Discovering astronomy Book

Set in 1950s Chicago (and its environs), this is a coming-of-age tale that hints at being something great but instead falls into worn-out plotlines (in the past year, I can recall reading at least two other novels with similar plots and resolutions). The story of nineteen-year-old Wils Ravan hits the ground running with a unique style and a plot and setting interwoven so as to suggest a richly nuanced story. The promising start, however, gives way to drawn-out introspection and wisps of something substantial before sputtering to a clichéd ending. There's some truly beautiful writing here and some keen insights into the tension of the 1950s, but they're little more than window dressing. If anything, as a reader, I resent a writer thinking a few bells and whistles will make me consider a book serious literature when it has all the trappings of a nighttime soap opera. In short, this is merely one more story about rich teenagers encountering Real Life and discovering Real Life is harder than it seems. Not recommended.