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Book Reviewed by:When you're about to face the world, who do you turn to?
Andrew is leaving high school behind and looking ahead to a fresh start at college and distance from his not-so-secret infatuation: Laura Lettel. But when a terrible accident leaves him without the companionship of his two best friends, Andrew is cast adrift and alone—until Laura unexpectedly offers him comfort, friendship, and the support of a youth group of true believers, fundamentalist Christians with problems and secrets of their own. Andrew is curiously drawn to their consuming beliefs, but why? Is it only to get closer to Laura? And is Laura genuinely interested in Andrew, or is she just trying to convert him?
This provocative and compelling debut novel will resonate deeply with readers as it explores questions of identity, sexuality, and spirituality.
Pratima Cranse's excellent book went with me to lunch, to the doctor's office, to the kitchen counter as I prepared dinner; its pages spattered with everything from coffee to marinara sauce. Part of it was being able to so easily slip into the indelible memories of a certain phase of adolescence. The rest was being able to pick up on themes that give 17-year-old Andrew Genter's life a point of view I hadn't thought about before. And isn't it the best thing in the world when you suddenly see something through completely different eyes?..continued
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(Reviewed by Donna Chavez).
In All the Major Constellations, Andrew, the 17-year-old protagonist, throws himself into his summer job as a laborer when his life becomes unmanageable. The heavy outdoor work where he toils alongside grown men becomes a safe refuge of physical exertion.
One day, over bag lunches, he unloads the sum of all his current problems – a dying friend, unrequited love, spiritual ennui, a bullying boorish brother, his mom not loving him, and more – on an adult co-worker. "I'm sorry I told you all of those things," he says. The man, named Cheeve, reassures him that sometimes it's easier to tell things like that to a virtual stranger. After admitting that he can't help Andrew with any of it he says, "I doubt that bit about your mom ...
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Poetry is like fish: if it's fresh, it's good; if it's stale, it's bad; and if you're not certain, try it on the ...
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Diane Les Becquets, author of Breaking Wild and the award-winning Season of Ice
With a voice that is fresh, unique, and wry, Pratima Cranse, in her compelling debut, All the Major Constellations, captures the sexual frustrations, angst, and heartache of a young man on the brink of college. You will pull for Andrew to the end. This is a novel you won’t put down.
