The Tragedy Paper

The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth LaBan
Random House Children's Books, 1/8/2013
Hardcover, 320 pages
ISBN-13: 9780375870408
http://elizabethlaban.com/

Description

     Tim Macbeth is a 17-year-old albino and a recent transfer to the prestigious Irving School, where the motto is, "Enter here to be and find a friend." Tim does not expect to find a friend; all he really wants to do is escape his senior year unnoticed. Despite his efforts to blend into the background, he finds himself falling for the quintessential "it" girl, Vanessa Sheller, girlfriend of Irving's most popular boy. To Tim's surprise, Vanessa is into him, too, and she can kiss her social status goodbye if anyone finds out. Tim and Vanessa enter into a clandestine relationship, but looming over them is the Tragedy Paper, Irving's version of a senior year thesis, assigned by the school's least forgiving teacher. 
     The story unfolds from two alternating viewpoints: Tim, the tragic, love-struck figure, and Duncan, a current senior, who uncovers the truth behind Tim and Vanessa's story and will consequently produce the greatest Tragedy Paper in Irving's history.

 My Thoughts:

The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth LaBan is the story of the senior year of albino Tim Macbeth at the Irving School, as told through CDs to Duncan Meade. While it is now Duncan's senior year at the prestigious boarding school, Tim left the CD's as a legacy of sorts to him as the new resident of the small corner room Tim was relegated to the year before. Since all the seniors are assigned a tragedy paper as a senior year thesis, Tim promises that the CDs will not only tell the story of the tragedy that occurred the year before, but that the story will help Duncan write his tragedy paper. The CD's explain Tim's connection to the popular girl, Vanessa, and slowly build until the final tragedy is fully explained.

The Tragedy Paper is a YA novel and is listed as suitable for age 12 and up. It certainly would be a suitable novel for the YA audience. There is no questionable language and the rule breaking present is very innocent. The pacing of the story is gradual and deliberate, allowing anticipation of the upcoming tragedy to build. LaBan handled the plot and character development with skill. These characters felt like actual young people going through a confusing time in their lives, while unbeknownst to then a  tangible tragedy is about to unfold.

Certainly a novel about a tragedy, and a tragedy paper that must be written, will include many parallels to the literary influences found in other novels and plays. There was abundant foreshadowing and premonitions that something was going to happen.  Works mentioned or credited with influencing The Tragedy Paper include: S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders and That Was Then, This is Now, The Sorrows of Young Werther, The Dead Poet’s Society, Thirteen Reasons Why, Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres (based on King Lear) and, naturally, Shakespearean plays (with a Macbeth and a Duncan, need I even mention this.)

I will very highly recommend The Tragedy Paper as a YA novel worth an adult's time too.

 

Elizabeth LaBan worked at NBC News, taught at a community college, and has written for several magazines and newspapers. The Tragedy Paper is her first young adult novel. She lives in Philadelphia with her family. 

Disclosure: My Advanced Reading Copy Kindle edition was courtesy of Random House Children's Books and Netgalley for review purposes.