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Californium

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A coming-of-age crossover novel about growing up, selling out, and fitting in.
     It's late summer 1982 when the Houghton family uproots from Paterson, New Jersey and moves to Yorba Linda, California—the self-anointed "Land of Gracious Living." Fourteen year-old Reece is trying his best to believe his family has come to California for the opportunities it affords and not to outrun a shared family secret, but he's beginning to realize that even his heroes have flaws, everybody lies, and starting a band may be his only chance at salvation. 
      With a bullhorn, a borrowed guitar, and his new best friends—Keith, a know-it-all who knows very little; and Treat, a mohawked kid obsessed with obscure albums—Reece starts a punk group of his own.
      While Reece's relationship with his parents suffers under the strain of new jobs, new friends, new crushes, and old secrets, his confidence soars. Even without a gig or a song they can play the same way twice, the buzz about the band is swirling, and it's not until the night of the band's first gig that Reece will fully understand how much of his new home is authentic, how much is artificial, and how some things, like the chemical element Californium, can be both at the same time.

352 pages, Paperback

Published July 19, 2016

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About the author

R. Dean Johnson

4 books35 followers
I haven't been R Dean Johnson my whole life. My parents named me Robert Dean Johnson, Jr. They called me Bobby. Everyone did until high school when I graduated to Bob. It felt mature, so I went with it. Who doesn't like a guy named Bob Johnson? It's a fine name up until the point you think you might want to be a writer.

I didn't know I'd want to become a writer. In fact, I started college at Cal Poly Pomona as an engineering major who wrote stories rather than doing his physics homework, graduated as a business major who wrote really plot-heavy stories about people who didn't like their jobs as business people, and left an ad agency job in Irvine, CA after four years to go back to school and learn more about writing stories. Good ones.

It wasn't until a brief stint in the MFA program at the University of Alabama that I discovered my namesake, The Robert Johnson. The guy whose name is synonymous with the Delta Blues. The guy who may or may not have sold his soul to the Devil at the crossroads and suddenly started doing things with a guitar unlike anyone else. The guy who died young and mysteriously. How can some kid from Anaheim (yes, home to Disneyland) compete with a guy that dangerous? A guy that cool? Well, I can't. And frankly. publishing anything as Bob Johnson sounds about as real to me as John Doe or Anonymous. So, I have two early publications as Robert Johnson, Jr., and the bulk of my work appears under the name, R. Dean Johnson.

I hold an MA in English from Kansas State University (Wildcats, not Jayhawks). After that brief stint at Alabama, I went on to earn an MFA in Creative Writing from Arizona State University (Sun Devils, not Wildcats).

After teaching stops at Prescott College (AZ), Yavapai College (AZ), Cameron University (OK), and Gotham Writers Workshop (NY), I am now an Associate Professor at Eastern Kentucky University where I teach fiction and creative nonfiction in our low res MFA program, Bluegrass Writers Studio.

All that, but I'm still just Bob. The guys on my softball team call me Bob. My undergrad and graduate students call me Bob. My wife, the writer Julie Hensley, calls me Bob. Even my kids (7 and 3) sometimes call me Bob. Pleased to meet you, I'm Bob.

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5 stars
39 (24%)
4 stars
58 (36%)
3 stars
46 (28%)
2 stars
14 (8%)
1 star
3 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
Profile Image for Cynthia Corral.
411 reviews71 followers
July 17, 2016
So keep in mind that 3 stars means "I liked it."
But I didn't love it. And it took me an incredibly long time to read it because I had other things I'd rather do.

I think the author has a good concept, and I like what he was trying to do, and I love how a lot came together with science in the end. But getting there was kind of a long, slow drag.

Initially I was all in with this book; I went to high school in NoCal in the 80s, and went to college in SoCal also in the 80s. The bands, the music, the clothes, the neighborhoods, the lifestyle --- the shopping at Miller's Outpost (!!!), it was a great step back into a time that I really loved. And I loved that it highlighted how a band (or any entity) becomes a legend. The rise of Dik Nixon in the book was fascinating and just inside the line of believability.

But there were so many things that took too long to uncover, and so the first two thirds was mostly a kind of very benign YA novel. It went on so long I wondered if we were ever going to get answers about Uncle Ryan or what's up with Treat and his family. I wish I could have known any of the three teen girls a bit better. Once we did start getting answers, so much more could have been done, if we'd gone deeper into those characters we could have had a solid book. But instead it focused on the band, and although I do understand what the author was going for, I just don't think it quite got there.

