Desdemona - Twelve Going on Desperate

Desdemona #2

by Beverly Keller, Aleta Jenks (Illustrator)

It's one disaster after another as Desdemona Blank tries to make friends at her new junior high, salvage her single-parent father's budding romance, and not think too much about Mike Harbinger, the fifteen-year-old blond school heartthrob. Then several extraordinary things happen'including getting to know Mike'and Desdemona's desperate life becomes a delirious one.

Genres: Middle Grade, Fiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1986

About the author

Beverly Keller is a published author of both children's and young adult books. She lives in Davis, Ca.

Reviews

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aw, this story was fun, strange and silly. It's the second in a series of four, of which I was unaware, but there's plenty of recap.

Desdemona is twelve-and-half, and she lives with her father, twin five-year-old siblings, their housekeeper, and three dogs. (Her mother left to find herself.) Dez is best friends with their landlord's son Sherman, who is eleven, small, and nerdy. It's funny to me how often they talk about Sherman's dad and uncle being slumlords. There's a plan to buy up the block of falling-down houses and replace it with condos.

I LOVE the ongoing saga of saving the ants from the ant farm. All the story lines and cast of characters, come together in a wonderful, well-intentioned disaster. Far-fetched? Of course. Entertaining? Certainly. Reminds me of the Anastasia series with lovely relatability and unexpected depth and insight. Looking forward to hunting down the rest of the series (though this one seems to be the most popular).

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book makes me laugh out loud. Beverly Keller has a wry observational humor that pervades the book. The characters are interesting and sympathetic without being sappy. The pacing is fantastic there are a number of scenes (one of which involves a hair disaster) that build and build to hilarious conclusions. Even having read this book numerous times and remembering what is coming, it still makes me laugh. I also think there is a subtlety to this book that is evident in elements like Desdemona's missing mother. Even though she is rarely touched upon, there is a cumulative feeling of loss and healing. We are able to see the havoc her absence wrecks on her family without any overt commentary which I think is true to life. We are affected by our circumstances without necessarily realizing it or being able to articulate it. I also think that this book should be made into a movie if it hasn't been already. While I worry that the charm of Desdemona's observations would be lost (preserve them through voice-over? Usually a clunky and unsuccessful device), I think the situational humor begs to be put onscreen.

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best line:

"Hey, twenty years from now those Huey Lewis tapes will still be classics."

Actually, this book is classic. It's not that it's so original--it reminded me of many other books of that era (particularly He Noticed I'm Alive and Other Hopeful Signs for the mom who abandoned her family to find herself. This was such a big trend of the '80s I feel lucky my mom did not abandon me!) However this novel displayed all the very best characteristics of an '80s kids book, like humor and complex characters. I did not know this was the second in a series; all the backstory was explained very simply. Brought me back to a time when Bruce Springsteen, Annie Lennox, and yes weirdly Huey Lewis were our idols.

[Elizabeth Gibbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is so fast-paced and full of adventure. I truly sympathize with the hair issue since I recently cut mine off just to get rid of dyed hair. It looks silly for now, but it will grow back. At least I didn’t have the reasons Desdemona did for getting hers cut! I really enjoyed reading this one!

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another book lent to me by the six year old girl I live with. It was so much better than the last one I read from her (Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade) so I was a bit happier reading through it.

The main character, Desdemona, goes through a really neat transformation in this book. The message to the reader was a good one and you are left with a sort of smile on your face.

The thing that I did not care for in this book was mainly the series of unfortunate events that took place throughout the book. It just seemed like there were problems after problems that all smashed into each other and it left me a bit anxious while reading. Also how much utter crap Desdemona's father was facing; it was just too much like my childhood growing up. I think it went a little bit overboard on the 'single-parent household' emphasis and how hard it can be. I felt like the book was struggling to stay focused on Desdemona's life and opinions instead of shifting into the problems of troubled adult relationships.

I probably wouldn't ever read this book again unless I was reading it to someone else, but it wasn't too bad.

[Meighan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book when I was thirteen. I haven't read it again, but considering I still remember parts and laugh out loud, I think it'd be an OK re-read. It's important to realize that this is a young adult book, not a middle grade like Ramona, so it is going to be different.

[Megan]

Unreadable. Completely lacks all the charm of the comparable Ramona series by Beverly Cleary. Throw away! Do not recommend to unsuspecting children!

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this when I was in middle school.