Toronto writer Jules Lewis’s debut novel follows Jim Myers, a quiet teen, as he moves into the insanity that is junior high in Toronto’s west end. Despite, or perhaps because of, his introversion, Jim is drawn to mouthy, opinionated, feral boys who are more than willing to accept him into their world of pool halls, arcades, and back alleys. With this premise, Waiting for Ricky Tantrum has the potential to be a powerful work that offers significant social insight and awareness of the subtleties of contemporary teen culture.  Unfortunately, it falls well short of the mark.

The story is presented as a series of vignettes that jump between characters and across time. Reading the novel is like listening to a dozen simultaneous shouted conversations, all taking place in a crowded after-school hangout. Just as one exchange begins to coalesce, another takes its place, drowning out everything that has come before. These vignettes never gel to form a cohesive (or coherent) narrative. 

Nor is there an effective character study to compensate for the book’s lack of a unified narrative. Rather than acting as a developing character in his own right, Jim serves more as a backboard against which a host of characters – from his group of friends to hostile teachers to angry arcade owners – bounce their raucous “philosophies.” Jim responds hesitantly to these barrages of information, often seeming confused and rarely adding to the conversation.

Lewis focuses on his characters’ developing sexuality more than any other aspect of their lives. Waiting for Ricky Tantrum is certainly up front in its depictions of sexuality, but it lacks any insight, settling instead for a rampant and disturbing misogyny. The female characters in the novel are either pathetic moms, wives, and teachers who have no control over their kids or their lives, or are depicted as strictly sexual objects. 

One can’t help but question who the intended reader of this novel might be. Although it is being published as general fiction, stylistically it resembles a young adult high-interest/low-vocabulary title; lacking the filters one expects from such titles, however, its content is unsuitable for younger readers. Adult readers, on the other hand, are likely to be deterred by its lopsided depiction of teen life and its considerable narrative failings.