Paul ZindelCritiques

A Relevant Book for All Young Adults ?

I had never read this book myself but chose it for my student on the recommendation of a colleague who teaches middle school Language Arts.
It made both of us laugh out loud because of the colloquial writing and societal observations made.
Unfortunately, although I loved it, my student only gave it 2 out of 4 stars. He felt the story was outdated.

Henry Ledniz and Zelda Einnab are distressed when their favorite science teacher, Miss Applebaum, retires suddenly. When they take her a begonia, Miss Applebaum meets them at the door wearing a bathrobe. She is obviously tired and having trouble breathing. Dr. Oblicheck comes, and Henry and Zelda see him stick a long needle into Miss Applebaum's chest. The treatment leaves her feeling better, and she invites them to spend next Saturday in Central Park. Before Saturday arrives, Zelda finds out that Miss Applebaum has terminal cancer. At Central Park, Henry and Zelda watch Miss Applebaum feed the homeless. She shows them her favorite haunts and Central Park's "roller coaster." After returning to Miss Applebaum's apartment, Bernice, Miss Applebaum's niece, arrives and orders her aunt to bed. She tells Henry and Zelda to let her aunt die in peace. Miss Applebaum assures Henry and Zelda that Bernice’s only real concern is Miss Applebaum’s estate. Ignoring Bernice's advice, the trio's next jaunt is to the Metropolitan Museum. Then, Henry and Zelda talk Miss Applebaum into seeing an oncologist who puts her in the hospital for treatment. Henry and Zelda soon realize that they’ve made a mistake. Miss Applebaum's cancer is so advanced that she’s destined to die in the hospital. Instead of leaving her to “die in peace,” they help her live for the time she has left.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

I read this for Banned Book Week not knowing what to expect and whoa man did I love love love it. It's like Catcher in the Rye only with a girl and less self-obsessed (go figure). It's been challenged because the kids in it drink and smoke and hate school and have awful parents and swear (although the swearing is mostly like "@#$%").

A short book which, once it gets going, has a breakneck pace and a slapstick black-humour slant. It is a little slow to begin with, there being a lot of info-dumping about the teenage protagonists, Bobby and Lauri. Both are misfits at school and best friends, with Lauri wanting the relationship to develop into romance. But once they arrange a 'Welcome Wagon' for the new couple who have moved into the apartment next door to Bobby, the fun is underway.

Mr Hulka seems slightly strange, an impression strengthened when the two teens gain access to the Hulka home, using the 'Welcome Wagon' ploy: bringing food and drink to welcome the residents, and satisfying their curiosity into the bargain. The Hulkas have dolls houses complete with figures and miniature furniture, apparently carved by Mr Hulka, and a lot of beautifully made wooden boxes that turn out to be antique dissection kits. To complete the impression, he explains that he is an undertaker.

Bobby's parents go away for a couple of weeks, leaving him at home. Not something that would be allowed these days, even for a 15-year old, but there's a big degree of trust between him and his parents, and he isn't interested in joining them on their climbing holiday. For the story's purposes they have to be got out of the way because as soon as he's alone he hears a violent argument next door and sees, from where the two apartments have an adjoining terrace, Mr Hulka apparently killing his wife.

He calls the police but Mrs Hulka arrives home from a shopping trip unscathed. Bobby and Lauri have often indulged in harmless pranks - wearing ape masks or dressing up as a nun and a monk to stroll around the cathedral grounds - and this has marked them out as troublemakers with the local police. The police view this as another prank, so when the argument next door appears to be re-staged later the same day, the police won't believe Bobby and threaten to lock him up while they call his parents back. And so begins the whistle-stop investigation and chase as he and Lauri try to get evidence and are drawn increasingly into danger.

The two teenage characters are well-drawn with Bobby's 100-miles-an-hour single-minded energy and Lauri's painful recovery from the trauma of witnessing the fatal fire which trapped and killed her neighbours at her previous address. Bobby is solicitous of her constant fear of death and she is slowly getting better, but the constant exposure to coffins, bodies and the idea of murder as they pursue Hulka become a kill-or-cure therapy. Hulka is a nicely over-the-top psycho, especially as the story escalates. The only flaw is that the final scene ends a bit too abruptly.

