Better than Running at Night
by Hillary Frank On her first day after moving to attend an art college, Ellie attends a costume dance, where she meets a guy dressed as the devil. They dance and kiss and Ellie goes home with him. The devil's name is Nate Finerman, and he is a sophmore sculptor. Because she has deferred for a semester, Ellie attends an intensive six-week course. She has two classmates: Ralph, a gay fashion designer, and a very mellow graphic designer named Sam. The instructor is a very hyper, very enthusiastic, man named Ed. Although Ellie and her fellow students do not share Ed's extreme enthusiasm for his projects, they do enjoy them. Ellie's focus on Nate distracts her from the class. Ellie meets Nate's girlfriend, with whom Nate says he has an open relationship, and Ellie begins to look at her relationship with Nate more critically.
I didn't like Nate. He is unrelentingly selfish, asking for consideration from others that he does not extend to them. The book contains over forty small illustrations(by the author), unusual in a teen book. The pictures add emphasis to the story. Although most of the story is cohesive, I wondered why Ellie had deferred a semester. That deferring is usually done for a reason(such as an experience the student wishes to have) is not addressed; neither Sam nor Ralph offers a reason for deferring either.
Pleasant reading.