Thumbs up for the very real characters of Reece's parents, and I think the character of Keith was great. I also give it several personal points for making the periodic table such a big part of this book - that damn periodic table had a great impact on the start of my own high school life, an impact I won't get into but it was enough that the focus on the table here made sense to me.

Do I recommend this? Hmmm. If you are a teenage boy, yes. If you grew up in the 80s and want to check this book out, I say give it a go. I genuinely hope you enjoy it more than I did. I'm not sure I would go out of my way to recommend to anyone else.

Thank you very much to Penguin First-to-Read for allowing me a copy for review.
Profile Image for Courtney.
197 reviews
June 7, 2018
I couldn’t put this book down.

It’s about a boy coming of age in Orange County in the 80s during the punk scene. Growing up in Orange County myself and listening to my parents stories about that time and working in the music industry and seeing most of the bands mentioned, it was super fun to read about it from that perspective. The way the author wrote really pulls you in to caring about the characters and feeling like you really know them and i love the small town elements of creating a universe for the story to take place in. This one was real and had places I’ve been to. I could totally see this book being made into a movie one day with almost a lords of dogtown or the warriors feel to it.
50 reviews1 follower
December 3, 2018
I don't normally read YA novels, but I really, really liked this book.

The characters are so well developed, so likeable and the plot is often complex, moving and insightful.

The story transported me back to my own high-school days, and made me wish I was back there again. I really didn't want this story to end - I loved it
September 6, 2020
Very well written book pertaining to growing up in SoCal as a teenager just getting into the punk scene. Coming of age story for a couple of outcasts finding their way.
Profile Image for Susan.
2,990 reviews
July 27, 2016
This was not a "blow you away", "oh my gosh" 5 star book. However, it was a well-written look into life in the early 80s in Southern California, life of a 14 year old dealing with his own internal struggles and those of being a teen boy in high school, and a fun look at the music and culture of the time. Mentions of Tower Records and Millers Outpost, helped keep the nostalgia level high and firmly placed the story in its time. But even if you aren't a child of the 80s, the characters and situations are timeless. Reece, the central figure in the book, steals your heart with his obvious boy-like cluelessness and angst over a situation I can't tell you about so as not to spoil it. Don't let the humorous title lead you astray, this book offers quality writing, wonderfully human characters, and a story line that will take us all back to those uncomfortable teen years.

A preview copy of this book was provided by Penguin First to Read in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Jennifer Spiegel.
Author 9 books91 followers
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December 23, 2017
It's been a while since I've read it, but I'm thinking RULE OF THE BONE. There's some CATCHER too. This sweet bildungsroman covers the time-I think I might say--just before the angst sets in. This is an early portrait of Gen X. Gen X as kids. Gen X on the cusp. Gen X without cynicism. When girls dressed in big sweatshirts that fell off naked shoulders, all Flashdancy.
Profile Image for Lisa Day.
94 reviews5 followers
May 1, 2018
Teenage boy's mind revealed

Bob Johnson's novel is far more than bildungsroman; it's a story of friendship and self-discovery, familial relationships, and the difficult process of grief. The book takes me back to my own high school experience in the 80s, and it's a relief to learn that boys think about the same basic things in similarly neurotic ways as girls.
Profile Image for Brooke Raby.
5 reviews5 followers
May 25, 2017
Definitely a crossover, but most enjoyable for adults. A lyrical introduction to disappointment, anticipation, bewilderment, grief, and finding your own groove. The writing is top-notch, even if the subject feels worn. But I've never wanted a used jacket with band patches more in my life.
5 reviews1 follower
September 12, 2020
Timeless ÷ Nostalgia

Lyrical, funny to the point of farce but yet so real. Evocative and absolutely accurate - captures what it was like to be in SoCal in the 80s and to be in High School always and everywhere.
Profile Image for Luke.
357 reviews8 followers
May 9, 2017
Full disclosure to the author (whom I know as Bob, and consider a friend): I started this book more because he wrote it, though the subject matter was of interest to me. I'm obsessed with '80s music, but I've never gotten into punk (I'm a new wave and post-punk kind of guy), so I didn't know what to expect. However, the more I read it, the more I got into it, and by the end I was thoroughly blown away. Johnson did something rather miraculous with this book: he got me nostalgic for high school, which largely sucked for me, but I honestly started believing that my experience was like Reece's. I started focusing on the times I walked to my next class every day with a girl from Spanish class and spending lunch with a close group of friends in the German room rather than the fact that I had to deal with bullies in the classroom or coming home depressed instead of hanging out with friends.

