At a Loss....

Finished The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World. And, I find that I am mystified. I really have no idea how to put all of my thoughts into words. My feelings about this book are not cohesive at all. Before I try to make sense of the, let me share a synopsis of the book, from the publisher;

Amedeo Kaplan dreams of discovering something -- some treasure no one realizes is there until he finds it. And he would like to discover a true friend to share this with. Improbably, he finds the friend in aloof, edgy William Wilcox. And even more improbably, he finds his treasure among the memorabilia in the house of his eccentric neighbor, Mrs. Zender. But Amedeo and William find more than treasure -- they find a story that links a sketch, a young boy's life, an old man's reminiscence, and a painful secret dating back to the outrages of Nazi Germany. And they discover unexpected truths about art, friendship, history, heroism, and the mysteries of the human heart. 

 OK, here we go. First of all, this is an E.L. Konigsburg book, so I was certain to like it. She is one of my all-time favorite writers, but this book kind of fell flat for me. I think that my biggest problem with this book was the targeted age group. This is a "Juvenile" book and the protagonists are two sixth-graders. But really? Not likely. I don't know any sixth graders who talk or act like Amedo (short for Amedeo) and William, never mind two in one small town. Both Amedo & William seemed more like little adults than adolescent boys. I know that in the past, E.L. Konigsburg has written other characters like this, very mature for their ages, but it really struck me this time as being contrived and artificial. I didn't feel like I could identify or empathize with either of these characters.

Then there was the subject matter and language. There was a good amount of suggestive talk and sexual innuendo, especially by Mrs. Zender, the former Opera star. Then there were the themes of Nazi persecution of not only the Jewish people, but homosexuals and "degenerate" art. Please don't get me wrong. I do not object to these topics being written about or discussed, I just wonder if the average middle-schooler would have the maturity to embrace and understand everything that is going on in this book. I feel that this should have been published as a Young Adult novel, rather than a Children's book. I would recommend this to older readers, who would like to know more about Modern Art, Opera and World War II.