Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd

Title: Vast Fields of Ordinary
Author: Nick Burd
Publisher: Penguin Publishing
Length:: Novel/320 pages
Buy the book: Amazon / eBook

Blurb:

It’s Dade’s last summer at home. He has a crappy job at Food World, a “boyfriend” who won’t publicly acknowledge his existence (maybe because Pablo also has a girlfriend), and parents on the verge of a divorce. College is Dade’s shining beacon of possibility, a horizon to keep him from floating away.

Then he meets the mysterious Alex Kincaid. Falling in real love finally lets Dade come out of the closet—and, ironically, ignites a ruthless passion in Pablo. But just when true happiness has set in, tragedy shatters the dreamy curtain of summer, and Dade will use every ounce of strength he’s gained to break from his past and start fresh with the future.

Review:

Vast Fields of Ordinary stands out in the dense genre of young adult fiction. Although it’s emotional and filled with angst, it’s also edgy and daring. It puts teenage behavior on display with all the rebellion, antisocial yearning mixed with tentative forays into drug and alcohol use. This is not a book parents will give to their kids to learn from but there is so much captured within these beautifully written pages that readers can’t help but identify and learn from the characters. I can easily see why this book was nominated for YA genre in the recent Lambda Literary awards. If you’re a fan of young adult fiction, read this book.

The story follows the main protagonist Dade as he struggles through the summer after high school and before college. This is a time of learning and growth for Dade in many ways, both positive and destructive. He’s learning to recognize unhealthy relationships, such as the one he has with the deeply closeted Pablo. Breaking away from the cycle of cruel behavior and late night hookups is not easy for Dade and only the appearance of a new friend in crazy, outrageous Lucy and new crush Alex propel Dade in new directions. Yet these directions are questionable at best with Alex’s job as a minor drug dealer and Dade’s growing frustration with his home life.

This is of course at the heart a classic coming of age story, one that has been told countless times. The repetition of the theme somehow never manages to dilute its continued importance and relevance. There have always been teenagers coming out to themselves, friends, and family and searching for acceptance and recognition. Here Dade is in many ways a typical quiet teenager. He’s picked on at school, which he accepts and ignores as much as possible. He’s bullied by girls and boys alike, never defending himself and struggling to ignore the growing hurt. Dade accepts for years a pseudo friendship with Pablo. Pablo dates a popular, bullying girl but messes around with Dade on the side, treating Dade like a disposable, convenient release.

Pablo and Dade’s complicated relationship forms a driving force in the story as Dade slowly learns to let go of his false dreams and accept his reality. It’s a difficult, complicated process and likely one Dade couldn’t have accomplished without the appearance of a new crush. Dade may not always be a likable character with his actions and thoughts. He struggles with understandable emotions and doesn’t always make the right choices. He vacillates between his emotions and acts out against his parents. He uses his upcoming College freedom to rebel, drinking and doing drugs without fear of repercussions. His parents, who do truly love him but are wrapped up in their own drama shows the complexity of teenagers and parents at that cusp. None of the characters are saints and often they act in selfish, predictable ways but they are likely to resonate with readers.

The writing is compelling and technically great. The prose is crisp, clean, and nicely detailed without ever slowing the pace or boring the reader. The pace is quite even and the pages fly by quickly as the action moves from one scene to the next. The typical, recognizable party atmosphere of newly graduated high school students stands out with its cruelty and desperation. Again, these are timeless scenes that may not offer something uniquely different but are still engaging and absorbing. The graphic nature of the various actions – from sex to doing drugs to vomiting from drinking – is offered without remorse or shame. The edgy quality to the story helps cement the authenticity of its actions, not afraid to go the dark corners no one wants to admit teenagers get up to. This doesn’t celebrate those behaviors but honestly depicts the kinds of things teenagers do that parents want to ignore.

The underlying issue of Dade’s sexuality, specifically his homosexuality, is an interesting inclusion. It’s clearly a main theme but Dade’s struggles with life, relationships, and identity feel more universal. On the one hand that broadens the audience who can identify and relate to the characters, but it also slightly washes out the affect of Dade’s sexuality. Several times I felt the entire story could have been told even if Dade had been straight. This helps show that the problems affecting young men and women are much bigger than sexuality while keeping that thread important and relevant. It doesn’t take over the story and dominate and I’m left feeling conflicted if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

On the whole this is a completely enthralling read, almost not always easy. There are a few missteps such as the prolonged subplot about the missing autistic girl, Jenny. This obsession mirrors Dade’s angst in a lot of ways but often too obscurely to make the point the story is trying. Instead it feels more distracting and convoluted. Often the most sympathetic of the cast, Alex, struggles to understand Dade’s obsession with Jenny, eventually accepting without understanding. This confusion is likely to mirror the reader unfortunately. Additionally the characters of Alex and Lucy are truly stunning. Both deserve more than the few mentions in the book, though they are so compelling they threatened to take the book over. I’d love to see both of these characters get their own stories; their complex personalities richly deserve it.

If you haven’t read this offering, now is the perfect time to pick this up. It’s not exactly a light hearted beach read but it has a great narrator voice that will keep you glued to the story. While nothing earth shattering or ground breaking may be included, Vast Fields of Ordinary still offers something important, relevant, and not to be missed. The excellent writing, great cast, and honest portrayal are highly likely to resonate with readers of all kinds.