Cameran Sassman recently released the sequel to her In Between Shows The A Sides novel. The sequel continues the saga of a New Jersey teenager named Mimi, who is trying to manage multiple commitments: a boyfriend, band, a job, friends, and keeping up with music related outings such as record store visits and concerts. The difficulty of being a kid, in any decade, and adults expecting you to grow up when you’re just not ready is something we all can relate to. I came of age in the 80s, and while my musical tastes meandered in different directions and I didn’t have all the overarching commitments that Mimi does, I can certainly relate to friends and romantic interests making demands on you, or ultimately, disappointing the hell out of you.
Mimi has a great group of friends and is certainly successful by any measure, but she is unlucky in love. We all know she belongs with her best friend Jaxx, but she instead goes for an introverted, insecure boy named Del. I can’t tell you how many times I made margin notes shrieking, what are you doing with this person? Why are you wasting time with someone who suffocates you and is jealous of every little thing you do, leading to the usual lies we offer people that are too controlling. Mimi bends over backwards to accommodate this jerk (yes, he is a jerk), and when she finally dumps his ass, I was cheering. She gives up a lot for Del, and alienates some of her friends. They reveal themselves to be super good pals, being forgiving and understanding what she is going through.
Besides all that drama, Mimi, who is adopted, is contacted by her biological half sister because their Mom is dying. That brings out all sorts of emotion, and I really appreciated the sensitive way this segment of the book was written by Sassman. It echoes what she experienced in her own life, and I imagine it was hard to get down on paper, even with fictional characters standing in for the real people.
Sassman describes many shows and concerts throughout this book, and she was there in real life except at one show which she mentions in a footnote. The descriptions of rough and rowdy punk venues was spot on (I’ve seen my share of such shows), and I really loved her description of someone carrying a portable cassette player in their cars. I did the exact same thing! I was not a Doc Martens gal, but my kid sure is! The clothes, the makeup, and the hair that some teenagers obsess over are all here, as in the last volume. I am not so interested in that stuff, but I do love the angst and the very realistic tale of this lively young woman.
Thanks to Cameran for floating me a review copy, and sorry it took so long to write this.
Catch up with the author on her web site.