This book does two things really well that many Books About High School do not: the main one being that, sometimes, high school can be pretty damn great, even if it takes work. And that was refreshing, after book after book of tumultuous teen years of lonerism and barely surviving. Reece had his fair share of struggles, but he didn't let them overwhelm or define him. The other thing this book does well is satirize the idea of Anti-Establishment as the New Establishment. Reece and Keith are so focused on being punk that they forget that they aren't really into it. Poserism punk is a refreshingly humorous concept that encompasses the all-too familiar pressure to make a statement in high school, even if you aren't being true to yourself (I remember a kid who wore flowery disco shirts and bell-bottom pants every day and carried an eight-track player around, and he definitely made a name for himself).

By the end, this book ended up speaking to me in ways I didn't think it would (sorry for doubting you, Bob!), and that's rare. I'd definitely recommend this book to any adult male who went to public high school, whether they remember it fondly or not. I think anyone could enjoy this book, but I'd almost say it's required reading for those of us who lived through similar experiences.
Profile Image for Barbara.
515 reviews17 followers
May 18, 2020
Full disclosure, I was in grad. school with the author, so I may be slightly biased.

Californium is a good book about teens starting a punk rock band in 1982 Yorba Linda, CA. It deals with identity, the power of music and fitting in and out. The references to 1980s culture and events are spot-on. No wrong note that I could discern. Its description of music is well done.

Reece and his family have moved from Paterson, NJ to Yorba Linda, CA where Richard Nixon is from, which is important to the story. He starts a punk band called DikNixon with Treat who has a mohawk and Keith, who thinks he knows everything. Along the way we meet their parents, and friends and possible girlfriends. Like Astrid, Cherise and Edie. There are also tensions between his identity as a family member and his identity in the band. And things interweave with both families, the punk and relational. I thought occasionally of Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as Young Man, if there were more discussions about the Buzzcocks and the Clash.

So I first heard part of this book in a thesis presentation some years ago. I knew that when it came out I had to read it. It’s been some years, but I did finally. I really liked the world Johnson creates. He gets the ‘80s references well. I didn’t detect a wrong note at all. Also, there are a few in-jokes that you appreciate differently if you know the author. I also really liked the characters, flaws and all. They seemed like real people. I loved Edie. I loved the scene where Reece is at the party and making the drinks and referring to various chemical elements. I loved the part where the hierarchy is broken and people connect. I loved a lot of details, like about Treat’s parents. And so many other things. These are mostly smart kids and you care about them. And it celebrates the joy of music.

If you have questions whether your teens should read it, it’s your call. Some of it they really won’t track and I guess language.

So, turn up the Clash, or Operation Ivy or Social Distortiion and enjoy this book.

5 stars.
Profile Image for Kathy Stone.
364 reviews49 followers
September 13, 2016
This is a story of the new kid. There is an undercurrent of sadness as Reece tries to navigate high school in new state. He wants to fit in, but does know how. He meets up with a neighbor boy who pretends to know everything, but does not really know anything and a punk rock wannabe who is also depressed. The difference is that Reece finds a productive use for his grief while his friend Treat does not and as a result a friendship is destroyed. This is a hard lesson for teens to learn as they navigate first crushes and dreams that turn to naught, but through the destruction of a band in a public setting Reece finds his own way in Yorba Linda, CA and comes to terms with the loss of his uncle.

