Discover the Riches Inside Yourself
Meet Richard "Rich" Cameron, an asthma and allergy-plagued youth content with the status quo, living the life of a typical teenage boy.
"Typical," that is, if that also means your father is gay, your stepfather is homophobic, and your au pair is a drop dead gorgeous Miss October.
But one thing Rich has going for himself is that he's adjusted to the changes he's had in his life, like his parents' divorce, and he's comfortable with his dad's gayness, getting along better with Brain, his dad's partner, than Steve, his stepfather.
Poor Rich by the talented author Jean Blasiar is the genuinely warm and gently humorous coming-of-age story of Rich Cameron's acceptance of his father's homosexuality, and what happens to him when he outgrows his allergies, becomes more athletic, and tutors students after school in creative writing, finding that as he helps others, he, himself, grows as a person.
Poor Rich is told from the first person perspective of Rich, and as we read along, we get to know about him and share in the stress he experiences, the bullying and ostracizing he is often the victim of, and the happiness he feels at his successes, though even these moments are tempered with drawbacks.
For instance, when the coach takes an interest in Rich because he has shown he can shoot free throws very well, and Rich becomes a member of the basketball team, which one might think is a good thing, Rich discovers that in many ways it isn't.
He makes a friend, Larry, who is on the basketball team, and gets accepted a little bit more by the other guys, but he also ends up being put into the game at crucial times to get fouled so he can shoot free throws so his team can win the game.
This means that he gets banged up and eventually suffers a collapsed lung.
Also, Janey Winslow, a pretty girl he has a crush on and has tutored before, doesn't think all of the changes Rich has undergone have been good.
She believes his attitude has become worse, and he's getting too cocky.
Trying to impress girls in general and Janey in particular was one of his main reasons for agreeing to be on the team, so when she acts like she doesn't want anything to do with him after he joins the team, it's a big disappointment to him.
Another example of what might be thought of as a thorn in a rose for Rich is when a story he writes about his life, his parent's divorce, and his eventual acceptance of his dad's gayness is bought by someone wanting to make a television program about it.
You'd think that would be great, and at first Rich does think that, and he gets paid almost one hundred thousand dollars.
But, then he learns that the script and it's title have been changed, and he hopes it will never be turned into a movie.
The new title will be: "Mommy, What's a Homo?" So, at a moment that should have been one of the happiest times in his life, Rich is ticked off that his story and script have been made into something that embarrasses him, and isn't at all what he wanted it to be.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention in passing U2, Rich's pet parrot.
U2 is a rock group I really like, and I saw them on their first tour of America, though the rock group and it's songs are not referenced in the novel apart from the name of the parrot.
U2 is a sort of confidante of Rich's, and the parrot, along with his creative writing and tutoring and his growing athleticism, gives Rich an outlet for his stress and his pent-up emotions.
There's even a picture of the parrot on the novel's cover, free from it's cage.
The novel is split into two distinct sections.
I've gone into some of the highlights of the first section, which is my favorite of the two.
The second section is composed of some of Rich's short stories that he says he found in the attic.
I enjoyed reading them, they're all interesting and give additional insights into Rich's character and what motivates him.
I just like the first section more, because it's more linear.
Still, the second half is also worth reading, and both sections combined make Poor Rich a novel that I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes humorous and poignant coming-of-age novels.
Check it out today!
"Typical," that is, if that also means your father is gay, your stepfather is homophobic, and your au pair is a drop dead gorgeous Miss October.
But one thing Rich has going for himself is that he's adjusted to the changes he's had in his life, like his parents' divorce, and he's comfortable with his dad's gayness, getting along better with Brain, his dad's partner, than Steve, his stepfather.
Poor Rich by the talented author Jean Blasiar is the genuinely warm and gently humorous coming-of-age story of Rich Cameron's acceptance of his father's homosexuality, and what happens to him when he outgrows his allergies, becomes more athletic, and tutors students after school in creative writing, finding that as he helps others, he, himself, grows as a person.
Poor Rich is told from the first person perspective of Rich, and as we read along, we get to know about him and share in the stress he experiences, the bullying and ostracizing he is often the victim of, and the happiness he feels at his successes, though even these moments are tempered with drawbacks.
For instance, when the coach takes an interest in Rich because he has shown he can shoot free throws very well, and Rich becomes a member of the basketball team, which one might think is a good thing, Rich discovers that in many ways it isn't.
He makes a friend, Larry, who is on the basketball team, and gets accepted a little bit more by the other guys, but he also ends up being put into the game at crucial times to get fouled so he can shoot free throws so his team can win the game.
This means that he gets banged up and eventually suffers a collapsed lung.
Also, Janey Winslow, a pretty girl he has a crush on and has tutored before, doesn't think all of the changes Rich has undergone have been good.
She believes his attitude has become worse, and he's getting too cocky.
Trying to impress girls in general and Janey in particular was one of his main reasons for agreeing to be on the team, so when she acts like she doesn't want anything to do with him after he joins the team, it's a big disappointment to him.
Another example of what might be thought of as a thorn in a rose for Rich is when a story he writes about his life, his parent's divorce, and his eventual acceptance of his dad's gayness is bought by someone wanting to make a television program about it.
You'd think that would be great, and at first Rich does think that, and he gets paid almost one hundred thousand dollars.
But, then he learns that the script and it's title have been changed, and he hopes it will never be turned into a movie.
The new title will be: "Mommy, What's a Homo?" So, at a moment that should have been one of the happiest times in his life, Rich is ticked off that his story and script have been made into something that embarrasses him, and isn't at all what he wanted it to be.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention in passing U2, Rich's pet parrot.
U2 is a rock group I really like, and I saw them on their first tour of America, though the rock group and it's songs are not referenced in the novel apart from the name of the parrot.
U2 is a sort of confidante of Rich's, and the parrot, along with his creative writing and tutoring and his growing athleticism, gives Rich an outlet for his stress and his pent-up emotions.
There's even a picture of the parrot on the novel's cover, free from it's cage.
The novel is split into two distinct sections.
I've gone into some of the highlights of the first section, which is my favorite of the two.
The second section is composed of some of Rich's short stories that he says he found in the attic.
I enjoyed reading them, they're all interesting and give additional insights into Rich's character and what motivates him.
I just like the first section more, because it's more linear.
Still, the second half is also worth reading, and both sections combined make Poor Rich a novel that I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes humorous and poignant coming-of-age novels.
Check it out today!