Official Review: 'Is Something Funny Mr. Allen?"

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 06 Mar 2021, 16:56

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "'Is Something Funny Mr. Allen?"" by Ron Kempton.]

2 out of 4 stars

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Is Something Funny Mr. Allen? is a young adult novel by Ron Kempton that tells the coming-of-age story of Richard Allen. The story begins in 1974, during Richard’s eighth grade year, when he is nothing more than an inquisitive child who can’t stop laughing at the quirky antics of his best friend, Marty. However, when he first lays eyes on Wendy, Richard knows he is in love and that his life finally has meaning. Unfortunately, Wendy has to move away, and her meddlesome family falsely believes that Richard is nothing but trouble. They refuse to allow him to contact her and spread lies about him in the process. As Richard goes through high school and begins to discover more about himself and his friends, he still can’t get Wendy out of his mind. With her family constantly interfering, is it possible that Richard may never get to see Wendy again?

Though the story seems to be quite simple, there are actually several more minor subplots going on at the same time. Though the story is told from Richard’s perspective, I found that Marty was also a main character. He was always there as Richard’s best friend, and he had his own family problems to deal with. In high school, Richard and Marty become friends with their former bully, Mark, who also has his own problems. Girls and their problems get thrown into the mix as well. Richard observes all of this as he tries to figure out his relationship with his own father. More and more characters are introduced to the story as it progresses, but it was quite easy to keep up with the growing cast as they were fluidly introduced to the story.

Despite the simple progression of the book, I often found the plot of the book to be a little bit lacking in its direction. It was more like reading about random events in a teenager’s journal than reading a smooth, flowing story. Lots of time passed between certain events, and pretty big milestones and moments (such as an important character suddenly leaving) were glanced over in a mere sentence or two. This made the overall story just seem a little slow-paced and packed with unnecessary filler. I was often asking myself, “What’s the point of this?” It was a strange combination of having too many things going on at once while also leaving me feeling like nothing was advancing the story.

I’m also not sure that I could pinpoint the exact “climax” of the story. There are certain events that are pretty climactic, but with so many characters leading the story in so many different directions, it’s hard to tell what is the defining moment of the book.

The first thing that stood out to me about the book is the missing comma in the title. I thought that perhaps this was intentional and had something to do with a specific occurrence within the text. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. The event that gives the book its title occurs within the first few pages, and the comma is missing there as well. While the overall editing of the book wasn’t terrible, there were still enough small typos and errors to influence my overall rating of the book.

Overall, I give this book a rating of 2 out of 4 stars. The story had its funny moments and was a cute read if you are looking for something lighthearted. People who have lived through the 1970s might relate to some of the situations, such as being able to connect with someone across state lines only by snail mail. The plot was a little slow-paced for my preferences, and there wasn’t a clear direction with the plot. With some additional editing, I would love to add another star to the score, but in its current form, I have to stick with 2 stars.

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'Is Something Funny Mr. Allen?"
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