Stranger in Dadland

Library	Material Type	Shelf Number	Child Count	Shelf Location	Status	Item Holds
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Here is the engaging, funny story of a boy caught in the juggling act of life with divorced parents. Every summer John flies to Los Angeles for his annual visit with Dad. But one week a year sure isn't a lot of time for father/son bonding, particularly when your father is a workaholic who always schedules more meetings with clients than outings with his one-and-only son. Not to mention the embarrassing fact that Dad always has a new girlfriend hanging around. In the past it's been near impossible to grab some quality time with his father, but this summer John refuses to give up without a fight. He's sick of feeling like a stranger in "Dadland".

Amy Goldman Koss's four previous novels have been highly praised for their "humor and insight" (The Horn Book) and "sensitive and imaginative characters" (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books). Her recent novel The Ashwater Experiment was named to several best-of-the-year lists.

Reviews (5)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 5-7-Twelve-year-old John is off to spend a week with his father in California. He has never made the trip alone before, having previously traveled with his older sister. However, this year, Liz has declared that she has no desire to visit "dadland," no wish to spend yet another week hoping that their father will take time from his busy schedule to actually pay attention to his children. John's visit doesn't get off to an auspicious start-Dad has a new girlfriend and an endless round of meetings, but when he has a skateboarding accident, everything changes and the two learn a great deal about their relationship. Koss's lightweight, adolescent problem novel gains much from her ability to hone in on the perceptions and language of young people. Although the contemporary jargon may soon become pass, right now there are many kids who will understand and appreciate John's predicament exactly the way he tells it.-Sharon Grover, Arlington County Department of Libraries, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publisher's Weekly Review

Describing a 12-year-old boy's relationship with his divorced, workaholic father, Koss (The Girls) offers witty commentary on the foibles and pretensions of adults, but her story line lacks the punch of her previous novels. John, the narrator, has always spent the annual week in "Dadland" with his older sister, Liz, but this year Liz has stayed home, refusing to be disappointed again by their "Phantom Father." As he flies alone from Kansas to Los Angeles, John hopes his father won't spend the entire visit in meetings or with yet another girlfriend. But right away Dad introduces a new girlfriend (who paints on her eyebrows, cracks gum and sings along to embarrassing Musak) and then he disappears for a day's worth of appointments. Dad can't even offer a word of comfort when Mom calls with the news that John's dog has died. By phone, Liz switches from angry to wise, counseling John that perhaps their dad "wants to be a good father but he's just entirely clueless." Koss is hilarious on Los Angeles, the behavior of people in office buildings and the adults' preoccupations with hot restaurants, expensive cars, etc., and John's delivery proves once again the author's unusual insight into middle-graders and their concerns. In the end, however, she lets the father off far too easily and whitewashes the well-built conflicts. Ages 10-up. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Horn Book Review

(Intermediate) The plot sounds positively predictable: boy, eager to have a relationship with his distant father on his annual weeklong visit, manages to turn a bad situation around and begin a healing connection with dad. Koss turns clichT+ into reality through the believability of her characters, especially likable, nerdy narrator John. Without the usual support of his older sister Liz (""there's just no room for me in Dadland""), John makes the trip from Kansas to L.A. alone, hoping for some quality guy time with his dad. As Dad races off for meeting after meeting and his latest girlfriend, Cora, shows up for every meal, John quickly realizes that nothing has changed. To add to his distress, John's mother calls to tell him that his dog has been killed by a car, an event Koss presents without sentimentality. Left largely on his own, John ventures friendships with two contemporaries: the one-of-a-kind Beau, wholives next door to Dad and knows all about the building's residents; and Cora's outgoing niece, Iris, who makes constant reference to John's Kansas home with allusions to The Wizard of Oz. In Dadland, John truly plays Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Lion: he learns about his heart, discovers the depth of his own thoughts, and gains courage. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

Kirkus Review

In this poignant, witty novel, Koss turns her attention away from girls and girl groups ( The Girls , 2000) to offer some fresh insights about fathers and sons. Twelve-year-old John is on his way to California for his annual one-week visit with his divorced dad. Although his father has historically kept John at arm's length by refusing to make time in his busy schedule to focus on him, John hopes that this time things will finally change. But after accompanying his father on a date and spending a day cooling his heels in various office lobbies while his dad attends business meetings, John comes to the sad realization that the week he looks forward to every year is, from his father's point of view, "nothing special." Luckily, insight from a delightfully off-center neighbor boy, coupled with a rollerblading accident that leaves John's dad temporarily incapacitated, gives John the much-needed opportunity to begin to connect with his father. It may be true that the death of John's dog seems beside the point, the rollerblading mishap feels dramatically forced and the transformation of John's father from completely closed to, if not warm and fuzzy, at least genuine and fatherly, is a little too sudden to be credible. Still, it is counterbalanced by the deftness of the writing and the humor and charm of the first-person narrative. But it's the fact that the reader so badly wants for John what he wants for himself that makes this book such a winning creation. (Fiction. 10-14)

Booklist Review

Gr. 4^-6. Twelve-year-old John is on his way to L. A. ("Dadland"), where his father lives. This year he's going alone; his older sister is tired of being ignored by a dad who is either working or out with his latest girl friend. This quick read is marred by its stereotypical characters. Cora, the girlfriend, draws on her own eyebrows, cracks her gum, and listens to Muzak. Dad, ill informed about John and not interested in him, is so unwilling to change his routine that he leaves John in a waiting room for hours while he has a business meeting. This is divorced dad writ large, and since John is in L.A. for only a week, ends need to be tied up quickly. When Dad hurts his leg and has more time for John, the story of Dad's relationship with his own distant father comes out, and family history falls neatly together. What readers will appreciate is John's honest vacillation between anger and longing for his dad's attention. The first-person dialogue crisply captures John's angst. --Ilene Cooper

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