Bruce Gevirtzman Reviews "Meetings at the Metaphor Café" by Robert Pacilio

If you are an English teacher--particularly American literature--you would want to read this novel right along with your students. And they will need to to explain many of the profundities about life and love hope that come in this book. The four kids at the Metaphor cafe explore and interpret life's complexities through assignments given to them by their own English teacher, Mr. B. To truly understand what the music of Bruce Springsteen, the novels of John Steinbeck, or the works of Mark Twain have to do with a Hollywood film called "Pleasantville or Don McClean's "American Pie," your students would have to carefully read this work and take some time to ponder. In an age when it is extraordinarily difficult for teachers to find timely, important literature to assign to their students, "Meetings At the Metaphor Cafe" fills in some of those gaps nicely. Don't worry about the simple writing style; the topics are complex enough to challenge the minds and hearts of teenagers everywhere.

Bruce Gevirtzman is the author of An Intimate Understanding of America's Teenagers and is the chief playwright for Phantom Projects, a acclaimed youth theater group. His work has been featured on PBS, NBC and the Los Angeles Times.