WALDEN by Michael Dolan

Reviewed by Toni Merriss

For many young adults, college is their first experience of truly being on their own. It can be a confusing time, full of doubts and a true sense of finding ones self.
In Michael Dolan’s first novel, Walden, the main character, Walden Walden XVI, has lived in the shadows of his entire family for as long as he can remember. Attending the same university that Waldens have for centuries does not help young Walden much in his journey to establish his individuality.

If there was ever a story of a predetermined path with no thought of how the actual person would respond, this is it.

With ancestors dating back to the very first graduating class at the university and even writing the schools “Alma Mater,” there is a lot of pressure put on Walden by both his family and the faculty to excel just as every other Walden has previously done.
Sometimes going to extremes, just to try to break his family “mold,” Walden acts out and quite often makes a person wonder if even he can tell the difference between real-life and his dreams. From “freeing” the soon to be dissected lab pigeons to setting the university library on fire, Walden is headed down a one way street with little hope of a very necessary U-turn.

The one bright light in his otherwise dark tunnel of a life is his female “friend,” Brooke, who he feels most comfortable around. Brooke represents everything that Walden could possibly see in his future until readers are left with a question in their minds if she made it out of the burning library unharmed.

Never being the type of person to see the glass half-full, every opportunity that Walden is given in his life, he not only finds a way to somehow mess it up but also resents the fact that he was even given a chance to mess it up. He views his life as more of a curse than a blessing and quite often gives the impression that he truly has no aspirations other than not being the typical Walden success story.

The novel ends with a surprise when Walden takes yet another drastic step to set himself apart from his well-known and respected family, once again baffling his father who sees no problem with his high-level of expectations for young Walden.
This book has more twists and turns than a roller coaster, not to mention the multiple double meanings spread throughout. After reading this, it rather makes you feel like even though things can get rough once in awhile, at least you are not Walden Walden XVI. Now that kid has it rough.