Review: Andromeda Klein

Andromeda Klein
By Frank Portman, read by 
Published 2009 by Listening Library

Andromeda Klein has some problems - her mom is a tyrant, her hair is horrible, her best friend is dead, and her boyfriend has blown her off. With the help of her friends and her HGA (Holy Guardian Angel), she just might be able to overcome these issues. Well, maybe not the hair.

I loved King Dork so, as expected, I really wanted to like this book. And I did. But not as much as I hoped. I know part of it was the fact that I listened to the book (I'll get into that a bit later) but I'm not sure what the other part of it is. Something just didn't quite click for me. Andromeda is interesting, but a number of times throughout the book, I wanted to throw something at her. Like every time Saint Steve texted her - I mean, COME ON. How did she not see that happening? And Byron - I mean, really. So sometimes, it was hard to be on Andromeda's side because she was just way too obtuse for me. But, I liked the whole idea of the book. The way the action progressed was also well-done and interesting. But still, it just fell short for me. I liked the reader of the audio book - she had an excellent ability for differentiating between characters. Additionally, there were a few moments that felt particularly well-suited for audio - some songs and whatnot. But one thing that was definitely not well suited for listening - Andromeda's unique vocabulary. While listening, I didn't have a lexicon to refer to when I forgot what "bagel warm agony" meant. So that got pretty annoying. But, the book was decent. I like that Portman educates without hitting you over the head with it. I think the book would appeal to a great variety of teens.