My friends, I have been tricked. Throughly fooled. Utterly led astray. In short, Margaret Mahy may well be having a good laugh at my ineptitude. Having known her to be considered perhaps the greatest young adult fantasy writer in the known world, I picked up "The Catalogue of the Universe" with my typical snotty snobby snitty opinions of what the story would entail. Actually, since I like to read books without knowing ANYTHING about the plot ahead of time, my opinions of this book totaled one in number. I was convinced that this was a fantasy book. I mean, the title of the book is "The Catalogue of the Universe" for pete's sake. The cover shows planets and young swimmy faces. And it's written by the woman who wrote the illustrious "The Changeover". So I picked up, read it through, and kept stopping at the end of each and every chapter to wonder where the magic was. Let this be a lesson to all, you foolish reviewers like myself who prefer to infer storylines rather than, oh say, read the summaries on the backs of the books. If you leap to conclusions, you're liable to make a fool of yourself. And I adore telling the world when I've been silly, so it worked out perfectly for me. In short (har har), "The Catalogue of the Universe" is a romantic, emotional, humorous, philosophical tale of two teens and the different ways in which they try to sort out the mysteries of the cosmos/their lives.
Angela is beautiful and she knows it. She's the kind of girl who attracts men with relative ease and lives life exactly as she would like to. Of course she has a crazy single mom and she lives in a house with an honest-to-goodness outhouse, but that's fine with her. It's the fact that she's never met her biological father that stings. All at once charming and impulsive, Angela decides to enmesh her best friend Tycho in her plans to meet her pop for the very first time. Tycho has his own set of problems, however. As a particularly romantic and philosophical young man (in no little part due to his name), Tycho's in love with Angela. They both know this and they both know it's a hopeless situation. Plus he has a crazy family to deal with and some serious self-esteem issues. Still, in a series of wild confrontations, escapes, and rescues the two friends begin to learn a little more about themselves and their relationship with the Catalogue of the Universe.
Mahy places herself at a disadvantage right from the start. She's placed her book squarely in the palms of a beautiful female protagonist. Many otherwise well-written books have faltered with this kind of character (most notably the oft banned, "Blood and Chocolate"). When a teen girl is beautiful and knows it, it's incredibly difficult not to make her a conceited little cur. Mahy tries her best to keep Angela under control, but the character is a little too headstrong and wild. She's likable once in a while but thoroughly detestable others. You begin to wonder why it is that fabulous Tycho (who I am personally nominating for the Best Datable Young Adult Novel Character Award of 1985) even hangs around her. Sure she's pretty. But she's also high-strung and insensitive to others. In the hands of a lesser writer this would be a distinct problem. Fortunately, Mahy's clever enough to split Angela's story with Tycho's. You get an even look at the goings on in both their families. It was with great relief that the reader leaves Angela's nutty adventures in the wings while Tycho takes the center stage.
It's funny, but I haven't even mentioned the scientific, sociological, anthropological, and philosophical discussions that pepper this book. This is the perfect young adult novel for that kid who thinks about the big questions constantly. The ideal reader of this book is a teen who understands why Tycho sticks sentences he likes over his bed so that he'll see them first thing in the morning. Honestly, sometimes the discussions of the universe between Tycho and Angela went a little over my head. I liked that. It's a rare feeling to pick up a YA novel and feel left behind. It makes you want to read the book over and over again. It makes you want to (gasp, shudder) BUY the book. This is a feeling I rarely have. I have it now.
Just in case my mention of philosophy scared you off, I'm going to reel you into the I Love The Catalogue of the Universe Club by mentioning its humor. This book is hee-larious. Witty banter galore. If you're a fan of fast-paced conversations containing biting wit, this book is also for you. Tycho's discussions with his brother, if read aloud, would probably baffle some. In a conversation with their mother about their older (and over adored) sister Africa, Tycho and his brother Richard discuss their parents' preference:
"Of course I'm jealous," Richard said, "and so is Tycho, aren't you, Tyke? You often wondered why he was so short. Well, I'll tell you now: it's jealousy that's stunted him".
"I tried to grow," Tycho said, responding immediately. "I did my best, but I was weighted down hour after hour by..."
That's a common conversation. Fast dialogue and smart characters. So smart, in fact, that you'll wish you were in the kitchen with them enjoying the full extent of their humor.
So the book has it all. Mind-blowing theorems, romance, likable characters (on the whole), and funny passages. In short, it's frighteningly well-written. There aren't enough books in the world to compare to this brilliant little number. If you know of any teen that wants a book that doesn't talk down to them or patronize them in the least, "The Catalogue of the Universe" is ideal. It isn't a fantasy (as I discovered). It's better. It's reality in its finest light.
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