Short and sweet, sad and optimistic. A teen issue novel, but with sweet, complicated characters that make it worthwhile. Really liked it. ( )

subject matter was interesting but the writing was pretty elementary and simplistic. lots of random plot lines introduced and never followed through on, and writing somehow felt lazy and like it was trying too hard at the same time. again, story was interesting but it was a kinda laborsome to finish. ( )

Big fan of Blondie here, which made me pick up the book in the first place. Entertaining in points but felt a bit naive. The male protagonist's voice just didn't ring entirely true to me. ( )

The story follows Johnny from the tragedy of losing his father, through drug additiction and loneliness, to a new start living with his uncle and making friends with Maria, a rebel. Johnny learns that there are those who love him, even if he does like to dress up like Debbie Harry. ( )

Reviewed by Breanna F. for TeensReadToo.com

Johnny has had a bit of a tough life so far and he has always been somewhat of a freak. When he was younger, his father died and his mother completely fell apart. Johnny had to learn how to pay the bills and practically take care of the both of them. When Johnny ended up falling into the Goth scene, his mother somehow came out of her funk and became all concerned for Johnny. All Johnny wants to do is party with his friends and drink. But, one night at a club, this girl gives him some sort of drug when all he wanted was an aspirin - and he ends up in the hospital from a drug overdose.

Of course, after the overdose, his mother sends him to rehab, and while there Johnny discovers Debbie Harry of Blondie singing in French. He is immediately taken aback. Debbie's voice blows him away, and it doesn't hurt that she's a complete bombshell.

After Johnny gets back from rehab, things are a bit weird between him and his mother. His mom can't handle it, so she sends him away to live with his Uncle Sam and his daughter, Bug, in South Carolina. Johnny is flaming angry at first, but once there realizes that his Uncle is pretty great and Bug is an awesome little kid. And of course, there's Maria Costello (as in Elvis). She's an interesting girl who Johnny takes a liking to pretty quickly. When Maria discovers Johnny's love of Debbie, and that secretly Johnny wants to be like her, she buys this dress that looks like one of Debbie's and tells Johnny about a drag contest in New York. At first Johnny doesn't know whether she's serious or if she's making fun of him.

With trying to practice for the contest, helping Bug with projects for school, getting bullied nonstop by some guys who used to be Maria's friends, and dealing with the fact that his mother can't handle him, Johnny has a lot on his plate.

DEBBIE HARRY SINGS IN FRENCH was a great debut novel by Meagan Brothers. It puts you inside the head of a pretty confused young man. Things are tough enough for teenagers in the first place, but when you throw in the loss of a parent things can be even harder. The title had me intrigued when I first picked up this book and it didn't let me down. Johnny was a really great in-depth character and so was Maria.

If you're in the mood for reading about a slightly troubled boy who turns to Debbie Harry and his girlfriend Maria to keep him from starting to drink again, then this is a great book for you. ( )

When I first finished this book, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I thought the story was interesting, and there were parts of it I thought were done well, but it felt almost too light. I’m not saying I was expecting a heavy-handed tale, or even that I think that it should have been, but it seemed as if the “big issue” that’s pushed about the book is actually skirted around (no pun intended) for a lot of the story.
I think the biggest surprise in reading this is that it’s not until almost halfway through the book that Johnny even seriously considers dressing like Debbie Harry. To me it seemed like the book would deal more with Johnny working through his confusion, and either trying to keep it a secret from his girlfriend and family or dealing with their reactions to it. But it’s really not. It’s more about a boy who has made some mistakes, mistakes that almost killed him, and is sent to another state to an uncle he barely knows and has to rebuild his life. The story, as it’s told, isn’t a bad one, but it wasn’t what I was expecting.
Johnny is an interesting character because throughout the course of the book he takes on three or four different personas depending on who he’s with at the time. He didn’t strike me as a person who changes because he thinks he has to in order to fit in, but because he’s trying to figure out the person he wants to be. I think that made him as a main character a little hard to grasp onto, because I could never get a good feel for who Johnny really was, but at the same time it was a realistic portrayal of the period in life when guys and girls are trying to establish their identities. He seemed like a good kid in the sense that he was genuinely committed to cleaning up his life and worked hard to that end. And although he was a little confused about why he felt comfortable in a dress, he was confident enough that he didn’t bend to the petty taunting of some of his classmates, which was admirable. However, it’s Johnny’s relationship with his Uncle Sam and the subsequent discoveries about his father that are the most poignant parts of the story in my eyes.
Although the story wasn’t focused in the direction I came in expecting it to be, I actually liked how the transvestite angle was covered in the sense that it’s enough to start a dialogue that may not otherwise happen. It blurs the stereotypical lines of what it means to be heterosexual versus homosexual, and shows that snap judgments that people make regarding sexuality can be far from true.
I wasn’t wowed by this book, but because of its unique storyline and ability to open discussions about controversial issues, I found it to be worth reading. ( )

This book has barely anything to do with 'Debbie Harry' but is clever and [humorously] written. The title made me choose this book. AHS/KA

This book has barely anything to do with “Debbie Harry,” but it’s clever and funnily written. AHS/KA