This novel is set in 1982 when the threat of nuclear war is real and punk rock was the music of choice for rebellious teens. It is interesting as a personal reflection that I was a few years younger than the characters in this novel. My teachers talked of this music, but hair metal was what appealed most to my peers. The more rebellious listened to Metal. This book is point on accurate of fitting in and chasing girls at this time. Especially where the Freshman boys cannot get dates with the girls they like because upperclassmen better. High school is difficult and making new friends in a strange place is even more difficult. It is hard to lose someone you were close to. This book is spot on with the issues of teenage angst.
Profile Image for Julie Hicks.
147 reviews3 followers
July 26, 2016
This book is a fantastic coming of age novel during a time when rebellion is about finding yourself. This book captures teen angst in a storyline that uses punk rock and seeking popularity to follow the story of a young man named Reece. Reece wants nothing more than to be noticed especially after he returns from New York. He left a life he loved behind especially the one he looks up to Themistocles, his Uncle Ryan. We follow Reece as he learns that growing pains are real, some friends are fake, and you live and learn. But no matter what your family is still your family. Johnson is very talented detail oriented writer. He focuses on character development that makes you feel like you know the characters. His vivid scene settings make the story come alive. I can say the story was one I thought would be more action packed by the title and cover but it is perfect just the way I read it!
20 reviews1 follower
August 23, 2016
Undeniably funny, this coming-of-age novel is about the teenage boy who longs to be accepted. The New Jersey high schooler, Reece, struggles with a move to California in the 1980s, as his tight-knit relationship with his father sours. Reece finds his way in adolescene, mourns the new family dynamic of a father who is emotionally and physically absent, and looks for ways to make friends in a radically new environment at school. His answer to his problems? Start a punk rock band. The author is hilarious, reminding us of the absurdity of our teen years. I couldn't stop laughing when the main characther uses Neil Diamond songs as insipiration for his punk rock lyrics. Iconic read that will keep you laughing.
241 reviews2 followers
September 6, 2016
This book is fantastic. I was about five years older than the teens in this book and growing up in the frozen north but dreams of rebellion and punk rock supremacy guided me through the terror and pain of adolescence. We really had nothing to be angry about but like Treat needed to look and act the part, to trick both ourselves and those around us as to who we really were. Thank you for bringing these awkward days so vividly back to life. Not sure my buddies who were into Van Halen and ACDC would get this but for guys like me who locked themselves into their bedrooms and listened to the Clash, Iggy, and the Ramones over and over till the grooves were worn out, this is our moment and our story. Thank you.
Profile Image for Tracy Haught.
5 reviews1 follower
November 21, 2017
What a thoroughly enjoyable read. Californium is a nostalgic trip back to the 80's when friendship consisted of actually having to walk down to your friends house rather than pick up your cellphone. When you actually used your imagination, explored your neighborhood, and talked to people with your voice, not your fingers. The Wonder Years came to mind as I read. The author does a beautiful job of creating a main character , Reece, whose voice sings the song of innocence, angst, and rebellion, touching that bittersweet spot in your heart where the joys and scars of adolescence live forever.
78 reviews
June 18, 2023
I picked this up because of the cover & liked it. Coming of age without going gross, which seems to be the trend. Sweet in a way.
Profile Image for Steve Davis.
5 reviews15 followers
July 7, 2022
A fun read about a boy from NJ who moved to California during his formative years. He encounters the challenges of fitting-in and adapting to a new social environment, and forms a band with two of his friends. The story was easy to follow, entertaining, and relatable to someone who grew up in California in the 80’s. The author did a phenomenal job describing the characters in the book, making me feel like I was right there with them, as I regressed back to adolescence and became emotionally invested throughout the story.
Profile Image for Stephanie Faris.
Author 17 books91 followers
January 16, 2018
Californium introduces us to Reece, a 14-year-old teen with a heart of gold. Soon after moving to California with his family, he meets Keith and Treat...and the three of them start a punk group. The nostalgia factor is huge for those who grew up in the 80s, but mostly I just enjoyed seeing that side of the 80s-teen experience. Also, Reece is such a lovable character, you can't help but root for him throughout this coming-of-age story.
Profile Image for Laurie.
211 reviews20 followers
April 30, 2017
A good coming-of-age novel about a high school freshman in a new school. It will make you remember your high school days with fond memories or some anxiety. A great read for teenagers. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.
Profile Image for Richard Stuecker.
Author 3 books23 followers
February 23, 2021
Superb comic novel about an outlier high school student from the East Coast finding himself in an Orange County California high school. This is the tale of the finding of the garage band, Dik Nixon, and adolescents finding manhood in the 1980’s.
Profile Image for Steven.
Author 1 book41 followers
December 7, 2016
A book that perfectly captures coming of age in my hometown, Yorba Linda, CA. Loved all the references to Yorba Linda Blvd and Esperanza, the workings of the high school rumor mill, and the homegrown punk scene.
Profile Image for Heidi Kirsch.
211 reviews1 follower
August 14, 2016
I received an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review.

I was interested in the book because it was about adolescence in the 80's and 'punk rock.'
Profile Image for Randy.
108 reviews1 follower
July 16, 2018
Reminds me of my high school years and the decit in the music business as well, no matter how old you are.
Profile Image for Katie Harder-schauer.
909 reviews51 followers
September 24, 2016
I received a copy of this book through Penguin's First to Read program in exchange for an honest review.

