermot is a Liar Liar.
January 1, 2021
My ultimite favorite book of all time. I read this the summer before 7th grade and if I hadn't, those next 6 years would not have been the same.
June 8, 2010
Celine is a strange and sometimes troubled artist cum high schooler. She’s not particularly well-liked in school, nor is she particularly disliked either. This extremely good-looking muscle-bound, but not so bright boy, Dermot is her boyfriend – but why he likes her, Celine can’t even begin to fathom. She’s actually going out with him by accident – he sent her a Valentine and some chocolates, and instead of returning them she ate the chocolate. Whoops. And then people in school were angry with her because she didn’t swoon over Dermot’s gesture. Celine doesn’t want Dermot’s attention so she keeps putting him off by telling him her stepmother is very strict and won’t let her do anything (oh, and she only speaks French).
Celine becomes friends with a little boy who lives in her building, whose parents are going through a divorce, and they seem to have a similar outlook on things – childlike and different from others around them. Celine comes from a pretty unstable family as well – her biological mother is in South America, and her father has been overseas for the last several months. So, Celine has been living with her father’s new wife, Catherine, who is only 6 years older than she, and things have not been very easy. When she lived in Iowa she had all sorts of things distracting her – she managed a band and got into all sorts of trouble. Now she just wants to finish high school and go to Italy and study art and painting and live with her friend Sybil. None of this is going to happen if she can’t show “a little maturity.”
This was a bizarre and funny story (I was going to say romp, but I immediately hated myself for even thinking it). I really liked Celine’s quirkiness, her inability to rid herself of the dull and brutish Dermot, her relationship with Jake (the little boy), and her crazy artistic visions. It ends without resolving a whole lot, which is fine. There are some hysterical moments, like where Celine is mistaken for another patient when she takes Jake to his psychiatrist. Another psychiatrist takes her into his office and encourages her to tell him all about her problems – so she DOES! At first he’s sort of shocked, and then he’s amused, and then he’s putty in her hands!
I’m not sure who to recommend this to exactly – it might take a special person to appreciate it. But maybe I’m making the mistake of thinking that anyone in high school is normal. :)
Celine becomes friends with a little boy who lives in her building, whose parents are going through a divorce, and they seem to have a similar outlook on things – childlike and different from others around them. Celine comes from a pretty unstable family as well – her biological mother is in South America, and her father has been overseas for the last several months. So, Celine has been living with her father’s new wife, Catherine, who is only 6 years older than she, and things have not been very easy. When she lived in Iowa she had all sorts of things distracting her – she managed a band and got into all sorts of trouble. Now she just wants to finish high school and go to Italy and study art and painting and live with her friend Sybil. None of this is going to happen if she can’t show “a little maturity.”
This was a bizarre and funny story (I was going to say romp, but I immediately hated myself for even thinking it). I really liked Celine’s quirkiness, her inability to rid herself of the dull and brutish Dermot, her relationship with Jake (the little boy), and her crazy artistic visions. It ends without resolving a whole lot, which is fine. There are some hysterical moments, like where Celine is mistaken for another patient when she takes Jake to his psychiatrist. Another psychiatrist takes her into his office and encourages her to tell him all about her problems – so she DOES! At first he’s sort of shocked, and then he’s amused, and then he’s putty in her hands!
I’m not sure who to recommend this to exactly – it might take a special person to appreciate it. But maybe I’m making the mistake of thinking that anyone in high school is normal. :)
July 23, 2007
Always the first book that I think of when asked my favorite. I don't really feel like I can do it justice talking about it. I was thrilled nearly to the point of tears when I went to a reading by M.T. Anderson and he listed Brock Cole as one of the true great and moral y/a writers. When I got to him in the booksigning line (for The Astonishing Story Of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Book I: The Pox Party, another unparalleled y/a work), we babbled happily together about Celine: he loved the scene where the glove falls on her knee and she thinks it's a hand, and I crowed about the part where Celine wakes up her stepmother to tell her how she had a dip named after her at the party.
February 5, 2010
This may be a young adult book, but it is one of the smarter books I've read this year. The narrator is a complex, unpredictable artist with inexplicable maternal instincts for a young boy in her building whose family is breaking apart. She doesn't let herself be swayed by old naysayers who think art is dead or teachers who can't speak to what is true or significant. She carries herself with dignity despite her mother having run off to some island paradise and her father lecturing halfway across the world for months at a time. She is funny, hot and cold, and her observations about life, people, and art will make you think twice about your own judgments.
June 17, 2011
No wonder this book has been such an inspiration for a number of ya authors - it's fantastic. The voice is so spot on, and Celine's got everything from the heartwarming moments to the heartbreaking.
If they repackaged the cover, this book would STILL do so well right now. It's completely relatable today.
