Carter Finally Gets It

Booklist Reviews 2008 November #2
Crawford expertly channels his inner 14-year-old for this pitch-perfect comedy about girls, football, girls, swimming, girls, drama club, and girls. Freshman Will Carter is googly-eyed over everything about high school (did we mention the girls?), and his ADD just makes it worse—no matter what s going on, it only takes seconds for his imagination to devolve into fantasies about G-strings, exposed navels, and “tig ol biddies.” His toughest challenges quickly reveal themselves: gynormous athletes wanting to flatten him, friends intent on humiliating him, and Abby, the no-longer-fat drill-team hottie who seems to get a real charge out of slapping him in public. There s barely a plot to speak of, and Crawford relies heavily on stock social situations. But his stream-of-consciousness, first-person narrative flails around in an excellent imitation of a freshman, complete with volume changes, dumb jokes, and sudden flashes of elation and despair. Occasionally poignant and frequently hilarious, this will amuse scads of male readers.

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Kirkus Reviews 2009 March #2
Popular, beautiful slacker Liam spends the majority of his time partying and chasing girls instead of focusing on his studies. To keep him in check, his dad kicks him out of the house and ships him off to live with his gay glam-rocking uncle. Bad hair, tights, bitchy neighbors, reality checks and fashion shows ensue. Going's latest flows easily with smooth, realistic dialogue and reads like a coming-out story for straight guys. This innovative, out-of-the-box approach juxtaposes stereotypes, received values, parental roles and masculinity in a jarringly fun and approachable manner that marks a triumphant left-turn for the genre. Cloaked as a story of tough love, this is actually a psychological exploration of the impact of parental expectations versus the dreams of their children. Nothing earned comes easy, however, and Liam finds that he does need to switch some of the gears inside his head, but he's not as big of a screw-up as his parents make him out to be. Moreover, trouble does follow him wherever he goes, but avoiding it is easier when you've got the right kind of support.

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Kirkus Reviews 2009 March #2
In the well-heeled, hardly diverse suburbs of Reno, Nev., Jory Michaels has two big goals for the summer before senior year: to earn enough money to get the petite nose she's always wanted and to lose her virginity. Significant obstacles to each: She's a somewhat clumsy driver, so her job driving a bakery delivery van has its limits, and she's a good-natured girl looking for a romantic connection with a boy, not just a physical encounter. Jory's longtime crush is finally paying attention to her, but it turns out he is struggling with hiding his gay identity from his father. Another boy's aggressive approach is off-putting even as Jory's encounter with his unzipped shorts is cringingly funny. Several missed opportunities with a third and most likely lad have a sweetly comic dimension, while Jory's first experiences with drinking demonstrate without didacticism the downside of impaired socializing. Complex, likable, believable characters and a fresh, appealing fictional voice pull together this very agreeable summer romance.
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