Finding Lubchenko

Simmons has invented a new subgenre, the touching thriller, and his novel succeeds at being both. Meet Evan Macalister III, a sixteen-year-old slacker living in Seattle with his incredibly wealthy tightwad father. In his father's eyes, Evan can do no right and so does not see the point of trying. He is a "charming, funny cutup" and incredibly nonchalant, a teenage James Bond who gets mixed up in bioterror. The story here, though, is better than any 007 movie. Motherless, he and his seventy-year-old father suffer a huge generation gap. The touching part is the way they navigate their relationship. His father is arrested for murder and Evan finds himself with some evidence that would clear his father but implicate him in some criminal activity of his own. Aided by his nerdy partner in crime, Ruben, Evan discovers a clue and decides that the best course of action is to look for more evidence that would not incriminate them. The action moves to Paris as they hunt down the mysterious Lubchenko. The Bond girl is Erika, Evan's other best friend, on whom he harbors a secret crush. She speaks French and joins the caper to translate when they head to Paris. Told in the first person in an incredibly consistent narrative voice, no sentence is out of character. Evan walks a moral tightrope throughout and the buildup to the climax is masterful, a perfectly paced thriller. Simmons employs a unique style of characterization; instead of assigning them adjectives, he has Evan tell a story about the characters' behavior. So when he tells the story about his father's business partner offering him beer at twelve years old, the reader knows what sort of man he is. Though there is underage drinking, there is also a mild anti-drug message. The language is relatively clean and the single violent scene is necessary. Chapters are short, as few as four pages. This title has appeal for young adult readers tired of the same old stuff. One of the most exciting reads to come along in a while--the intriguing cover art and title are only icing on the cake.

I personally think that "Finding Lubchenko" should be sub-titled "Ferris Bueller Goes to Paris." The main character, Evan, is a smart-aleck troublemaker who lures his nerdy best friend, Ruben, into trouble. Ruben and Evan end up skipping town to go to Paris for a week, accompanied by the lovely Erika, where they have many adventures. Ruben and Evan's backgrounds are backwards from Ferris and Cameron's (from the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off). Evan has the difficult, strict father who yells all the time, while Ruben has the liberal, lenient parents who don't notice what's going on right in front of their eyes. However, reading the dialog between Evan and Ruben, as Evan basically bullies Ruben into getting into dangerous situations, made me think of Ferris Bueller over and over again. Finding Lubchenko is actually a mystery/thriller. Sixteen-year-old Evan is called to the principals's office one day to hear the news that his wealthy father has been arrested for murder. The fact that his straight-laced, Lutheran father could have actually committed the murder is never a serious possibility. However, Evan's own shady activities (stealing from his father's biotech firm) put him in a difficult bind. He has the evidence to free his father, but to share this evidence with the FBI will surely get Evan and Ruben into deep trouble. Evan decides instead to find evidence regarding who really committed the murder. This requires a trip to Paris (charged to Dad's credit card), and a somewhat dangerous investigation following the path of a real killer. Despite the presence of a murderer, and the extremely dysfunctional relationship between Evan and his Dad, this is a relatively light novel. Evan's voice, expressed in first person, is entertaining and smart-alecky. The book is peppered with brief tangents illustrating Evan's relationship with his Dad, Evan's unrequited love of Erika, Evan's insecurities, and the teen night life in Paris. Most of these asides contribute to the development of Evan's character, and particularly illustrate his relationship with his widowed father. I found Finding Lubchenko to be a fast-paced, enjoyable adventure, with an engaging teen voice. I will keep my eyes open for other books by Michael Simmons. This review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on April 24th, 2006.

FINDING LUBCHENKO is a new novel by Michael Simmons. The main character is a cocky and arrogant 16-year-old kid by the name of Evan Macalister. The story is told in Evan's words and I have to admit, as the reader, I had a love/hate relationship with Evan. The kid in me admired his bravado, but the parent in me would like to lock him in his room and put him under house arrest. The truth is, Evan gets in your head and even a little in your heart. His mother's death a few years earlier left a void in Evan's life and I wanted things to work out for him. His outlandish behavior and over confidence actually hides a lonely young man who has learned a way to cope with a remote father. Since Mr. Macalister, Evan's millionaire father, is not willing to give his son a lot of cash, Evan who works part-time in his dad's medical company takes to stealing what he considers unused electronic equipment and selling it online. Evan actually says that he "liberates" the items! When a man from the company is murdered and Mr. Macalister is arrested, Evan's realizes that the police need the murdered man's laptop computer. Unfortunately, it's one of the items that he had sold on eBay. Evan learns that the computer is in Paris and a man named Lubchenko holds all of the answers. Evan feels guilty and wants to help his father. He talks his two best friends into going to France with him. Of course, his Dad's credit card is used for a lavish visit to Paris, but finding Lubchenko is not as easy as they had hoped. This breezy, humorous story of teenagers seemingly outwitting adults is something that, I think, both parents and their teens would enjoy.

I was already a fan of Michael Simmons from Pool Boy, so I had high expectations, and Finding Lubchenko more than met them! Evan's adventure is fast-paced, funny, and really smart. Evan is hilariously bold (stealing from his dad's office and then selling the goods on EBAY? Flying to Paris on his dad's gold card? Hello?) -- but what really makes the book is his wise-ass take on it all. I couldn't put this book down and totally recommend it to anyone with a sense of humor, a sense of adventure, and who loves a good story.

This is a fun fast paced story that all should enjoy. Loved his first book, Pool Boy, and looking forward to Simon's next.