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Book Summary

Reviewed byMatt Berman
Fifteen-year-old Sam is an ordinary, nice kid. He gets along pretty well with his single mom, who had him when she was 16. He does OK in school, and has a few not-very-close friends. He likes to skateboard, and idolizes Tony Hawk, whose poster he talks to about his troubles, and gets answers that are quotes from Hawk's autobiography, which Sam has memorized.

When he meets a pretty girl, Alicia, who wants to have sex with him, he is naturally thrilled, and they start a passionate relationship. They are careful and use condoms. After awhile the passion cools, and they split up. Soon after, Alicia discovers she is pregnant, and she is determined to have and keep the baby. So begins a journey for which neither of them is ready.

Is It Any Good?

4
The jacket copy says, "Nick Hornby has made a career writing about men who act like boys. Now he gives us a boy who acts like a man." That's about as perfect a description as you can get about where Hornby's first book for teens falls in his oeuvre so far. The book is filled with his characteristic wit, incisive insight, and appealingly quirky characters -- especially Sam, who thinks Tony Hawk is a god, and who gets all the advice he needs by talking to Hawk's poster.

It may seem odd to say about a book on this theme, but with the author's touches of magic realism, humor, and warmhearted respect for his characters, this is a delightful read. Adult authors often stumble when they try to tackle writing a kids' book. But given the kinds of books Hornby has been writing, perhaps it should be no surprise that his first YA novel is so well done.

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