Stranger in Dadland

by Amy Goldman Koss, Jesse Reisch (Illustrations)

Every summer John goes to visit his father in Los Angeles for a week, but since his father is a workaholic, they don't spend much time together, and this year, John is determined to have some quality time with his father by whatever means necessary, in an amusing and heartwarming novel.

Genres: Young Adult

Hardcover

First published April 1, 2001

Reviews

[Grace Nourbash · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy the book Stranger in Dadland. The story is about a kid named John who has parents that are divorced. Every year John goes and visits his dad in California. He calls it "Dadland" because that's where they spend time together. Whats new about this trip to Dadland? Johns dad has a girlfriend this time. Along with the girlfriend's son, Beau. Things aren't the same this year for John. With Beau always being there, and his dad spending more time with his girlfriend and his job, will John always feel like a stranger in Dadland?

[Ataysia Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is good so far

[Nareh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I choose the book “Stranger in Dadland” because my best friend read it and recommended it to me. She told me that the storyline was interesting and she was right. This novel is about, 12 year old John who came to California for a week of his summer to spend it with his father. He only gets to see his father for a week every year because his parents are divorced. John’s older sister Liz usually comes with him but this year she does not even bother coming because she knows it will be the same it had been for the past years. They go to California very excited but their father is too busy with is personal life to do anything for themselves. This year though, John hopes it will be different. In the beginning for the story he is proven wrong and his father is too busy with work, his girlfriend, and gatherings to spend time with him, so Beau (Johns fathers neighbor and friend) is the one who John spends most of his time with. By the end of the story John tells his father that he wants to spend alone time with him and they have some fun father and son time. The father and son time cause John’s father to be in a leg-cast which brought them even closer together. John has now realizes that he and his father are having a good time and they need even more time together. I really enjoyed reading this novel. It showed how love is there but you may need to search a little to find it. John had to have a lot of patience to wait and wonder if his father cared about him but he did wait and at the end he got what he wanted. It must have been very difficult to be a young boy without a father. I could imagine how he may have felt frustrated and isolated since his parents were divorced and he had live with his mother and sister; Both girls. Though, John was very lucky to have both his father and mother love him. My favorite quote in this story was “They talked. I aged. I could feel myself growing old, wrinkled, withered, bald, dried out, stooped over.” This quote was said by John when he went to a restaurant with his father and felt ignored because his father was talking with his friends. I love the exaggeration and imagery in this quote. It’s like I can see him aging right before my eyes. The author wrote this story in the point-of-view of John and I felt that I learned more about what he was going through since he was telling the story. I like how the author wrote this story in first-person point-of-view, it made the story better written. I am defiantly going to recommend this book to my friends. This novel, in my opinion, would mostly match people who like to read books about family and life. I liked reading this book and I would recommend it because I thought it was beautifully written with many twists making it both funny and gloomy. Overall, it was a sweet book about how no matter what, family will always be there and I enjoyed reading it.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

John flies out to California to visit his dad for a week. For the first time, it'll be the two guys alone. John's sister, Liz, is tired of their father's inattentiveness during these yearly visits. But John's hoping that just this once, his dad will make time and space in his life for his kid.

John makes a likeable and believable narrator. I also enjoyed many of the supporting characters, especially Beau and Iris. Having gone on visits to see my own non-custodial parent in my own childhood, there was a lot in this book that resonated with me. My only complaint is that the ending is too tidy. This slim volume could use an extra 20 pages where there's a little more tension between John and his dad , perhaps after Dad's injury, he doesn't soften up so fast, or maybe Cora won't come back and take care of Dad, or maybe John decides to stay for an extra week to care for Dad, but there are ups and downs . There's only one face-to-face altercation, and it's relatively tame.

There's no serious profanity, and there are only hints of a physical relationship between Dad and his girlfriend. Romance between the boys and their friend Iris is mild, to say the least. The missing layer of complexity in the relationship between John and his dad also affects the audience recommendation I'd give this book. I'd call it an excellent selection for readers 11-16, but less appropriate for readers above those ages (unless you're me and I find even board books fun).

I'll be looking out for more books by this author.

[Betsy Jibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt like this book is worth reading again, but I wouldn't read it again. It is about a boy helping his dad one summer, his dad is divorced from his mom,and the protagonist goes to visit him, and tries to reconcile himself with the changes in his Dad's life. There is some good character development, but I felt like it dragged a little bit.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every summer John spends a week in Dadland with the Phantom - a father of the now you see him, now you don't variety. What starts off as a really frustrating experience develops into a pretty decent story by the end. I hate thinking about kids who live this way, but those who've been there will really relate.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really cute. It actually had me crying at one point.