The Breakup Lists

Have you ever read a book in which there is something distinctly addictive about the narrator's voice? Adib Khorram's The Breakup Lists was one such book for me. You know those socially unacceptable thoughts that cross our minds from time to time that fortunately most of us don't say out loud? Jackson puts his in writing only crossed out and followed by something more socially appropriate. His censored thoughts range from amusing to insightful.
Jackson is very good at self censorship. Maybe too good. He often doesn't speak up for himself when it would be perfectly appropriate. He doesn't assert himself when he needs a teacher's help and she keeps blowing him off. And then there's his sister, Jasmine. In his first sentence he tells readers that although he's the theater kid she's the drama queen. Her specialty is short lived badly ended romances. So when she falls for gorgeous Liam it's par for the course…
…Except that Jackson also has fallen for Liam's considerable charms. At first he is afraid to say something because he has no idea if Liam is gay. And then there's the little matter of Jasmine getting into a relationship with him. So Jackson resigns himself to moving on…
…Which is pretty hard because he's the stage manager of his school's theater group and dreamy Liam has started snagging the male leads.
If you enjoy a good rom com, dive right in.
…Oh, yeah, you're probably wondering when I'm going to tell you what the mysterious lists are. How about never. Only one way you're gonna find out.
On a purrrsonal note, I was one of those theater kids well into adulthood. In my teens I was convinced that I was going to be a professional stage actress. I was really into method acting. But I was never lead material. I had one very strong flaw. Although I was very good at memorizing lines I found blocking to be a total nightmare. I have a real weakness when it comes to spatial locations. Actually I epitomized the saying that there are no small roles, only small actors, and not because most people are taller than me when they get out of middle school. No matter how small my role was, I would make up a complex back story and persona that I could totally become. When I had a limited number of lines that were all in Hindi in Jungle Book I practiced punctuation and inflection. Opening night two audience members for whom Hindi was a first language were greatly impressed. I was also the encourager and energy force for my fellow cast members. And Jackson would have loved me because I was very much open to crew work.
A great big shout out goes out to theater kids past, present, and future.
Jules Hathaway