Ron Koertge’s Deadville is one of those quiet little novels that could easily slip off the radar into oblivion. It certainly doesn’t deserve such a fate. What the novel lacks in action and adventure, it more than makes up for in humanity and self-discovery.
Since his sister died of cancer two years earlier, Ryan has been pretty much sleepwalking through high school and life, listening to his iPod and/or getting stoned most of his waking hours. When Charlotte, the most popular girl in school, has an accident and falls into a coma, Ryan feels compelled to visit her hospital room every day. He hardly knows her and she’s way out of his league, but he shows up like clockwork anyway.
Just when you think the novel is coming dangerously close to displaying the typical YA stereotypes (the distanced parents, the school bullies, the unapproachable girl, etc.), Koertge does something wonderful and/or beautiful. This is one of those rare novels that contains plenty of teenage humor without sacrificing humanity. Ryan does go through a personal transformation, but it’s not one of startling revelations coming on the heels of dangerous confrontations. His transformation happens so slowly that less careful readers may not even be aware of what’s happened. But something has happened. It’s not often that I read any YA novel and tell myself, “I’d like to read that again,” but it sure happened with Deadville.
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