13
 Mary-Lou Zeitoun
 (Associate Reviewer - Donald D'Haene)
 2002 The Porcupine's Quill
  ISBN: 0889842329


It's 1980 and Marnie Harmon dreams of John Lennon. Alienated by disco and polyester she discovers punk on her forced march into womanhood.

Associate Reviewer Donald D'Haene writes:

Do you remember what it's like to be 13? Hey, I'm pushing 42 & even age thirty seems farther away then I care to admit, let alone the onset of puberty!

Thirty-something Mary-Lou Zeitoun remembers. She captures the angst-filled world of a teenager in all its painful glory in 13, a wonderfully original story by this first time novelist.

The year is 1980 & Marnie Harmon hates her real world.

“My [bedroom] window looked out on a dumb view...Nothing to see but other people's swimming pools and petunia borders. ‘Marnie, don't be so Negative,' my mother always said. Mom would get mad at Anne Frank for being scared of the Nazis. She would think Anne Frank was being ‘Negative.'” Pg. 8.

No boring teenspeak here. Marnie is a straight-A student with razor sharp wit & the insight to go with it. Or does she? She is only 13 & besides one or two friends, she only finds comfort in dreams of meeting John Lennon. How realistic is that? Very realistic when your 13, confused about boys, parents, your life in the suburbs & one of your friends is a stripper.

Perhaps dreams not only provide escape, they are necessary.

Marnie might think her life is mediocre but I found it original, fun-filled, & Zeitoun's insight into her main character, thought-provoking. Zeitoun has given Marnie a burgeoning feminist voice & strength which women twice her age could only dream of.

“[Dad] goes to a church that won't let women be priests so he was not on my side. He'd stop the prejudice if he was on my side...Dad once said...it would take two hundred more years for women to have equality so why did I bother fighting so much? That's not true. One day women didn't have the vote, the next day they did. It took one day. Sometimes it takes overnight.” Page 114-5.

No wonder Marnie wants to run away to New York to meet the man she imagines John Lennon to be.

Zeitoun has wonderfully interwoven real events into her main character's lives, for 1980 proves to be as “eventful” for John Lennon as it does for Marnie. I suspect there is a semi-autobiographical truth to 13's contents.

13 reminds us of our own youthful fantasies, our personal battles, & if we're old enough, disco, polyester & the days before the words “politically correct” entered our vocabulary.

Mary-Lou Zeitoun's debut novel has just been chosen one of Canada's Now Magazine's Top 10 books of 2002. 13 should do for teenagers what Harry Potter did for children of all ages--give them characters they can identify with & get them discovering the wonderful world of reading.

Mary-Lou Zeitoun is a graduate of the Theatre program at York University (Toronto) & the Communications Studies program at Concordia University (Montreal). As Editor & Co-owner of iMPACT, Canada's national music magazine, she has interviewed & irritated numerous rock musicians & cultural icons. She has freelanced for Elle Canada, Eye Weekly, the National Post, the Globe and Mail, & several independent publications & web zines. Her fiction has been published in Taddle Creek Magazine. Raised in Ottawa, she lives in Toronto & hides out in the Gatineau Hills.
(03/09/03)

Karrie G.
A RebeccasReads.Com Associate Student Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
Karrie G. lives in The Netherlands. She is 15 years old, attends a Dutch Language School & is originally from Wisconsin, USA

Her favorite colors are: light blue, sea green, lavender & black!
Favorite sports are: swimming & soccer.
Favorite school subjects are: languages & creative writing class.
Favorite things to do are: playing the piano, reading, writing short stories & poetry, drawing & going to the movie theater.
The Netherlands is one of the smallest countries in Europe. Most people call the Netherlands Holland & it is about the size of Connecticut, but with a lot more people, sixteen million. You may think of tulips, chocolate, windmills & wooden shoes when you think of Holland. Although there are still lots of tulips & chocolate, & there are still some windmills, you wouldn't see many people wearing clogs today.