"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it." Goethe
Anne C. LeMieux
Award-winning Author
ALA Best Book for Young Adults
Parents' Choice Silver Honor Award
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30th Anniversary Edition
DO ANGELS SING THE BLUES?
by A.C. LeMieux
Parents' Choice Silver Honor Award 1995
Publishers Weekly Starred Review 1995
Surpassing Lemieux's first novel, The T.V. Guidance Counselor, in its power and sensitivity, this new drama focuses on relationships among a trio of teenagers-Boog, an accomplished guitarist; Carey, a talented but disturbed girl struggling with her father's alcoholism; and self-assured, charismatic Theo. Boog and Theo have been best friends since childhood, even before they discovered blues music and formed a band of their own. Their strong bond begins to unravel when, during their senior year at Yardley High, Carey Harrigan enters the scene, dressed like a "walking tag sale,'' and sweeps Theo off his feet. Theo's attempts to help Carey put together the pieces of her shattered self-image lead to a series of ugly confrontations and a chilling climax readers will not soon forget. This absorbing exploration of adolescent hopes, dreams and vulnerability contains undertones as resonant and melancholy as a blues melody. Ages 11-up. (July 1995)
Featuring Keith Finklestein, drummer of the Blues Thing band!
After the gig, the band, minus Danny, our bassman, who was a little ragged tonight trying to stave off a major bout of the flu that's making the winter rounds, goes to the Silver Comet. Affectionately dubbed the Silver Vomit, it's the post-date/pre-home-going Yardley High hangout, the place where all adolescent roads lead on Friday and Saturday nights around here. The decor, someone's idea of neo-space-age, is a mix of mirrors, formica, and vinyl, in shades of fake carnation pink and the faded purple of a fungus ridden grape.
We snag the last available large booth. Theo, Peter McGrath, our rhythm guitarist, and I are on one side. Boog Buglioni, our lead guitarist; and his ball and chain Sharon, whom Peter and I secretly call the boa constrictor because of the way she puts the squeeze on Boog, are on the other.
Through the plexiglass partition between our booth and the one in the corner, I can see Tom Mitchell, a Yardley High high-profile basketball jock, whose impressive statistics include league high scorer, as well as most technical fouls racked up for the season to date. His ego is the size of a cement mixer. And in the mirror, next to the back of Tom's blond buzz-cut Neanderthal skull, I can see the reflection of his current female arm piece. Chloe Lang.
"Okay, guys, things were a little sloppy tonight, but that was probably because Danny was under the weather," Boog says. "What do we want to work on?"
"Might be time to revamp the play list," Theo puts in. "I'm ready to eighty-six 'Badge' off the menu for a while. It's feeling a little stale."
A frenzied waitress slaps some menus down, splashes our water glasses full, and scurries on down the line, where I can see her biting her tongue as Tom Mitchell tells her with his typical lack of finesse that he wants his eggs sunnyside, not over easy, and rye, not whole wheat toast.
"Got another Clapton tune in mind?" Boog asks.
The two of them start tossing out possibilities, but I'm not really listening. I'm tuned into the next booth, watching Chloe, though she hasn't noticed me yet. I don't know what Tom's saying to her, but whatever it is, I hate the way it's making her shrink into her seat.
by Anne C. LeMieux & Brendan LeMieux
Being & Becoming with Williams Syndrome
A "mom-oir"-style medical mystery & research journey, this officially began as a series of blog posts recounting the story of the 12+ year journey from my son's birth to his diagnosis with a rare genetic neurodevelopmental condition called Williams Syndrome. It is on its way to becoming a book!