The Domino Effect
by Andrew Cotto
7/10
The Domino Effect is a coming of age story about Danny Rorro, an Italian kid from Queens who just can't seem to catch a break. Now I HATE the phrase coming of age but until there are better synonyms than fecundity and virility it will have to do. Anyways, we follow Danny through his high school life as he struggles with the common teenage annoyances: shitty schools, unstable friends and painful romances. Ugh, I'm so glad high school is over.
by Andrew Cotto
7/10
The Domino Effect is a coming of age story about Danny Rorro, an Italian kid from Queens who just can't seem to catch a break. Now I HATE the phrase coming of age but until there are better synonyms than fecundity and virility it will have to do. Anyways, we follow Danny through his high school life as he struggles with the common teenage annoyances: shitty schools, unstable friends and painful romances. Ugh, I'm so glad high school is over.
The book is unique in the way it's organized. It starts with the first three years of Danny's high school life, with each chapter representing a separate year. The events go by quickly but we get a detailed understanding of Danny's family and school life that sets us up nicely for the main part of the book: his fourth year at Hamden Academy. The rest of the book slows right down and is the conclusion of Danny's high school/adolescence.
Danny's father, though not a main character in the book, was my favourite. At a time when Queens was struggling to accept the new immigrants moving into the neighbourhood, Danny's father embraced them, made friends and even spoke to them in Spanish. He taught Danny the importance of kindness and fairness and also how to defend himself against the bullies that were not so happy about how friendly his father was being to the new neighbours. Talk about living by example, Danny was lucky to have him as a role model.
Danny's father, though not a main character in the book, was my favourite. At a time when Queens was struggling to accept the new immigrants moving into the neighbourhood, Danny's father embraced them, made friends and even spoke to them in Spanish. He taught Danny the importance of kindness and fairness and also how to defend himself against the bullies that were not so happy about how friendly his father was being to the new neighbours. Talk about living by example, Danny was lucky to have him as a role model.
I also really liked the description of his father's well-timed winks. I could picture them perfectly.
Danny is an interesting character. His anger and resentment towards his father seem in sync with normal teenage emotions but his thoughts and actions don't match that of a child his age. I had to remind myself throughout the book that he was in high school and not university. His introspect and control aren't typical of a teenage boy. Most of the boys in my high school fought, fucked and smoked their way through school: think Dazed and Confused.
Sure, Danny was wrapped up in Brenda, and there was reference to smoking and masturbating to Christy Turlington, but he is still very thoughtful and collected for a boy his age. Usually hormone-infested adolescents barely make it out of the house, but he kept his composure even when he found out Brenda was date raped by his friend Todd. He gets knocked around the whole book and he always keeps his cool. What teenager could calmly walk away from a dickhead who very clearly needs an ass whooping? It messed with my head.
One thing that upset me about the book was the blatant foreshadowing. I hate knowing what's going to happen because I become obsessed with it and no matter what I'm reading I'm thinking about what's going to happen. Makes me nuts. This happened the whole book. Here's an example:
"Oh, relax,” I told him. “We’re just messing around.”
“Alright, alright,” he nodded, up and down, up and down. “But this shit comes up again, it ain’t gonna be so funny.”
That was true. It would come up again, and it wouldn’t be funny. Not at all.
Finally, I was excited to see the word rigamarole. My dad says this word every so often and I never thought I would see it in a book so it was cool... at first. But after the fourth time it was referenced it started losing its novelty.
Sure, Danny was wrapped up in Brenda, and there was reference to smoking and masturbating to Christy Turlington, but he is still very thoughtful and collected for a boy his age. Usually hormone-infested adolescents barely make it out of the house, but he kept his composure even when he found out Brenda was date raped by his friend Todd. He gets knocked around the whole book and he always keeps his cool. What teenager could calmly walk away from a dickhead who very clearly needs an ass whooping? It messed with my head.
