“I loved it. This book captures that time, when we were all young and restless, when we were guessing about life and its possibilities. It is a solid first novel from a burgeoning author who has more to come, for sure.
The characters feel authentic, as real as that time when we want love, want life, and don’t quite know what to do with all the hormones that run rampant.
I will re-read this book and update if I find any further discoveries. Buy it!
UPDATE: I’ve read it again, and I can honestly say that it is authentic. I understand the main character’s emotional state as I teach English to seniors and have for the past twenty years. The author portrays that time, the one that borders on the edge between being a young adult and the stage after (high school). For many, particularly those who never quite feel like they fit in, this book is spot on.
That anger-fueled vitriol written by overly-educated English doctoral students who easily say, “Yeah, it’s all been done before . . .” are right. It has. So has everything. This book is not meant to be a new Salinger, a new Thompson, or anything new at all. Other than what it is–a book by a young author who is trying to say something in a way that, stylistically, is good. It reads smoothly, has insights that are interesting and laughable. It bleeds honesty. It really does. Maybe it is semi-autobiographical. So what! It captures that something, probably nostalgia, that so many readers can’t find enough of. I get tired of reading Catcher. And Perks. And all of it, frankly. I want to see the same things, but said differently. Joe Newcomer does that.
It is a first novel. It will not be his last. And for the ten spot it cost me, I’d say AGAIN, it was money well spent! Buy it.” William
Joseph D. Newcomer 