It’s been over two months since a book review, and now’s as good a time as any to talk about The Darling Budds, by Johnny Dale. This is going to be a little unorthodox, because it’s an ongoing serialized work with installments being published each week, but bear with me.

(Some of you know that I’m friends with Johnny; I’ve even been a guest on his blog a few times. This book is basically the reason we’re friends. I stumbled across it more or less accidentally, read it, loved it, and pestered him so much with breathless emails demanding updates that he had no choice but to acknowledge my existence.)

Title: The Darling Budds
Author: Johnny Dale
Year Published: 2008 – present
Genre: Young Adult
Serialization: Serial novel in progress
Rating: 9/10
Premise: By the end of their junior year, twins Alexander and Lillian Budd have completely revolutionized the social landscape of elite New Orleans private school Beaumonde Academy. Even the seniors are forced to grudgingly acknowledge the influence of their band of friends. But when their father is caught up in a political scandal at the beginning of the summer, the Budds are whisked away from the city until the storm passes. Their friends are left behind to figure out who they really are and what they mean to each other–and just maybe, who orchestrated the scandal–in the absence of the Darling Budds.

I know the term “serial novel” is confusing, but think of it as a TV series. Rather than focusing on one very defined and narrow storyline like a movie, the serial novel has an overarching “season”-long plot, but with side stories and character development “episodes”.

Review: Normally I’m pretty okay with the fact that a lot of my friends don’t enjoy being on the computer for five hours at a time, but once in a while I’ll come across something that makes me want to lock them up in a room with a computer until they’ve finished reading it. This is one of those things. The only reason The Darling Budds didn’t get a 10/10 is because only about half the book has been released, and I want to see the rest of the chapters.

Though there’s a real plot involving a political conspiracy, thematically this story is about love. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a love story, however; there are get-togethers and break-ups, yes, but more than anything else it’s just about being in love: with the city, with the summer, with the night. I know that sounds really cheesy, but watching the gang that stays behind in New Orleans tentatively navigate a world without their leaders, you can’t help but be struck by how much each character loves the world they’ve built, and that they ache to truly belong to. Similarly, reading the book is an exercise in falling in love, but with the characters usually found on the fringes of a story.

The writing really reinforces this as well. I really appreciate the careful way Johnny describes each character, lingering on subtle touches like a stray strand of hair or a creased shirt. His affection for the characters shines through in every new chapter.

When I reviewed I Capture The Castle a few months ago, I said I liked how respectful the author was of the characters. I feel like that about this novel as well…there’s never an undertone of amusement at the characters’ expense, and there’s never a sense that a “grown-up” writer is talking down to his younger readers. The characters are real almost to a fault, and it’s a little painful sometimes how much I relate to the honest confrontation of their flaws. There’s an intentional misdirection in the title: the book isn’t really about the Budds, who have yet to actually appear in person. However, it’s really fascinating to see how each character defines themselves in context of these central but absent figures….what teenager doesn’t relate to the feeling of being utterly overshadowed by a friend?

As I mentioned, I am perhaps more open to reading a novel online than most people, but even I was daunted by the length of this book when I first came across it. How many chapters? Maybe I’ll just go back to Twitter. Thankfully for me, the Budds is a really smooth and addicting read. The writing is well-paced, and the weekly updates make you feel like you’re experiencing the story with the characters. Just like watching a TV show on DVD, at the end of one episode/chapter, you can’t help but reach for the next installment.

(And what’s almost more impressive: Johnny’s built a veritable media empire around this world.)

Totally worth the time investment. Go read now, please, so I have someone I can fangirl over this with.

Aside: I don’t want to  spoil anything, but one of the pairings in the book… the yearning and  subtlety of their relationship is just heartbreaking. It’s what you wish  your summer fling had actually been like. (I care about their  relationship more than is probably healthy for me.)