For some reason I had it in my head that this book was set 10-15 years before it is, so there was a bit of a social disconnect for me for a while, until I went and read the blurb again. Things started to make a little more sense then. It was a little surreal for me reading something that really qualifies as historical fiction (in my opinion) that is set at a time when I almost existed. Surely I can't be that old right?

I wanted to like this book. I wanted to be sucked into it and not let go. Neither of those things happened for me. I would have been fine letting my loan expire without finishing it, except that I don't like not finishing books. It wasn't bad, but it was just kind of meh for me. Almost like a boring Dazed and Confused.

There were some questions that I did kind of want to know the answers to, and I am glad I finished the book and got those answers, or at least started on the path towards them, but it wasn't anything that I wanted to know so badly that I stayed up all night just to keep reading.

Overall I give Californium 3 out of 5 stars.

Review originally posted on Just Another Girl and Her Books blog.
http://www.justanothergirlandherbooks...
Profile Image for Jim Collett.
492 reviews2 followers
September 19, 2016
I won a copy of this book from Read It Forward. It is a nice little coming-of-age novel set in California in the early 1980s. Punk rock, or at least the illusion of punk rock (!), plays a significant role in the story. While I was not much into that music, I knew enough to understand the references, clothing style, etc. I thought the language was a little rough in places for young adult literature, but perhaps I'm just too prudish. The primary character, a high school freshman, has just relocated to California with his family, for reasons we eventually learn, and the story deals with his efforts to make friends, fit in and, of course, interact with girls. Despite the first-person narrative, we don't learn some things until late in the novel, but they are not impossible to guess and a few things are never directly explained but, again, that works OK. As a former teacher, I enjoyed the way school and teachers were a realistic part of the story, true to kids, but not cardboard stereotypes. I think this is a nice, fairly light read, that brought smiles but no deep laughs, enjoyable but perhaps not destined to become a classic.
Profile Image for Terri.
Author 10 books37 followers
July 14, 2016
Reece is a teenager living in California in the 1980s. Not only is he a freshman in a new school, but his whole family moved from New Jersey to California. It is up to Reece and the friends he makes to begin understanding who he is and where he wants to go next, and how he can get over missing his beloved Uncle Ryan. In Californium the clock is turned back—readers are dropped into the high school life where you're going to be put in a box: are you a jock, a nerd, a punk or what? The decisions Reece makes will help him determine just who he is to his friends, his family and himself.

This is a classic coming-of-age story, but it also provides a lot of elements of how family dynamics can change when kids get older and move on to new interests. I liked the book overall, even if the secondary plot of Reece's relationship with Uncle Ryan is predictable instead of surprising.

*Received a copy of this book through Penguin First to Read
Profile Image for Lisa Workman.
198 reviews10 followers
July 18, 2016
I wasn't sure that I would like this book, as I have never liked punk rock, but the book is really more of a coming of age story with a focus on friendships and self-discovery. As an 80s kid, I found it to be relatable, and an overall enjoyable light read. I won a copy of this in a Goodreads giveaway and the opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Megan.
17 reviews5 followers
May 23, 2018
Disclaimer: I won a free copy of this book from www.firsttoread.com. This review is also posted on www.goodreads.com

The "Coming of Age" genre focuses on identity. Who you are, who people think you are, and the multiple identities you walk in amongst your peers, family, and the larger circles around you. As the novel progresses, we get to see Reece transform from the new kid in school who's trying to find a way to fit in, to a young man who is starting to understand the complexities of life. CALIFORNIUM had a lot of elements (pun unintended) that should have added up to something good, but in the end, it was a little lackluster. While I was compelled to keep reading because I wanted to see how it all turned out, I never felt truly connected to the characters. In some places, it felt like things were moving too fast, especially the post-DikNixon show climax. Other things, like the frequent calling out to elements or the way that Reece and his friends talked to each other, felt wildly off the mark. I found Treat to be way too forced a character, as if he was supposed to remind us that it was the 80s--a tactic that didn't really work. It honestly felt like this could have taken place in any era after the rise of punk music, so I wish there had been more to make me feel like it taking place in the 80s was important to the feel of the story.

Stunningly mediocre. A perfect 4 on the ph scale. No strong feelings one way or the other. The stereotypical thing you think of when you think of YA fiction.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews

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