The book is of its time (1978) - no mobile phones to get the protagonists out of a fix, for example. They are both fans of TV: no internet etc then. However, it comes across as slightly more modern than the previous Zindel novel I've read (The Pigman), as a branch of Macdonalds makes a few appearances, and there are references to Star Trek which must be to the original series but could easily be to the modern reboots, whereas the earlier novel had details such as typewriters and a malt shop/soda shop, which would seem prehistoric to today's teens and young adults. The story can still be enjoyed as a gory crime romp.

i read this is as a teenager, sitting in the school library to avoid everyone. i enjoyed it then and would probably re-read it now as an adult, just to see how it strikes the adult me. it was certainly intriguing back then. a great coming-of-age tale.

Another good YA novel about treating girls right, I think.

I liked this YA novel but can’t remember the details. It's about tolerance for an odd man, I think.

It's written somewhat like a B-movie with several scenarios that seem a to really test the suspension of disbelief, even for a book targeted for younger audiences.(MILD SPOILERS) The main plot of the novel surrounds a paleontologist that stumbles on a living dinosaur nest and steals an egg. The mother raptor attacks, injures him and then he tasks his son to find the egg he stole and dropped in the cave. What kind of parent is that? Another far fetched event is when the main characters are just attacked by the raptor- but they flee to the girl's grandmother's vending stand. As soon as they arrive, the grandmother goads them into buying something. Two kids that just escaped death, and one of them is related to her. The guy buys a cheap arrowhead and then is pressured into eating a worm. Yes, you read that right. All of this to get some information and assistance on locating the raptor after being attacked by said savage beast! Now I find that a little hard to swallow, even when it comes to mediocre writing. (END SPOILERS)
I read this in High School and didn't find it memorable. I waited about fifteen years to see if my mind changed and to refresh my memory, so I gave it a re-read recently. I also wanted to give it another shot because I don't find many novels surrounding dinosaurs, especially in the horror department. 'Raptor' is your run of the mill animal attack novel, where the brunt of the horror is the imagined adrenaline rush from being chased by a large prehistoric theropod that tries too hard to recapture Jurassic Park's suspense. The author tried to do something different and put an original spin on the dinosaurs, but it reminded me too much of Alien. Zindel's writing isn't very high quality, has a few spelling errors and is definitely more for younger readers rather than older adults. One thing I do like about his writing is he is VERY descriptive and intimate with disgusting details and scenes relating to gore and filth. His narration of the raptor's unhygienic anatomy and brutal attacks are fairly decent, although you can tell that's probably where he had the most fun writing. It can make your nose wrinkle, and could probably unsettle those with weak stomach (which I don't have thankfully). The characters aren't that likeable or relatable and you don't really find yourself investing in anything other than wishing the end would hurry up. While I do like the heavy handed gory descriptions, I don't think Paul Zindel's writing is for me.
half stars for the effectively gross narrations, 2 stars for being a dinosaur horror novel. Would not recommend unless you are desperate or it's the last book on Earth.½

I found this book when I was much younger (Middle School) and I actually don't think I finished this book because it read too much like a sci-horror B-movie, and I wasn't really into that at the time. I don't remember the characters being too likeable or memorable. Bats are one of my favorite animals, and while they don't deserve the misleading mumbo jumbo about being blood sucking monsters- they are a repetitively traditional element to horror. This was the last Paul Zindel novel I tried after 'Raptor', and I just don't think he is the author for me. His writing isn't up to my scratch and seems to really push the limits of the graces of suspension of disbelief.

Read my review of his other novel 'Raptor' here: https://www.librarything.com/work/1548420/reviews/228525760½

Read it many years ago and liked it although not nearly as much as My Darling, My hamburger.

It is still a great book though, just really REALLY depressing.

Still Paul Zindel wrote in such a magnificent way and got into his characters heads so magnificently that I have to give credit w here credit's due.

Even if this was not one of my favorites, it is a superb book.

“The speeches! They were filled with borrowed things--borrowed over and over again until the words were nothing more than a series of clichés.”
― Paul Zindel, My Darling, My Hamburger

A favorite from childhood. Review to follow.

I heard from someone that Paul Zindel commented on how he did not write good books in the time period this came out.

I cannot confirm he said this. I hope he didn't.

He needs a reality check if he did.

It is difficult to explain how much this book meant to me and how beloved it is to a great deal of readers. I am not sure any writer has so accurately portrayed teenagers and that is the beauty in this little gem of a book.

It isn't happy. It is bitingly cynical, brutal in its tragedy and seamless in getting into the heads of the four individuals in this story.

It covers some pretty heavy subjects..suicide, abortion, sex, dating in general, friendship..all the things teens worry about.

