Subtle Humor in "Forever Twelve"?

[Scott]

Did you notice a lot of subtle humor in the "Forever Twelve" (the March 2015 book of the month)? I did, and I think it is my favorite thing about the book and the author's writing.

I think it happens in the book most with Corey's mom. What makes it subtle and cleverly done, I think, is that since the story is being narrated by the twelve-year-old girl, who often has lighthearted one-on-one conversations with her mom, her mother makes these funny remarks that are over the narrator's head but that we as the reader can appreciate.

I think this is my favorite line in that regard. It is in page 178 of 449 in my copy of the book:

[Corey asks] "Hey, wait just a minute. What did you mean about me having a gullible side? Is that a bad thing? What does it even mean?"

[Corey's mom answers] "Well, no one's really certain what it means, sweetie. For some unknown reason the word 'gullible' is not in the dictionary."

Did you catch any of these? If so, which is your favorite?

[bookowlie]

I also like the subtle, dry humor in this book.

(Andi's father) "No sex for you, young lady. Please ask again when you’re thirty-something. We’ll readdress the issue at that time.”

-- 03 Mar 2015, 11:44 --

Here's another one:

(Andi's dad) “I took your advice and bought this sporty little red number. The salesperson assured me that it is a babe magnet.”

(Andi) “Dad, it’s a station wagon.”

(Andi's dad) “Yes, very good, Candice. But it’s red.”

-- 05 Mar 2015, 15:31 --

Here's another one:

(Corey) I blink. “Mom, you’re a genius. How do you know all this stuff?”

(Corey's mom) Mom doesn’t skip a beat. “I went to the finest ‘mom school ’ in the country. I graduated with a B + average. I would have gotten an A, but I refused to use washable diapers.”

[mmandy38]

Scott, I think they one about being gullible was my favorite one too.

[Lisalovecraft]

The humor was really cute. Here are a few of my fav's.

"I was talking to a friend of mine. I can't say who. She's in a tough situation." "Oh, I see. She's in the family way." "No, dad, she's not in her family's way. That's not nice."

-the running flatulent cow joke

-the Internet crash of '98. (why there are no more permanent records)

[krisliz88]

I think that Corey's character had a cute sarcastic streak in my opinion. It is something that I think most kids her age really wouldn't appreciate. In her story, she was able to find the right group of friends to really be able to appreciate it and the right kind of adults to encourage it in a healthy way.

[Scorsee]

The gullible quote was definitely my favorite as well. I loved the subtle humor of the adults and the humor of the kids was spot on. Even when things became darker in various parts of the plot, there was always a slice of humor to temper it.

[ALynnPowers]

The humor was really cute. Here are a few of my fav's.

"I was talking to a friend of mine. I can't say who. She's in a tough situation." "Oh, I see. She's in the family way." "No, dad, she's not in her family's way. That's not nice."

-the running flatulent cow joke

-the Internet crash of '98. (why there are no more permanent records)

Also some of my favorites! The cow thing had me cracking up! I think even used that in real life after I read about it.

And I also found Andi's dad pretty funny in general.

[Levi]

Omglol'd the whole time
The bovine flatulence global warming dialogue that ended with "Omg dad, don't have a flatulent cow!" Ha ha Ha

"You look absolutely positively edible." And then she told me to enjoy my Donner party reenactment. Ha ha ha ha also with the Donner joke Andi's mom tells Corey "You look great, I just want to eat you up!" And Corey says,"Thanks Hillary, we just did a Donner party reenactment, you would have loved it!" Ha ha

[cgoss74]

I too appreciated the subtle humor used in "Forever Twelve" and the innocence of so many of the comments going right over their heads. Do you remember being that "gullible", lol? Oh the good old days.

[Insightsintobooks]

I loved the humor. It reminds me of myself at that age, and sometimes still today to be honest. I've almost always been gullible, something my husband teases me about.

[markodim721]

I really appreciate the clever, subtle, smart humor everywhere, including in this book.