Better Than Running at Night » (None)

Hillary Frank is a freelance writer and illustrator. Her first novel, BETTER THAN RUNNING AT NIGHT, was named a 2003 Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association and a Top 10 First Youth Novel by Booklist. Her radio stories have aired on a variety of public radio programs, including This American Life, Morning Edition, Marketplace, Studio 360, and Chicago Matters. I CAN'T TELL YOU is her second illustrated novel for young adults.

Having left behind the melodrama of her solitary high school days—and the beheaded martyrs in her paintings—Ellie arrives at the New England College of Art and Design. Looking forward to the opportunity to recreate herself and her art, she begins her first day by dirty dancing with the Devil. Then she makes out with him. Ellie soon learns a lot about herself in this story about independence, trust, and boys.

Publishers Weekly

Set at a prestigious (fictional) art school, this first novel revolves around a talented college freshman wrestling with her first relationship. Ellie, the narrator, is first met while dirty-dancing with the Devil, in a scenario quickly revealed as a costume party; a "sneering Elvis" joins them to set up a threesome ("Soon we were all making out"). This provocative opener only partially prefigures Frank's themes. Nate, the student dressed as the Devil, and Ellie make love a week or so later; shortly afterward, Ellie learns that Nate has an "open relationship" with a longtime girlfriend, plus a reputation for womanizing. Meanwhile, she acclimates to student life and deals with her parents, former hippies who openly discuss their youthful drug-taking and who have no idea which of Ellie's mother's many partners was Ellie's biological father. Frank proves most successful in characterizing Ellie as a painter the discussion of art is unusually specific, knowledgeable and convincing. The author also skillfully depicts the zeitgeist among the students, most of whom lionize the showy performance artists (among them a teacher who leads his class in taunting Ellie for her "old fart" pursuit of representational art). But Frank fumbles in linking Ellie's family dynamics to her attempts to come to terms with Nate. The parents are much less developed than the other characters, and this aspect of the story never quite jells. On balance, however, the many truthful moments and the strong portrayal of the heroine will likely compel readers' attention. Ages 14-up . (Aug.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.