Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things
Schwartz and Wade, 2008
I had previously reviewed two other books by Lenore Look (Uncle Peter's Amazing Chinese Wedding and Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything), and I was primed to enjoy this one about Alvin Ho. I especially looked forward to reading about adventures of a Chinese-American boy. I was charmed by Alvin, who, with all of his eccentricities, reminded me of Woody Allen. And, toward the end of the book, Alvin does visit with a psychotherapist, marking a turning point in his young life. Not because, but despite the therapist visit, Alvin makes admirable progress in coping with his many "allergies," standing up to a bully, choosing to play with his real friends, and all-around becoming a gentleman. The book is funny, but all the witticisms (which come fast and furious) eventually left me feeling a little deflated. In addition, Alvin's environs, the comfy uber-American Cambridge of Thoreau and Alcott and the Boston Red Sox, also left me a little cold. Look's snappy writing keeps entertaining, but the west coast in me couldn't help wondering by the end if there wasn't more there there. Although Alvin is a second-grader, the writing seems better suited for the slightly to much older, who can appreciate the humor in, say, a classmate named Hobson, "who always gives you a choice."
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