Tribes

by Arthur Slade

Overview

Percy’s father, a famous anthropologist, died in Africa four years ago; and Percy has taken on his father’s eyes to see the world as a brilliant Observer. He and his friend Elissa are fascinated by the ritualistic world called Grade Twelve: the Jock tribe; the Teacher tribe; the Born Again tribe; the Cool and Detached tribe; the Lipstick/Hairspray tribe, not to mention Mr. Verplaz, the Shaman. For Percy it’s crucial to withdraw, analyze, and remain above it all. But wait–he’s studying real people, who complicate things. Like Elissa, the only person who can come close to him, maybe too close. The only person who knows how painful it was last year when their best friend Willard died. As graduation approaches, the looming ritual ratchets up Percy’s deepest, hidden feelings and reveals the truth about his father’s disappearance.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780006391692
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/26/2004
Pages:	180
Product dimensions:	4.25(w) x 1.00(h) x 6.80(d)

About the Author

ARTHUR SLADE was raised on a ranch in the Cypress Hills of Saskatchewan. He is the author of seventeen novels for young readers including The Hunchback Assignments, which won the prestigious TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, and its three sequels, and Dust, winner of the Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature. He is also the author of the acclaimed graphic novel Modo: Ember’s End. He lives in the mythical city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Web: arthurslade.com

Twitter: @arthurslade

Editorial Reviews

Slade's (Dust) dense novel inventively uses an anthropological lens to view high school life. Narrator 17-year-old Percy explains in a prologue that his anthropologist father died in the Congo three years earlier, after being bitten by a tsetse fly. The teen then reveals that on the night his father died, "Dad materialized at my bedside, extended a ghost arm, and opened his fingers to reveal a pair of glowing spirit eyes... and inserted the magical orbs into my sockets." Percy thereafter refers to fellow humans as "hominids" and frequently relies on amusing anthropological jargon that occasionally grows grating. Yet the narrative effectively conveys why Percy is shunned by fellow students. His most astute observations come at the expense of his peers: "Numerous tribes exist in friction at our school. The Logo Tribe exhibits name brands wherever and whenever possible.... The Lipstick/Hairspray Tribe performs elaborate appearance alterations to attract mates." He describes himself and his sole friend, Elissa as a "cohesive group of two" who are "quasi-omniscient Observers." Other highlights include a mystical parallel with the Ndebele tribe, where his father was working at the time of Percy's birth, and the tribe's ritual marking a boy's entry into manhood. Despite the hero's awkward anthopologic-speak ("No one ever knows what I'm talking about. What it means. No one!"), readers who admire the fellow's spirit may well enjoy this unusual treatise on high school culture; a concluding twist brings this tale down to earth. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Gr 8 Up-Throughout high school, senior Percy Montmount has adopted a detached worldview, emulating his anthropologist father, who apparently died three years earlier. In the course of his days, he observes the school's various cliques, or "tribes," and then records what he sees in his voluminous notebooks. At the beginning of the novel, readers are privy to his often humorous views of his school and his mother, who is heavily into almost every New Age trend; later, the narration captures the distinctive and elaborate syntax of this brainy and somewhat weird kid. As the story progresses, however, the truth of Percy's complex mental state is revealed-he is mourning the suicide of his best friend, he is confused by the mutual physical attraction between him and his friend Elissa, and he is angry with his dad. Finally, readers learn that his father is not dead, and that his parents are divorced. With graduation, everything comes to a head, and Percy begins to see that he has actually understood little of himself or others. The author has a good handle on his protagonist, and he explores the 17-year-old's growth and self-realization with skill and subtlety. While some readers may be disturbed by the lack of details about Percy's past, this is a good character study of an intelligent young man who is trying to grow up and gain an understanding of his world.-Todd Morning, Schaumburg Township Public Library, IL Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Percival Montmount has his father's eyes. Literally. When his anthropologist father died from a tsetse fly bite in the Congo, the father's ghost appeared at young Percy's bedside and gave him his "glowing spirit eyes." Now, Percy sees the world as an anthropologist. Dispensing with the history of mankind and Canada in the first three paragraphs of chapter one, Percy proceeds to study the hominids of Groverly High School in Saskatoon. Readers are treated to field reports on the Jock Tribe, the Teacher Tribe, the Born-Again Tribe, and other segments of the ritualistic society of Grade Twelve. Percy's goal is a lofty one: "to discover where all of this was leading. Evolution, that is. It pointed forward, indicating an obvious mission for us, a next logical step. What was it?" But readers come to realize that, despite his self-assigned job as reporter, Percy is not seeing very well. He is wrong about his father and almost loses the one girl friend he has. He comes to realize that reporting events is not the same as living and feeling. In this short, well-paced outing, Slade manages a wide range of weighty topics-Darwin, evolution, the Big Bang, death, suicide, and first love-with a light, humorous touch. An entertaining, thought provoking read. Readers who enjoy Percy's story might be pointed toward Kurt Vonnegut's works. (Fiction. YA)

Kirkus Reviews