Crusader by Edward Bloor

From Barnes & Noble

In his bright debut, Tangerine, author Edward Bloor introduced us to a legally blind kid who, frankly, sees reality a heck of a lot better than anyone around him. Paul Fisher, that soccer-playing wonder with bottle-thick glasses and a heart of gold, leapt into adolescent literature and surprised thousands of us. I, for one, hadn't read such a thirst-quenching story in ages. Paul Fisher became my personal hero. I built a shrine for Tangerine on my bookshelf (yes! no lie!), so dazzled was I by Bloor's thought-provoking tale.

When Crusader fell out of its mailing envelope, I screamed in delight. (I'm not a dork -- bottled up anticipation and longing will do that to anyone.) So in love was I with Edward Bloor's prose that the arrival of Crusader made me weak in the knees -- as if, perhaps, my summertime boyfriend had finally arrived at the resort that our families enjoyed year after year. How had he changed? Would he still love me? What fun would we have together this time around?

So, ummm...maybe you'll understand why I feel hesitant in making broad declarations about what Crusader is or how it reads or if it's as well as Bloor's debut. I'm in shock, I guess. Bloor, my favorite dreamy writer, grew up some since I saw him last, and I'm still figuring out how I feel about his new novel.

While Tangerine explored the idea that a blind kid might actually see more than his sighted friends and family, Crusader tackles the blind spot in the rearview mirror. Fifteen-year-old Roberta is a seasoned journalist, despite her youth. Passively, meticulously, and intelligently recording events at school and at the failing mall where her family owns an arcade, Roberta sees all but feels nothing.

We also learn -- on the very first page -- that she avoids the mirror. "I don't usually look in mirrors because I don't need to. I don't style my hair; I don't use makeup. Most days I couldn't tell you what color clothes I have on. Kristen says that's because I don't have a mother to teach me about such things. Kristin is usually right."

What happened to her mother? Roberta tells everyone that her mother died of a heart attack. We believe her at first because Roberta seems to have everything under control. Soon, though, "truth" unravels into family chaos.

In Crusader, author Bloor and protagonist Roberta sift through layers of reality. They unearth environmental massacres from long ago that matter now; they penetrate political webs and bravely dig out family truths buried long ago. Roberta even learns to look in the mirror. Her journey dazzles.

—Cathy Young

From the Publisher

Roberta Ritter has been waiting for a knight in shining armor for most of her humdrum life. She's a doormat, a nobody whose mother died a few years back, a smart girl who wastes her afternoons working in a failing arcade in a failing shopping mall. And then a Crusader arrives....Only this Crusader is a virtual reality war game, one that does a booming business at the arcade, despite—or perhaps because of—the controversy over its racism and violence. Roberta's boring life explodes. Onetime friends become bitter enemies, strangers reveal themselves as allies, and Roberta discovers the truth about her mother's death. In uncovering what's real and not just virtually real, Roberta learns to stand up for herself—and, maybe, to become her own crusader.

Publishers Weekly

Although the jacket and flap copy play to readers interested in virtual reality, cyber-adventure is only a very small component of this ambitious second novel from the author of the acclaimed Tangerine. Fifteen-year-old Roberta spends her time at a mall, working for her alcoholic Uncle Frank in a virtual reality arcade that features "experiences" for xenophobic violence-mongers: in the war game Crusader, for example, players kill Arab "Infidels." Everything around Roberta is skewed, from the misfits who work at the arcade for no pay (just getting to play the games is enough) to the mall, where the businesses are struggling and the management is corrupt. Home is even stranger. Her mother is dead and her father neglects her, spending all his time with the horrible Suzie, the mall manager. Roberta herself is an oddball, often mistaken for a boy and slow to emerge as a strong character--readers will have to be patient to see her personality take shape. The story is long and packed with subplots, veering from local politics (hate crimes and environmentalism) to teenage suicide, the inner workings of a TV studio and Roberta's quest to uncover the truth about her mother's death. A scheme to expose a dishonest politician is baroque and anticlimactic. Nonetheless, the characters are sharply drawn (racist Hawg is not an entirely bad guy; shallow teen beauty Nina helps out in a pinch), and Roberta is full of surprises. While flawed, this novel is deeper, denser and more complex than most YA fare, and serious readers will appreciate it. Ages 12-up. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

VOYA

Author of Tangerine (Harcourt Brace, 1997/VOYA August 1997), Bloor has produced another thoughtful work. Roberta is a member of an extended dysfunctional family. She works in her uncle's video arcade in a strip mall populated by a weird assortment of employees, among them football crazy Hawg, who works at the arcade for free games; "Betty the Goth," an intimidating food server; and Mrs. Weiss, a gift shop owner and selfappointed grandmother to Roberta. Fifteenyearold Roberta has found her niche in the video arcade, working by night and pursuing her dream of becoming a journalist in her media studies class by day. Willing to address controversy in her writing but not in her life, Roberta does not agree with some of the arcade's policies, but she enforces them. When Asian Americans approach the "Mekong Massacre" game, an outoforder sign is hastily attached to the machine. Because the arcade houses a variety of possibly offensive "experiences," there are policies for almost every minority group. When a vandal attacks an Arab American's business, however, Roberta is forced to confront some latent conflicts in her life, the foremost being the mystery surrounding her mother's murder several years ago. Is the raciallymotivated vandalism at the mall linked to her mother's death? As in Tangerine, this novel provides a fine character study. Readers follow the introverted Roberta through a series of increasingly dramatic events, hoping that one of them will finally wake up her rage. The cast is populated with characters who appear to be either idealistic or dishonorable but who reveal surprising depth as the novel progresses. There is an engaging mystery to keep the reader occupied through390pages, but the main business is to find out how Roberta will finally deal with the shocking evidence concerning her mother's murder and the benign neglect with which her father treats her. This is by no means a fastpaced read, but those willing to invest some time will find a compelling and eloquent story. VOYA CODES: 5Q 3P J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Will appeal with pushing; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 1999, Harcourt Brace, Ages 13 to 18, 384p, $17. Reviewer: Alison Kastner

Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-Roberta Ritter, 16, works at her journalism studies in her south Florida high school, and works just as hard for nothing at Arcane Experiences, a small arcade run by her father and uncle. Knowing that certain of the virtual-reality games are likely to offend certain customers, the arcade has an unwritten policy-African Americans are told that King Kong is out of order, Asians hear the same apology about the Mekong Massacre, etc. In the newest "experience," customers take the role of a Christian crusader slaying infidels in the Holy Land. When someone vandalizes the store of an Arab-American businessman at the mall, neither the police nor the victim realize that it's mall politics, not prejudice, behind it. Roberta is also having nightmares about her mother, whose murder seven years earlier was never solved. The teen's association with the officer investigating the alleged hate crimes brings her some evidence relating to her mother's killer. All these plot threads and more come together in a satisfying but disturbing ending. Roberta is a strong and sympathetic character who learns to take care of herself, but what she faces along the way may surprise and disturb readers. People die, and some wrongs are never righted. Although it is longer and more complex, Crusader resembles Bloor's Tangerine (Harcourt, 1997). Like that title, it is an honest look at a contemporary world in which all stories do not end happily.-Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PA Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

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