One thing that upset me about the book was the blatant foreshadowing. I hate knowing what's going to happen because I become obsessed with it and no matter what I'm reading I'm thinking about what's going to happen. Makes me nuts. This happened the whole book. Here's an example:
"Oh, relax,” I told him. “We’re just messing around.”
“Alright, alright,” he nodded, up and down, up and down. “But this shit comes up again, it ain’t gonna be so funny.”
That was true. It would come up again, and it wouldn’t be funny. Not at all.
Finally, I was excited to see the word rigamarole. My dad says this word every so often and I never thought I would see it in a book so it was cool... at first. But after the fourth time it was referenced it started losing its novelty.
This is one of my favourite quotes in the book. Think dirty. It's just too easy:
Brenda pointed to a rocky jetty that shot out from the shore. “That’s where we go crabbing,” she said.
“Crabbing?” I asked. “Sounds contagious.”
“It’s so much fun,” she said. “You tie a piece of hot dog to a string and drop it in the water, and when it moves, you pull it up slowly and then catch the crab with a net.”
“Then what happens?”
“You collect them in a bucket and eat em’ for dinner.” She crinkled her nose. “The fun part’s really catching them, since they’re sort of hard to eat and there’s not a lot of meat.”
And another great one that shows the character of his father:
“You know, I’ve worked with minority kids for 15 years, and one thing that some of them share is a real resistance to the world outside their own. And if you think about history, and even the way things still are, it’s not so hard to understand why. So maybe this terence is struggling with all that, with who he is and where he fits in.”
“I don’t know, Pop,” I said.
“I think you do, Pal,” he answered right back. “I think that you do.”
he was right. I knew what it was like to be an outsider, or, at least to feel like one. I thought about terence. It’d been a long time since I’d thought about what it would be like to be anybody other than me. No wonder I had such a hard time figuring things out.
“So, you see where he’s coming from?” Pop asked. “I’m working on it,” I said.
“Good. It shouldn’t be such a stretch for you, Pal. And
remember, you were brought up to look out for other people. If you’re in a position to help someone, you’re supposed to do it.”
“oK, Pop,” I said. “I got it.”
I hung up the phone and thought of the dominoes again, and how I could help terence from falling the wrong way.
I think most people would enjoy this book. It's easy to read and people can identify with the struggles of adolescence, facing adversity and falling in love. So enjoy.
Xx
Brenda pointed to a rocky jetty that shot out from the shore. “That’s where we go crabbing,” she said.
“Crabbing?” I asked. “Sounds contagious.”
“It’s so much fun,” she said. “You tie a piece of hot dog to a string and drop it in the water, and when it moves, you pull it up slowly and then catch the crab with a net.”
“Then what happens?”
“You collect them in a bucket and eat em’ for dinner.” She crinkled her nose. “The fun part’s really catching them, since they’re sort of hard to eat and there’s not a lot of meat.”
And another great one that shows the character of his father:
“You know, I’ve worked with minority kids for 15 years, and one thing that some of them share is a real resistance to the world outside their own. And if you think about history, and even the way things still are, it’s not so hard to understand why. So maybe this terence is struggling with all that, with who he is and where he fits in.”
“I don’t know, Pop,” I said.
“I think you do, Pal,” he answered right back. “I think that you do.”
he was right. I knew what it was like to be an outsider, or, at least to feel like one. I thought about terence. It’d been a long time since I’d thought about what it would be like to be anybody other than me. No wonder I had such a hard time figuring things out.
“So, you see where he’s coming from?” Pop asked. “I’m working on it,” I said.
“Good. It shouldn’t be such a stretch for you, Pal. And
remember, you were brought up to look out for other people. If you’re in a position to help someone, you’re supposed to do it.”
“oK, Pop,” I said. “I got it.”
I hung up the phone and thought of the dominoes again, and how I could help terence from falling the wrong way.
I think most people would enjoy this book. It's easy to read and people can identify with the struggles of adolescence, facing adversity and falling in love. So enjoy.
Xx
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