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The Throne: A Novel
2014 High Plains Book Awards finialist Meredith is determined to make her mark as she starts Grade 10 -- and claiming the "cool" seat in home room is her first step But that decision brings her unwanted attention from the school's "kingpin of the underworld" and her new enemy is smart, determined and capable of holding a long-term grudge Should she just back away? But how will she look at herself in the mirror if she does? With the help of her two best friends, Reb and Dean, she will have to find a way to stand up for herself and survive high school with her dignity intact
282 pages, Paperback
First published May 31, 2013
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18 people want to read
About the author
Beth Goobie
29 books77 followersBeth Goobie is best known for her quirky and dark young adult novels. She's published several of them, beginning in 1994. Her novel Before Wings won the Canadian Library Association's Young Adult Book Award in 2000, and was chosen by young readers for the Best Books list of the American Library Association.Much of the turmoil in Goobie's life has been laid bare in two books for adult readers, Scars of Light, which is autobiographical poetry, and The Only-Good Heart, a book of short stories. Both are built on the theme of cults, abuse, and emotional torture. They were, she says, both therapeutic for herself and a warning to others.
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August 21, 2013On the first day of 10th grade, Meredith arrives at school early and observes the empty band room, where her homeroom meets. She seizes the opportunity to sit behind the drums, the coolest, most coveted seat in the room. She's not the only one who wanted that seat, though, and her decision brings her in direct conflict with senior Seymour Molyneux. Seymour first asks, then demands, that Meredith relinquish the Throne, and when she doesn't, he organizes his wide underground network. The attacks on Meredith routinely take the form of chewing gum on her clothes, but they build to something bigger. Still, Meredith refuses to back down, and relies on her friends--new and old--to help her stand up for herself.
A surprisingly engrossing, quickly-paced book considering most of the plot centers on the homeroom drama. There is a subplot about Meredith's family history, as she learns the unsavory details of her parents' lives and their deaths, that helps to strengthen her resolve on the homeroom war. Outside of Meredith, characters are not deeply developed, but the book succeeds anyway on the strength of its relatable plot. A few Canadian phrases may give American teens momentary pause, but they are easy enough to decode. A few f-bombs may keep this out of middle schools, but is otherwise recommended for all teen collections.
A surprisingly engrossing, quickly-paced book considering most of the plot centers on the homeroom drama. There is a subplot about Meredith's family history, as she learns the unsavory details of her parents' lives and their deaths, that helps to strengthen her resolve on the homeroom war. Outside of Meredith, characters are not deeply developed, but the book succeeds anyway on the strength of its relatable plot. A few Canadian phrases may give American teens momentary pause, but they are easy enough to decode. A few f-bombs may keep this out of middle schools, but is otherwise recommended for all teen collections.
August 26, 2016
When Canadian 15 year old Meredith starts her sophomore year, she decides to make herself known by taking the best seat in homeroom for the year—behind the drum kit. Unfortunately, that puts her directly at odds with senior Seymour, who had taken for granted that he would get “the throne.” When she refuses to give it up, he starts making her life miserable, with the help of many of the rest of the kids at school. Meanwhile, Meredith learns more about her parents, who died when she was young, and starts to worry that she has inherited some of their flaws. Why did she really choose the “throne”? And how far will Seymour go to get her off it?
I really have no idea what I think about this book, other than that it was about twice as long as it needed to be-—I keep checking to see how many pages were left, I was so bored. I mean, I guess I can see how small things loom large in teens’ lives, but seriously, Goobie wrote a whole book about issues with homeroom seating arrangements? And considering what goes on in modern schools (of which Meredith’s is supposedly one), Seymour’s persecution is unpleasant, but laughably tame until the end-—more like what would go on in elementary school. Where was the technology? There are a few token mentions of cell phones, but these days, teens are much more likely to take someone down electronically than slap a few gum wads on their jeans. I don’t know if the author was trying to keep the book from being dated, or if she just wasn’t comfortable with the tech.
I also had trouble buying into the connection between the more interesting storyline of Meredith’s parents and the seating issue. I could see how it would be an interesting question to investigate—-how much does one inherit from one’s parents, and how well can you identify your own motives for your actions—-but it would have been much more believable if Meredith’s actions had truly been power-seeking on a large scale, not just taking the best homeroom seat. Might as well take someone’s favorite crayons while she’s at it; there’s major drama, there. The ending was believable, anyway, with no one winning—-depressing, though.
Anyway, this would have been okay for older middle schoolers in terms of content, but I think the repeated mentions of sex toys puts it beyond the pale.
I really have no idea what I think about this book, other than that it was about twice as long as it needed to be-—I keep checking to see how many pages were left, I was so bored. I mean, I guess I can see how small things loom large in teens’ lives, but seriously, Goobie wrote a whole book about issues with homeroom seating arrangements? And considering what goes on in modern schools (of which Meredith’s is supposedly one), Seymour’s persecution is unpleasant, but laughably tame until the end-—more like what would go on in elementary school. Where was the technology? There are a few token mentions of cell phones, but these days, teens are much more likely to take someone down electronically than slap a few gum wads on their jeans. I don’t know if the author was trying to keep the book from being dated, or if she just wasn’t comfortable with the tech.
