The House of Tomorrow

Starred review from November 16, 2009
Sebastian Prendergast, the teenage narrator of Bognanni's funny and unique debut, lives in Iowa's first geodesic dome with his grandmother, a devout follower of futurist philosopher Buckminster R. Fuller. But when Nana has a stroke, Sebastian is thrown together with Janice and teenageJared Whitcomb, who were touring the home when Nana was stricken. Soon, Sebastian and Jared form an unlikely bond via the great teenage tradition of punk rock, starting their own band despite the objections of everyone around them and Sebastian's lack of musical ability (holding a guitar for the first time, Jared says, “Strum,” and Sebastian asks, “What do you mean?”). And while Jared succeeds to some degree in socializing Sebastian—teaching him about music, smoking, and curse words—Sebastian ends up getting more than he bargained for when the two get caught up in Whitcomb family drama. The boys here don't come of age—girls are just beginning to exist and lifelong struggles are only taking root—but their connection is an honest, noisy, and raucous look at friendship and how loud music can make almost everything better.

May 3, 2010
Sixteen-year-old Sebastian Prendergast has grown up isolated, homeschooled, and, in of all places, a geodesic dome in Iowa with his grandmother, a fervent Buckminster Fuller fan. Her sudden illness brings Sebastian together with his first friend ever. Jarod Whitcomb is a moody, punk music fan who’s known something of loneliness, too, and the two misfits form a punk band of their own. Bognanni’s characters are well drawn and sympathetic; his story is an affectionate and sly portrayal of adolescent angst and a paean to punk—and it just gets better in Lloyd James’s hands. The dialogue becomes laugh-out-loud funny and James’s youthful voice keeps Sebastian’s first-person narrative sounding genuine. A Putnam hardcover (Reviews, Nov. 16).