It is a capsule in time. I often wonder about Liz and Sean and Maggie and Dennis.

I was in Elementary school when I first read this book. Actually I did not read it. A family member who was big into theater did an oral reading for myself and my whole family. I fell in love with the book then and have reread many times since.

So as for Paul Zindel....he wrote a masterpiece. A masterpiece of feeling and bittersweet pain, the kind that we all feel as teens. A book of loneliness, alienation and yearning. A book that stands as a gr eat novel and a classic that should be read by any constant reader who favors the Literary Young Adult novel. You won't get happily ever after but you will get a book that may resonate deeply and one you will never forget.

John Conlon and Lorraine Jensen are schoolmates at Franklin High, and are close friends. This book is written by them, expressing their perspectives on a life changing event involving an old man. It is the second time they have had an experience with an old man.

In “The Pigman,” the previous book, the duo tell of their meeting and befriending of Mr. Pignati. His nickname of Pigman came from his large collections of pigs that belonged to his wife. The story is of three people who slowly develop a deep friendship and provide something that is missing in each of their lives.

This book picks up a few months after Mr. Pignati’s death

Walking past Pignati’s empty house, John and Larraine find an old man is living in it. He’s dodging the IRS and figures this is an ideal place to hide, as it seems to have been abandoned. John and Lorraine feel that this is their chance to “make things right.” They are still feeling that they were responsible for Mr. Pignati’s death from a heart attack.

At first the old man tells a fiction of his background, going by the name Gus. After a while, the two kids find out the truth about the man and what his accomplishments he has achieved. They also find that Gus is really the old man’s dog and reunite the two.

The book is written by John and Lorraine, each writing alternate chapters, telling the story from their point of view. Along the way they learn some things about each of themselves, separately and together.

The kids give the Colonel (who the old man is) a great couple of days doing things he’d never done. He knows he’s dying but doesn’t let the kids know. Through this short time, the kids learn about death and loss, family and relationships.

Not just kids can take something away from reading this book. I think there are things adults can learn too.

This novel was first published in the 1960s and it was considered controversial because it was about youth and teens misbehaving and taking advantage of others. The story ends tragically when the main character dies, and he has been taken advantage of by the teens he had befriended. It was one of the first Young Adult Literature novels to portray the youth of the time in a more realistic manner and not in a positive way.

Teaching the Pigman- Resources for Teachers
https://study.com/academy/topic/teaching-the-pigman.html

Date approximate

This was a sad read. In a nice way, but still sad

High action pack all the way through. I just couldn't get in to it long enough.
There need to be more then just action to Doom Stone. Over all it was good to a point.

I don't like books about self-destructive teenagers who make bad choices and then whine in self-pity. This book made me cringe in all the bad ways, and the message about compassion for others gets lost in the weirdness of the character relationships and choices.

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I remember reading this story as a child. A young boy finds a baby loch ness monster (plesiosaurus) and tries to keep it safe. I wanted my own so badly as well. The book is rather gory, as several people are eaten by the monsters, including a cameraman early on. I liked the tone of the book and the descriptions of cryptozoology- a rather fun albeit useless field of study.

Ridiculous title, very little character development, full of tropes, and eminently predictable.

It's short, but we still spend too much time with the toxic mother of two daughters neither of whom are well portrayed. As a mid-20th century reveal of what can hide under the stone of dysfunctional family life, as opposed to the Ozzie & Harriet & Father Knows Best of the 50s, I guess it caught people's attention, but beyond pure poison there's not much here.

I read this when I was a teen and thought I remembered really liking it. The writing is so choppy, unemotional and lackluster I found I didn't care one bit what happened to any of the characters they were so undeveloped. Not as good as Zindel's other work by far.

Hadn't read this since I was a pre-teen - still a really good book, more depressing than I had remembered.

Update! Some un-PC language but it's so charming.

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I can't have not read this as a kid. But as an adult this book made me cry for about 150 pages. I don't know that it's even that long. It ages so, so well.

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1964, Pulitzer 1971) has a catchy title. I'd never heard of it. Listened to a single-narrator audiobook reading of the script. Like listening a movie script, dry and perplexing. Should be seen on stage. Then discovered it was actually made into a movie directed by Paul Newman. "Nanny wants some hotsie?!" Much better, awesome really. Joanne Woodward takes an over the top character for the stage and makes her into someone believable, by toning her down for the screen we can better sympathize.