The Chalk Artist

The Chalk Artist is the newest novel by author, Allegra Goodman.  She has written another terrific plot that gives the reader food for thought.

This time the novel centers around the gaming industry and the children and adults, who are totally caught up in it.  They are glued to their computers and the virtual friendships they think they are making inside the game.  Goodman shows us how it becomes an all consuming lifestyle to the detriment of school, work and real relationships.

Aeroflakes or chalk dust, that is how our characters see the world.  Aiden and Diana are twins, who are facing the teen years each with their own inadequacies.  Aiden is the conventional nerd, has a hard time fitting with other kids in school socially.  He has found the world of on line gaming a great escape.  He can be tough and dangerous int he game, where he is shy and intimidated in real life.  It has taken over his life.  He is locked away in his room and always on his computer even though his mother has forbid it.  Diana wants to be a good twin and not report on her brother.  She also has personal image problems and only one friend.  She writes in her journal about her feelings, which her teacher can read.

Aiden and Diana are working against the pull of the computer game to be successful in school and at home with their mother and their friends.

The teacher is Nina, the daughter of the Arcadia the role playing game company founder.   She is trying to find a way to each the children in her classes the beauty of literature and poetry.   She is fighting against the world her father is helping to promote.  She sees the danger in this unreal world of aeroflakes, which are all temporary and disappear in a moment.

She meets Collin, who is working as a waiter in a Harvard Square bar along with other odd jobs.  He is the Chalk Artist, who draws beautiful paintings on the sidewalk to be washed away in the next rain.
He is lacking in self confidence, which Nina wants to help him find.  She gets him a job at her father’s gaming company.

Nina and Collin must work through all the pitfalls of romance, love and work against the pull of the gaming world to either lose their relationship or come out winners in the end.