Johnny turns to drinking after his dad dies in a car accident. His mother is overcome by grief and isn’t much of a mother at all. Johnny takes over the responsibilities of the grocery shopping, paying the bills and caring for his mother the way she should be caring for him. Drinking seems to be the only thing that can relieve the stress. His drinking habits also influence his choice of friends and his appearance. He’s used to being called names in his black clothes, black hair, black nails and eyeliner. When Johnny wakes in the hospital from a possible drug overdose, his mom sends him to live with his father’s brother, Uncle Sam, in South Carolina.The one thing, well the one person that keeps Johnny on the straight and narrow is Debbie Harry the singer from Blondie. Once Johnny heard her singing in his stay in rehab, he has a slight obsession. He wishes he could be more like her, strong, tough, cool and beautiful. At his new school Johnny meets Maria who also shares in his love of music. He knows he is falling in love with Maria, so why does he want to be Debbie Harry and wear her clothes?Have you heard of Debbie Harry Sings in French? Well, I hadn't and I wasn’t sure what to expect. But this novel ended up leaving a strong impression. Johnny’s story is very interesting to say the least. This books main theme is a teen trying to find his identity, he doesn’t think he is gay, but he likes to feel beautiful and he even wears a dress in one part of the story. Brother’s also incorporates a very real and compelling look into homosexuality and transvetism. I couldn’t help but feel empathetic. He ends up learning more about his father toward the end of the story and Johnny’s musical and artistic style makes more sense. Debbie Harry Sings in French is Meagan Brother’s debut novel. I would recommend it to readers who like music and are looking for something fresh and enlightening. ( )

Meagan Brothers' first novel tells the story of Johnny, a Florida teen, who takes over for his mom when his dad is killed in a car accident. After 3 years of drinking, Johnny's mom makes a full recovery and wants to be a parent to him again. But in the meantime, he's been doing all the chores, paying bills, and taking care of business, as well as partying hard. One night, Johnny's out with friends after drinking heavily. A girl in his group gives him ecstasy when he asks for aspirin, and he's hospitalized for an overdose. Johnny's mom ships him off to rehab and then to his Uncle's house. In rehab, he discovered Blondie and he continues his obsession with Blondie at his new school in South Carolina. He meets Maria, who becomes his girlfriend, and he starts to become more and more interested in singing Blondie songs as Debbie Harry, not just singing along as Johnny. The angle that Brothers uses in this novel--Johnny's straight, but likes to dress in drag and perform--fills a niche that is pretty empty at the moment. A lot of books portray characters that are questioning their sexuality, but none seem to have straight transvestite characters. Meagan Brothers does a good job of filling this gap; this is her first novel and I think that if she writes another one, she'll have further developed and refined her style. I think that one area that needs work is the voice: I never quite believed that I was hearing from a male narrator. The tone never allowed me to forget that I was reading a female author writing as a 16-year old boy. Thus, the deduction in stars. But I do think that this author shows promise and the book addresses an under-served topic. And, the sex scene that appears in the book uses condoms. It's safe sex, and it's not presented like an after school special. Brothers gets points there. Recommended for all high school library and public library teen collections. ( )

A very entertaining read. Frank without offending those with delicate sensibilities. Johnny's dad died in a car accident when he was 12, and his mom was so depressed that he spent the next years dealing with things way beyond his maturity level. When she suddenly wakes up and discovers he is a goth alcohol abuser who almost ODs, she sends him to live with his uncle in Florida. When he discovers Blondie, he realizes that he wants to be as beautiful as Debbie Harry, and his open-minded new girlfriend helps him to figure out how. ( )

Johnny's had a tough life. His father dies, his mom refuses to leave the house, and he starts drinking, and he gets teased at school and labeled as gay. When a near death experience with drugs wakes his mom up to his condition, Johnny is sent to rehab and then to his uncle's house. He finds comfort in the songs of Debbie Harry and Maria, a friend he hopes will become something more. But soon he starts to think he might want to dress like Debbie Harry too? Does this make him gay, or just different? ( )

Johnny's life hasn't been easy. After his dad died, his mom lost it and turned into a zombie, leaving Johnny to take care of the house, the bills, the family, and himself. He starts drinking to help him get through the days and sleep at night. Johnny's only sort of friend, his older babysitter, Tessa, has stopped coming around since he's older and his mom can't pay her, anyway. But what Tessa left with him was a love for cool music like Depeche Mode and the Cure. At school he makes friends with some goth kids, and he starts treating himself "like an art project," dying his hair black and wearing make-up. Together they party and go to clubs, and everything is going fine - as fine as it can, for Johnny - until his mother suddenly wakes up one day and finds religion and starts getting on Johnny's case about his new look and his new friends. To make matters worse, he has an accident at one of the clubs and ends up in rehab where he is introduced to his new obsession: Debbie Harry, the lead singer of Blondie. Debbie is tough and beautiful and even though he's a straight guy, he thinks, Johnny sort of wants to BE her. When his mother sends Johnny off to start over in a new town with his uncle, Johnny finds himself for the first time in his life in a position to get to know himself, and with the help of his uncle, Blondie, and his new girlfriend, he begins to discover a new kind of happiness. Meagan Brothers does a great job of capturing an angsty teen without being melodramatic, striking a note somehow new to teen fiction. Debbie Harry Sings in French is a fast read, a story of recovery and of self-discovery wrapped in a convenient, but enjoyable, musical package. ( )

Johnny has had a pretty hard life. His dad died when he was twelve and his mom collapsed in on herself, leaving him to pay the bills and take care of the house. Johnny turned to alcohol to dull the stress and ended up in rehab by age 16. When he gets out of rehab, Johnny's mom sends him to live with an uncle in North Carolina and Johnny has to start over with a new school and even a new family. As Johnny starts to figure out life there, he finally begins to find himself. This is a coming-of-age story that will appeal to music buffs. Hand it over to fans of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. ( )

The best thing about this book- you never know where it is headed. At every turn, the author avoided the obvious or easy answers and took the characters into unexpected places. I tore through this book in an evening and genuinely enjoyed it. Fans of books such as "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist", "Hairstyles of the Damned" and "Beige" will enjoy the ride. ( )

http://advanced-reader.blogspot.com/2007/12/coutez-moi.html ( )