If they repackaged the cover, this book would STILL do so well right now. It's completely relatable today.
April 1, 2008
This is my all time favorite book. It helped me get in to college, literally. It is also the standard to which any coming of age narrative is held. I
March 6, 2022
Still my favorite book.
March 31, 2011
Like "The Goats," this is a weird book, so I'm not sure who might read it, although I imagine that my adolescent self would have liked it as much as my adult self.
The protagonist is high school junior in Chicago where she lives with her absent father's new wife, a self-absorbed woman only 6 years her senior, while her mother is in South America and her father is lecturing in Europe. Celine, an artist, suffers the vicissitudes of high school (her reckless parents, a boorish boyfriend, the slings & arrows of outrageous fortune) with some level of poise, albeit, funny, snarky poise. That said, she does not dwell on the usual teengirl fodder--clothes, boys, parties, intoxication.
As part of her desire to graduate early, she must complete a paper on "The Catcher in the Rye" for an English class. As I read Cole's appealing book, it felt a bit like an apologia for "Catcher" or Cole's aspiring to a better troubled adolescent novel. In fact, Celine actually interacts with a little kid, her 8-year-old neighbor who is left in her care, and she does, in fact protect him from the corrupt adults.
I'm not sure which reader I'll recommend this to--it calls out for an arty reader with a sly sense of humor on the brink of disillusionment.
The protagonist is high school junior in Chicago where she lives with her absent father's new wife, a self-absorbed woman only 6 years her senior, while her mother is in South America and her father is lecturing in Europe. Celine, an artist, suffers the vicissitudes of high school (her reckless parents, a boorish boyfriend, the slings & arrows of outrageous fortune) with some level of poise, albeit, funny, snarky poise. That said, she does not dwell on the usual teengirl fodder--clothes, boys, parties, intoxication.
As part of her desire to graduate early, she must complete a paper on "The Catcher in the Rye" for an English class. As I read Cole's appealing book, it felt a bit like an apologia for "Catcher" or Cole's aspiring to a better troubled adolescent novel. In fact, Celine actually interacts with a little kid, her 8-year-old neighbor who is left in her care, and she does, in fact protect him from the corrupt adults.
I'm not sure which reader I'll recommend this to--it calls out for an arty reader with a sly sense of humor on the brink of disillusionment.
June 13, 2011
Celine, I thought wasn’t the best book for me because I felt like it didn’t have the spark or something. It’s about Celine who is the protagonist is about basically her life of wanting to be an artist. She is sixteen years old and is in high school living in Chicago. Her father is traveling in Europe and she just wants her high school life to be over and to go to Europe so she can be an artist. But, things turn the other way around and she has to be the responsible one to make all the choices and to be the good one. In the end, Celine is able to do it and does the best she can. That is one of the best parts of the book probably. Celine wasn’t doing very good in English class during high school and was failing. She had to baby -sit a boy named Jake, but if I were in her position I wouldn’t want to be baby-sit him, I would try to avoid that happening. I wouldn’t be able to give this book a very high rating because at some parts it seemed sort of hard to understand and it wasn’t that great of a book.
October 19, 2015
I really liked this book, I'd give it a 3.5 stars .
It's the story of a sixteen-years-old girl. Céline is an anguished and witty girl, her parents are divorced and she lives with her step-mother. She has ups and downs like every other teenage girl. She doesn't fully believe in herself and she always asks for confirmation from the people around her. She doesn't know who she is.
Everything gradually changes when Céline meets Jake, a little boy who lives in the apartment in front of hers. He will manage to give her a different perspective on life.
Céline seems to be grow up throughout the pages of the book and, in the end, I'm glad she does.
I also loved her sarcasm. I think that was my favorite part. Her character was interesting, but it's no different from other teenage girls' lives.
Anyway, I enjoyed this book very much and it was a quick read too. I recommend it to everyone who likes YA, this one seems to be the father of this genre. (It's dated 1996 if you're curious.)
It's the story of a sixteen-years-old girl. Céline is an anguished and witty girl, her parents are divorced and she lives with her step-mother. She has ups and downs like every other teenage girl. She doesn't fully believe in herself and she always asks for confirmation from the people around her. She doesn't know who she is.
Everything gradually changes when Céline meets Jake, a little boy who lives in the apartment in front of hers. He will manage to give her a different perspective on life.
Céline seems to be grow up throughout the pages of the book and, in the end, I'm glad she does.
I also loved her sarcasm. I think that was my favorite part. Her character was interesting, but it's no different from other teenage girls' lives.
Anyway, I enjoyed this book very much and it was a quick read too. I recommend it to everyone who likes YA, this one seems to be the father of this genre. (It's dated 1996 if you're curious.)
