8. Debbie Harry Sings in French by Meagan Brothers

Brothers, Meagan. (2008). Debbie Harry sings in French. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC. ISBN: 978-0-8050-8080-3. p. 232

Genre: Fiction, LGBT
Interest Age: 15+
Curriculum: NA

Reader’s Annotation

Johnny’s had a rough life: his father’s death, a distant mother, a drug overdose, rehab, and being shipped to a new school in a new town. But through the power of Blondie and Debbie Harry, Jonny begins to learn how to take control of his life and understand who he really is.

Plot Summary

Johnny McKennzie’s father died in a car accident when he was 12. His mother became distant and removed from reality. Johnny was left to figure out how to pay bills and take care of himself as well as his mother. He coped using the music of Joy Division, The Cure, New Order, Bauhaus and by drinking. One night he goes to a Goth club with some friends and inadvertently overdoses. While in rehab he first hears the music of Blondie and his obsession with lead singer Debbie Harry begins. He’s fascinated by her music, beauty, and strength. Upon completing rehab his mother ships him to live with his uncle in South Carolina.

Even though he never really fit-in in his home town of Tampa, FL, he has now officially become an outsider; he is constantly being picked on by the school jock bullies and everyone assumes he is gay. Although he is pretty sure he isn’t gay, he can’t help feeling an attraction to Debbie Harry. More than just loving who she is and her music, Johnny finds that he kind of wants to be her. This only complicates his growing relationship with Maria, a girl whose past is as troubled as his.

Critical Review

Debbie Harry Sings in French deals with issues of broken families, homophobia, love, and finding out that sexuality is not as simple as straight or gay. Meagan Brothers provides the reader with a cast of very likeable characters. Johnny is a self described “goth” kid who has had a rough family life and nearly killed himself after drinking heavily and taking what he thought was Aspirin at a club; he gets taunted at school and his mother is over protective to the point of suffocation; Johnny very easily could be a whining, angst-ridden, depressed teen. But he is not. He’s fairly positive, deals with his hardships with a sense of humor and never descends into a state of self loathing.

What is most interesting about Johnny is the way he struggles with his fascination with Debbie Harry and his desire to embody all of the positive qualities which she exemplifies. Although Johnny knows he is straight (even though he is constantly taunted and harassed for being “gay”) he doesn’t exactly understand his desire to be Debbie Harry. He wants to be sexy, beautiful, and strong like Debbie but is unsure how to do that. What do these desires make him? Gay? Bi? A freak? Brothers handles these issue masterfully through humor and wit. She never becomes overly didactic with the themes of homophobia or tolerance; the message is stated through her characters’ thoughts and experiences.

Debbie Harry Sings in French is a well constructed story which uses humor to introduce the reader to issues of sexuality, homophobia, and self discovery. Brothers’ writing is concise and to the point. Although everything about the story and themes seem to lend themselves to preachy melodrama, Brothers’ never lets the story or her characters become needlessly dramatic. The sense of fun and wit make Debbie Harry Sings in French a very accessible story.

Author Info

Meagan Brothers was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina and first had success as a spoken word poet in New York City. Her chap-book, 1978 was published by CafeMo Press in 2001. Debbie Harry Sings in French (2008) is her first novel and she is currently working on her second.

Brothers states that the inspiration for Debbie Harry came from imagining a Blondie fan and a Patti Smith fan having a discussion and teaching each other about music. The idea grew and eventually was fleshed out into a full length novel.

"Meagan Brothers." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 May 2010.

Book Talking Ideas

1. What is the difference between Gender and Sex? Are Johnny’s identity issues more about gender or sexuality?
2. How does Debbie Harry help Johnny deal with the adversities and addictions in his life?
3. Why is Johnny perceived to be homosexual? How does he deal with these perceptions?

Challenges

I have not found any examples of this book being challenged or banned but it is still relatively new. Issues that might lead to a challenge: profanity (including many homophobic slurs), LGBT themes, sexuality, drinking and drug use.

Why I choose this title
This novel made the ALA Rainbow Project’s 2009 GLBTQ Books for Children and Teens. It was also recommended on readingrants.com for those who enjoyed Parrotfish.