Teenagers learn about the environment (and, yes, about sex!) in inspiring, humorous fashion in “KABOOM!”
This young-adult novel by Brian Adams of Northampton is narrated by a 15-year-old girl. Cyndie lives in the fictional town of Greenfield, W.Va. She and her best friend, Ashley, wonder about boys, despise most of their teachers, and battle acne.
The two spend their spare time dreaming and talking at their “special, sacred place,” Mount Tom, named after a long-dead miner who fell off a cliff on the mountain long ago. The girls have named all their favorite trees on the mountain. An abandoned mine there serves as their private clubhouse.
Their lives take an unexpected turn when they learn that the American Mining Company has decided to blast the top off of their beloved mountain to gain access to the coal beneath. This controversial all-too-real practice is known as mountaintop removal.
The girls are appalled. Mountaintop removal would permanently damage the mountain and its ecosystem. It would also precipitate floods and pollution in the flatlands below.
With a little advice from their quirky science teacher, the girls form a group called KABOOM (Kids Against Blowing Off Our Mountaintops) to battle the forces of Big Coal.
Their group is controversial in a community and state in which coal is the major employer. The American Coal Company even influences the high-school administration by threatening to withhold much-needed donations in a poor school district.
As the girls gather support for their campaign to save the mountain, they grow more confident and more articulate. They also attract the romantic attention of two boys for whom they have pined for years.
Adams taught environmental science for many years at Greenfield Community College. His first work of comedic environmental fiction was “Love in the Time of Climate Change,” published in 2014. “KABOOM!” is even more fun than that book.
Cyndie, Ashley and Cyndie’s family are believable characters who evolve during the course of the novel. The story throws in a bit of history as Cyndie’s father and her love interest both participate in Civil-War reenactments.
It also throws in a lot of humor and even more environmental information. In the final analysis, the author, like his protagonists, laudably wants to save the world … with a smile.
Adams will talk about “KABOOM!” and sign copies of his new book on Saturday, May 14, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the World Eye Bookshop in Greenfield. Adams told me that he hopes readers will support their local independent bookstores and buy the book locally.
Tinky Weisblat is the author of “The Pudding Hollow Cookbook” and “Pulling Taffy.” Visit her website: www.TinkyCooks.com