February 16, 2016
Celine by Brock Cole seeps into the life of an artsy teenager who eagerly wants to leave home. The reader is introduced to characters who the protagonist likes, dislikes and are unsure about. I liked Celine's personality some what as she is vibrant and sometimes nonchalant, however her attitude as a student was not very reputable. In my opinion, this book could've had more things actually going on. I found the ideas very far fetched from one another and non-relative. I think the author could've included stronger inter-personal relationships between the characters and further link that to the environment they were in.
April 27, 2011
Celine is an artist, who thinks so abstractedly that she seems to miss out on many aspects of reality. (If she was confused, it goes without saying that I was confused throughout most of this book.) Celine deals with living with her Dad's new wife Catherine, who is only six years older than Celine. Despite her strange view of reality, Celine manages to get what she wants out of life rather well. She connects with her next-door-neighbor Jacob (6 yrs old), who's parents are also going through a divorce, and who Celine can help.
June 6, 2008
this book was kind of depressing. not because it's emanty to be depressing but because it reminds me of things. of growing up and being mature...which sometimes doesnt happen. of procrasinating, as celine does when shes supposed to write a paper about haulden caulfield (eek). of parties that should have gone better...unlike lucile who gets way too drunk. but i like jacob..hes qute a precocious kid and he reminds me of my baby brother.
June 12, 2008
(Note: How depressing is it to put in "Celine" and find a dozen books about Celine Dion?)
I really enjoyed this, in spite of the fact that it really doesn't have a plot, per se, and that the first person voice (I'm so sick of 1st person) sounds much more like that of Brock Cole than a 16-year-old girl. But he writes so well and it's sufficiently entertaining that I overlooked those things. Which, for me, is saying something.
I really enjoyed this, in spite of the fact that it really doesn't have a plot, per se, and that the first person voice (I'm so sick of 1st person) sounds much more like that of Brock Cole than a 16-year-old girl. But he writes so well and it's sufficiently entertaining that I overlooked those things. Which, for me, is saying something.
August 6, 2014
Celine is 16 and left with her 22 year old step mom as her dad travels throughout Europe giving lectures.Her father leaves her with the advice, just be mature. Which Celine takes as stay out of trouble, do your homework and don't get pregnant
She's working on a project from school, to write a paper about Holden Caulfield and her neighbor, Jake, who's 5 keeps cropping up on her doorstep. Celine is also an artist-great character.
A wonderful Youth Fiction novel!
She's working on a project from school, to write a paper about Holden Caulfield and her neighbor, Jake, who's 5 keeps cropping up on her doorstep. Celine is also an artist-great character.
A wonderful Youth Fiction novel!
February 25, 2014
The Book I was reading was called "Celine." By Brock Cole. This book was Published in the 80's as the best book for young adults. I kind of Liked this book, But it wasn't the best book i've read. The characters in the story were Weird, And it was funny at the same time. But I was Expecting to have more taste In this book. "Celine" Has the way to teach Important Lessons to people about maturity.
Celine The main character faces Problems with her parents for
Celine The main character faces Problems with her parents for
Read
May 22, 2009The plot was kind of all over the place and Celine was sort of a Mary Sue, but that was ok this time because this was beautifully written (especially the art parts) and it had the kind of manic, intense appreciation for life that good YA novels specialize in. The little boy character and their connection felt right on. Unrealistic events, realistic feelings.
November 17, 2011
Honor List: High schooler Celine meets the boy next door, Jake, and they start spending lots of time together. The only thing wrong with the situation is that Jake is still in grade school. Celine, who hopes to move to Italy with her friend to become an artist, begins looking after Jake. This humorous and heartwarming story is humorous and touching.
May 28, 2009
16-year-old Celine, an artist, lives with her young step-mother and tries to "show a little maturity" so her father will let her spend the summer in Italy. Problems include Jake the neighbor kid, Jake's father (a sexy artist) and Dermot the creep.
August 27, 2011
This book is awesome. No surprise, because everything Brock Cole writes is awesome. Celine is hilarious and insightful and probably the only thing keeping me from giving it five stars was a HORRIFYING cockroach scene.
November 10, 2018
reread August 2004
December 23, 2013
another pixie book club finalist. i liked this one a lot, despite the fact that celine is nothing like me. she's far too confident and talkative for me to identify with but she is a great character.
May 7, 2008
This is the best book, I read it when I was 12 and ten years later I'm still reading it periodically.
December 29, 2010
ALL over the place. The plot was OK but the random weirdness of Celine's thoughts...they made me crazy. I kept reading it because I knew it wasn't a horrid book, but I'm SO happy it's finished.
July 26, 2016
Well done. I totally believe in Celine. Very real characters.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews