Playing with Matches, by Brian Katcher

Title: Playing with Matches

Author: Brian Katcher

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Year: 2008

# Pages: 294

Category: Required

Genre: Contemporary Realistic

My Summary & Critique:

Leon Sanders is a 17-year-old geeky boy with girls on the brain, especially the beautiful and popular Amy Green, who Leon has had a crush on since 4^th grade. While he fantasizes about hooking up with Amy, he dreams of meeting the perfect girl who will love him for who he is, nerd and all. Leon’s new locker neighbor is Melody Hennon, a girl who has been “universally shunned” because of a disfiguring accident she had as a child, which left her with horrifying scars on her face. Attempting to lift her mood one day at their locker, Leon cracked the ice with a joke, a simple introduction that opened the door to their friendship. When Leon and Melody become partners for a project in Social Studies class, they begin to realize that they have similar interests and become friends. Melody laughed at Leon’s corny jokes and they liked the same geeky shows on tv. Soon, and to Leon’s surprise, they become more than friends. Even though Leon second-guesses his feelings for Melody and is concerned about what other people will think of them dating, he is grateful to have found someone who appreciates him. Likewise, Melody is enjoying the feeling of being treated like she is special. Then Leon’s dream girl, Amy, enters the picture. She pursues him, asking him out, and putting him in a situation where he must choose whether to stay with the girl who has stolen his heart or finally get the girl of his dreams.

When I first saw this book, it did not look appealing to me; I was definitely judging the book by its cover and I was not looking forward to finding out what was inside. When I finished the book, I held it in my hands for a moment and actually said, “Thank you” out loud, to Brian Katcher for writing this story. How fitting.

Playing with Matches is a moving story of the search for love and acceptance told through remarkably believable characters, complete with insecurities and fallibilities, as they struggle to find each other. There were times I wanted to hug Leon and times I wanted to slug him, but he was believable and honest, and the story was credible, start to finish. The story didn’t have the “happily ever after” kind of ending, but it seemed real and still hopeful. Both Leon and Melody showed growth through the experience of their relationship, and other characters provided just the right amount of backdrop to support and provide the necessary comic relief to the main story. Most of all, I think I loved this story for going somewhere few have gone. The author tackled the insecurities that all of us have with regards to those who are different and the hang-ups we tend to have with appearances. Not only are appearances deceiving, they are too powerful an influence over human judgment. Stories like this help us to confront those judgmental tendencies and provide a way to look past the superficial. Stories like this help us to understand those, like Melody, who have “been through fire” and come out on the other end, and we appreciate their courage more because of it. We should remember that judging a book by its cover is often completely off-mark. More stories like this need to be written and read.