Debugging Tori Redding

Last month I was lucky enough to get a copy of Jason Ancona's CYA: Covert Youth Agency: The Case of Tangled Love to read and review. I loved it. So much so that I got online and purchased Jason's other book Debugging Tori Redding. I started reading it right away and have lagged on my book reviews so I'm finally getting around to writing about this one!

Tori Redding is different from the rest of the kids in her class and she knows it. The daughter of a widowed police detective and the younger sister of the basketball team's star player she knows that everything that's wrong with the world today can be blamed on one thing: kids growing up too fast. She and her best friend decide to start a new club at school aimed at encouraging their fellow high school students to slow down and enjoy being a kid. Their first goal is to get attention. By getting their fellow classmates arrested at a party with underage drinking.

Tori is not your average heroine. She's opinionated, mouthy, bratty and abrasive. I had a really hard time rooting for her cause or even liking her. I understood her, no doubt, but it was so hard to sit back and read about her misguided attempts at helping her classmates. It reminded me of the ultra religious kids at school who are so judgmental and annoying. But Tori's prickly nature hides the pain she carries around with her and feels she can't express to anyone, not even her best friend. Things start to spiral out of control for her and she starts to realize that maybe she's not always right.

It takes awhile to root for Tori, but you find yourself coming around in the end. Jason once again has an uncanny ability to capture all of high school so eloquently. The characters are full of life and so close to people you're sure you've met before. Though this book wasn't full of the sweetness and laughs that C.Y.A. had it definitely had me flipping through it to see what happened next.

Debugging Tori Redding is the second book that I've read by Jason Ancona. When I was given the opportunity to review it, I was excited at the premise. A girl whose mind works like a computer? How amazing is that? I snuggled down into bed, picked up the book and started to read.

Let me tell you, I was so impressed at the depth behind Tori's character. She isn't just a high school student who takes issue with loose morals. She isn't even just a girl with a computer for a brain. No, Tori is so much more than that. Tori is the lost adolescent trying to find her place in the big scheme of things. She is the girl who has recently lost a parent and is struggling to live in a house fueled with testosterone. Coincidentally she is also that character who still isn't sure how she stands in the world of relationships. Simply put, she's all of us.

Story wise, although the book mainly revolves around Tori's home life and friendships there is a mystery hidden there. Girls have been going missing in her home town, and now it seems that her new found abilities can help solve the case. I admit that the mystery isn't the prominent focus of the story, but I do think that it added a nice variety to what the issues Tori has to face. It also happens to be part of the introspective process for her.

I've seen others write about their frustrations with Tori's attitude toward everything, because she can be so negative. It's true, she can be. However after reading carefully I began to realize that it is just Tori's defense mechanism. She comes from a family where the weak simply are not tolerated. Where testosterone rules and being a girl is difficult. Her father loves her for sure, but he doesn't know how to interact with the female side of her. What better way to get rid of that awkwardness than to hide the female side of you? I loved Tori for the simple fact that she is human like the rest of us.

Rich with family interactions, packed with snide humor, and filled with undertones on society and teenagers as a whole, Debugging Tori Redding is definitely a book that I enjoyed! I highly recommend you give it, and Tori, a chance. I daresay I look forward to seeing what else Jason Ancona has in store for us!