I also had trouble buying into the connection between the more interesting storyline of Meredith’s parents and the seating issue. I could see how it would be an interesting question to investigate—-how much does one inherit from one’s parents, and how well can you identify your own motives for your actions—-but it would have been much more believable if Meredith’s actions had truly been power-seeking on a large scale, not just taking the best homeroom seat. Might as well take someone’s favorite crayons while she’s at it; there’s major drama, there. The ending was believable, anyway, with no one winning—-depressing, though.
Anyway, this would have been okay for older middle schoolers in terms of content, but I think the repeated mentions of sex toys puts it beyond the pale.
December 22, 2015
Meredith is a 10th grader at Polkton Collegiate who lives with her Aunt Sancy. Her last name is Polk, which means that she is a descendant of the man who founded their town, which comes with little cache. Her home form (i.e. home room) is in the music class, and everyone knows that the spot behind the drums is the most important and desired seat. And it’s always claimed by the most senior person in the room. But Meredith wants to sit there, so on the first day of class, she does. Her classmates are surprised, and none more so than Seymour, a very popular senior.
Seymour is often compared to a mafia kingpin and “lord of the underworld.” He has connections and isn’t afraid to use them. So although Seymour tries to play it cool, he soon starts having other kids at school bully Meredith into giving him the seat. They “gum bum” her (put gum on the back of her pants) many times, and when that doesn’t work, it escalates to violence.
The book doesn’t work. For one - having someone have gum stuck to themselves multiple times and then quickly escalating to a violent attack doesn’t seem plausible. It should’ve built up more. Second, when Meredith’s family history comes into play, it’s so dramatic and strange that it doesn’t work. *Spoiler alert* Both her parents and grandparents were in the drug trade? And her parents were high on cocaine and alcohol when they were killed in a car crash, and her grandparents were killed when their yacht blew up??!! Where did this come from?
It does some things right - the end doesn’t have a bow on it, and what happens to Meredith is both unfair and realistic. If the plotting had been tighter and the background of the parents and grandparents hadn’t been so dramatic, this book would’ve worked better.
Seymour is often compared to a mafia kingpin and “lord of the underworld.” He has connections and isn’t afraid to use them. So although Seymour tries to play it cool, he soon starts having other kids at school bully Meredith into giving him the seat. They “gum bum” her (put gum on the back of her pants) many times, and when that doesn’t work, it escalates to violence.
The book doesn’t work. For one - having someone have gum stuck to themselves multiple times and then quickly escalating to a violent attack doesn’t seem plausible. It should’ve built up more. Second, when Meredith’s family history comes into play, it’s so dramatic and strange that it doesn’t work. *Spoiler alert* Both her parents and grandparents were in the drug trade? And her parents were high on cocaine and alcohol when they were killed in a car crash, and her grandparents were killed when their yacht blew up??!! Where did this come from?
It does some things right - the end doesn’t have a bow on it, and what happens to Meredith is both unfair and realistic. If the plotting had been tighter and the background of the parents and grandparents hadn’t been so dramatic, this book would’ve worked better.
January 30, 2014
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It's the first day of 10th grade and Meredith Polk has decided she doesn't want to wait to "make it". She wants to be at the top of the social pyramid now and the best way she knows how is to take the literal top seat in her first class. So on day one, she's the first to arrive and she claims her new seat.
However, the heir to the chair had waited for that spot for three years and he is not happy she's in it.
Suddenly, Meredith finds herself on the receiving end of a series of gum attacks and it looks like things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.
Final thoughts: It may be set in high school, but it feels like middle school. Maybe it's because of the teens I see every day, but the teens in many novels just don't feel like they're written well. They often don't feel like they're in high school and this is no exception. There's also a secondary story with Meredith finding out the truth behind her parents, their deaths, and her entire family line. That whole thing felt odd and more like filler than anything else.
It's the first day of 10th grade and Meredith Polk has decided she doesn't want to wait to "make it". She wants to be at the top of the social pyramid now and the best way she knows how is to take the literal top seat in her first class. So on day one, she's the first to arrive and she claims her new seat.
However, the heir to the chair had waited for that spot for three years and he is not happy she's in it.
Suddenly, Meredith finds herself on the receiving end of a series of gum attacks and it looks like things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.
Final thoughts: It may be set in high school, but it feels like middle school. Maybe it's because of the teens I see every day, but the teens in many novels just don't feel like they're written well. They often don't feel like they're in high school and this is no exception. There's also a secondary story with Meredith finding out the truth behind her parents, their deaths, and her entire family line. That whole thing felt odd and more like filler than anything else.
July 24, 2016
The premise of The Throne is questionable. It's like writing about why potatoes are better than yams and giving nutritional advice, no hidden meaning. Despite the fact the whole novel is basically about Meredith's struggle with claiming the drums in her homeroom and going head-to-head with Seymour, I quite enjoyed this book. I think Goobie has a really nice and fresh way of story-telling and her writing just fits and molds together. Looking forward to reading any of her other books.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews