Teacher Man: A Memoir

Teacher Man: A Memoir
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Particularly Apt for Me

Teacher Man - Slightly Disappointing

school'd

"Listen. Are you listening? You're not listening"

Boring

Teacher Man: A Memoir
Frank McCourt
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0743243781

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For 30 years Frank McCourt taught high school English in New York City and for much of that time he considered himself a fraud. During these years he danced a delicate jig between engaging the students, satisfying often bewildered administrators and parents, and actually enjoying his job. He tried to present a consistent image of composure and self-confidence, yet he regularly felt insecure, inadequate, and unfocused. After much trial and error, he eventually discovered what was in front of him (or rather, behind him) all along--his own experience. "My life saved my life," he writes. "My students didn't know there was a man up there escaping a cocoon of Irish history and Catholicism, leaving bits of that cocoon everywhere." At the beginning of his career it had never occurred to him that his own dismal upbringing in the slums of Limerick could be turned into a valuable lesson plan. Indeed, his formal training emphasized the opposite. Principals and department heads lectured him to never share anything personal. He was instructed to arouse fear and awe, to be stern, to be impossible to please--but he couldn't do it. McCourt was too likable, too interested in the students' lives, and too willing to reveal himself for their benefit as well as his own. He was a kindred spirit with more questions than answers: "Look at me: wandering late bloomer, floundering old fart, discovering in my forties what my students knew in their teens."

As he did so adroitly in his previous memoirs, Angela's Ashes and 'Tis, McCourt manages to uncover humor in nearly everything. He writes about hilarious misfires, as when he suggested (during his teacher's exam) that the students write a suicide note, as well as unorthodox assignments that turned into epiphanies for both teacher and students. A dazzling writer with a unique and compelling voice, McCourt describes the dignity and difficulties of a largely thankless profession with incisive, self-deprecating wit and uncommon perception. It may have taken him three decades to figure out how to be an effective teacher, but he ultimately saved his most valuable lesson for himself: how to be his own man. --Shawn Carkonen

Book Description

Here at last in paperback is Frank McCourt's critically acclaimed and bestselling book about how his thirty-year teaching career shaped his second act as a writer. Teacher Man is also an urgent tribute to teachers everywhere. In bold and spirited prose featuring his irreverent wit and heartbreaking honesty, McCourt records the trials, triumphs and surprises of teaching in public high schools. Teacher Man shows McCourt developing his unparalleled ability to tell a great story as, five days a week, five periods per day, he works to gain the attention and respect of unruly, hormonally charged or indifferent adolescents.

For McCourt, storytelling itself is the source of salvation, and in Teacher Man the journey to redemption--and literary fame--is an exhilarating adventure.

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"Nearly a decade ago Frank McCourt became an unlikely star when, at the age of sixty-six, he burst onto the literary scene with Angela's Ashes, the Pulitzer Prize -- winning memoir of his childhood in Limerick, Ireland. Then came 'Tis, his glorious account of his early years in New York. Now, here at last, is McCourt's long-awaited book about how his thirty-year teaching career shaped his second act as a writer. Teacher Man is also an urgent tribute to teachers everywhere. In bold and spirited prose featuring his irreverent wit and heartbreaking honesty, McCourt records the trials, triumphs and surprises he faces in public high schools around New York City. His methods anything but conventional, McCourt creates a lasting impact on his students through imaginative assignments (he instructs one class to write ""An Excuse Note from Adam or Eve to God""), singalongs (featuring recipe ingredients as lyrics), and field trips (imagine taking twenty-nine rowdy girls to a movie in Times Square!). McCourt struggles to find his way in the classroom and spends his evenings drinking with writers and dreaming of one day putting his own story to paper. Teacher Man shows McCourt developing his unparalleled ability to tell a great story as, five days a week, five periods per day, he works to gain the attention and respect of unruly, hormonally charged or indifferent adolescents. McCourt's rocky marriage, his failed attempt to get a Ph.D. at Trinity College, Dublin, and his repeated firings due to his propensity to talk back to his superiors ironically lead him to New York's most prestigious school, Stuyvesant High School, where he finally finds a place and a voice. ""Doggedness,"" he says, is ""not as glamorous as ambition or talent or intellect or charm, but still the one thing that got me through the days and nights."" For McCourt, storytelling itself is the source of salvation, and in Teacher Man the journey to redemption -- and literary fame -- is an exhilarating adventure. "

Customer Reviews:

Particularly Apt for Me.......2007-10-07

I am in the middle of a life-career change. I'm going to be a teacher.

A friend of mine lent me this book a while ago simply because she had read it. I don't think she had any idea how pertinent it would be for me.

This is the circuitous tale of Mr. McCourt teaching in the schools of New York City. He starts (and spends a good deal of time) teaching in vo-tech schools and eventually ends up in one of the premier private schools in the city.

Throughout the book, his self-deprication is humorous and apparent, as is his appreciation for the people he teaches. Yes, he's frustrated, often. But at the same time, he's the strangest english teacher I've ever heard of.

Reciting recipes as a part of creative writing? That's weird. Sorry.

I really found the tales amusing, and I can understand how he'd be a wildly popular teacher: he has the Irish Bard's gift of the tale. Teachers like that often do.

This is, however, not his first book, and it seems like he's searching for some tales to fill this tome. Not by much, though.

A solid 4 stars.

(*)>

Teacher Man - Slightly Disappointing.......2007-09-18

Frank McCourt's poverty-stricken youth in Limerick, Ireland, so aptly described in the Pulitzer Prize winning Angela's Ashes actually comes to his rescue in his chronicles in Teacher Man in New York City's public high schools. His first day as a high school English teacher at a vocational school on Staten Island is a whirlwind of confusing strangeness, as if he just stepped off the boat all over again. His college education did not prepare him for these exuberant adolescents, the likes of which he never knew in Ireland because he left school at thirteen to help support his mother and brothers. His stories saved him: the rambunctious adolescents, who spoke a seemingly foreign language and behaved according to the rules their own secret, sub-cultural sect, actually sat down and listened when he told them his stories. Magic. The magic of good storytelling.
This magic spell of the storyteller saves Teacher Man from the ill effects of its lack of depth. Humorous anecdotes compensate for the absence of substance in the classroom. Indeed, McCourt accomplishes much in revealing the daily struggle of teachers, an "in the trenches" portrait of five classes a day with over 150 students. Clearly, the author describes the plight of the overworked, underpaid educator, a member of the "downstairs maid of professions", and readers will sympathize. But, the realities of sandwich throwing, wisecracks, and requests for "the pass" to use the bathroom overwhelm the lesson plans. And so, especially at the start of his career, Mr. McCourt regaled them with stories simply to keep them quiet. Although silence is valuable in the classroom, the curriculum must be addressed as well.
To his credit, McCourt does learn to become a good, perhaps even a great, teacher. Small snippets early on hint that he does possess the natural talent to translate confusing concepts into analogies his students can comprehend. For example, one epiphany relates his discovery that "grammar is the way language works" just like psychology is the way a person's mind works. Students get this, just like they understand the structure is like the structure of a ballpoint pen - both need something to make it work. A pen needs a spring like a sentence needs a verb. Another brilliant idea that sets his students to work is the "excuse note" writing exercise. After a hilarious study of their own excuse notes, many of which are forged, Teacher Man asks his students to write excuses from Adam and Eve to God, from Al Capone to the authorities, from Hitler to the Jews. These bursts of inspiration compensate for the drudgery, such as correcting mountains of compositions (170 students multiplied by 500 words each) that amount to reading the Encyclopedia Britannica.
McCourt's career contains segments of unemployment, the acquisition of his Masters degree, and a failure in attaining his Doctorate at Trinity College in Dublin. Interspersed throughout the memoir, the author includes both humorous and depressing incidents concerning his personal life, including an unsatisfying marriage and a bout of psychotherapy. McCourt reaches his stride as a teacher (not a "taskmaster") at the prestigious Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, where his principal encourages him to be innovative and his creative writing classes spawn ingenious techniques to motivate his students. Students sing recipes and learn to write stories others want to listen to. In 1976 Mr. McCourt earns an award as one of America's Teachers of the Year.
Although Teacher Man may lack pedagogical content, the memoir entertains and causes one to consider the problems of the American educational system and the difficulties teachers encounter on a day-to-day basis. The author maintains an open mind and always learns from his students. He learns that being honest is paramount as a teacher. His honesty prompts him to tell his life's story, and in doing so, his students are motivated to write honestly themselves. For that alone, Frank McCourt deserves the accolade of Teacher Man.

school'd.......2007-09-18

Teacher Man was I think the best of the three. You have so much sympathy for Frank as he tries to teach America's youth while being teased for his "Irish Brogue" the fenetic spelling of how the kid's talk easily let's you hear the dialogue in your head, as well as get a real feel for their cultural backround, the Mexicans, the Italians, the Blacks it's fantastic, I'd say that book taught me a thing or two about life in general.

"Listen. Are you listening? You're not listening".......2007-09-12

A smile. A reminiscence of the good old school days. How many times did our teachers address us with that remark? If you are a teacher, how often did/do you say it to your students? Countless times. Mr. McCourt recounts his 30+ years as a teacher in various high schools in New York. For those of you who were, are or will be teachers, and for those who were, or are students, or if you simply like real-life stories, this is the book for you.

Honing his teacher's skills as the years went by, Mr. McCourt delivers a true insight of life in the classroom, with its laughs, its tears, its frustrations, its joys. This book is constellated with memories of his past, which he would often talk about to his pupils who always listened avidly and eagerly and were encouraged, in turn, to open up and believe in themselves.

His passion for teaching is all there in those laughs, tears, frustrations and joys. Unquestionably, teaching was what Mr. McCourt was meant to do, no matter how undervalued a profession it often was/is, but if you love it, that passion is the fuel igniting everything.
His writing is, as usual, witty, harrowing, poignant and humorous at the same time. He explores his own weaknesses and strengths squarely, learning as he teaches, facing hundreds of challenging minds every day.

After "Angela's Ashes" and " 'Tis ", this is perceived by the author as the last book about himself. Should it be the case, please allow me to quote him once again by saying that I'm so glad that he "sang his song, danced his dance, told his tale". Auspiciously, he'll write some more.

Boring.......2007-09-05

One of the most boring books I've ever read. I had to force myself to keep on reading, then when I started just skipping large sections of it I knew it was time to quit. I didn't finish it and I'm not sorry!

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Average customer rating:

Has history been tampered with?
Calculations are only as good as your numbers
Pants on fire?
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Has history been tampered with?.......2007-10-23

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RAZQNMXM4M9CL Has history been tampered with? Yes, it has! Did events and eras such as the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Roman Empire , the Dark Ages, and the Renaissance, actually occur within a very different chronology from what we've been told? Yes, they certainly did!

The history of humankind is both drastically shorter and dramatically different than generally presumed.

Why is it so? On one hand, it was usual custom to justify the claims to title and land by age and ancestry, and on the other the court historians knew only too well how to please their masters. The so called universal classic world history is a pack of intricate lies for all events prior to the 16th century. World history as we learn it today was entirely fabricated in the 16th-18th centuries. It's likely that nobody told you before, but

there is not a single piece of firm written evidence or artefact that is reliably and independently dated prior to the 11th century.

Naturally, after what you've learned in school and university, you will not easily believe that the classical history of ancient Rome, Greece, Asia, Egypt, China, Japan, India, etc., is manifestly false.

You will point accusing finger to the pyramids in Egypt, to the Coliseum in Rome and Great Wall of China etc., and claim, aren't they really ancient, thousands of years ancient? Well, there is no valid scientific proof that they are older than 1000 years!

The oldest original written document that can be reliably dated belongs to the 11th century!

New research asserts that Homo sapiens invented writing (including hieroglyphics) only 1000 years ago. Once invented, writing skills were immediately and irreversibly put to the use of ruling powers and science.

The consensual chronology we live with was essentially crafted in the 16th century by the Jesuits.

The world history was compiled from contradictory mix of innumerable copies of ancient Latin and Greek manuscripts and other irrefutable proofs delivered by late mediaeval astronomers that were cemented by the authority of writings of the Church Fathers.

Early in life, we learn about ancient history. Children love the magical lessons of history - they are like fairy tales. Teachers recite breathtaking stories; very soon We learn by heart the names and deeds of brave warriors, wise philosophers, fabulous pharaohs, cunning high priests and greedy scribes.

We learn of gigantic pyramids and sinister castles, kings and queens, dukes and barons, powerful heroes and beautiful ladies, emaciated saints and low-life traitors.

Ancient history is based documents, manuscripts, printed books, paintings, monuments and artefacts - called primary sources.

The problem is that neither these ancient documents, nor events described therein can be irrefutably dated, moreover they contradict each other for the most part.

When a school textbook tells us that Genghis Khan in year X or Alexander in year Y, have each conquered half of the world, it means only that it is so said in some of the written sources.

There are no answers to simple questions:

When were these primary sources written?

Where and by whom were these sources found?

It is wrongly presumed that ancient and medieval chronicles, written by Genghis Khan's or Alexander the Great contemporaries and eyewitnesses, are readily available. Actually, only sources written hundreds or even thousands of years after the events are there, compiled mostly in the 16th 18th centuries, or even later.

As a rule, these sources suffered considerable multiple manipulations, falsifications and distortions by editing. At the same time,

innumerable originals of ancient documents under various pretexts were destroyed in Europe under various pretexts.

The names of persons and geographical sites often changed meaning and location during the course of the centuries.

Geographical locations became clearly defined on maps only with the advent of printing.

This made possible the circulation of identical copies of the same map for purposes of the military, navigation, education and governance tasks.

Historians from Oxford say: "hey, everybody knows that Julius Caesar lived in the first century B.C.

`Julius Caesar' statement is only a point of view as

there is simply no irrefutable documentary proof that Julius Caesar or any other great name of antiquity ever existed.

Better than that - extremely rare sources that can be reliably dated back to the 10th-14th centuries A D, do not show the polished picture of classical history.

They show a picture both contradictory and confusing.

All methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts are erroneous:

Radio-carbon C14 method produces dating with exactitude of plus minus 1500 years, therefore it is too crude for dating of events in historical timeframe!

The Almagest tractate, which lies as corner stone contemporary chronology, compiled in the 2nd century A D by Ptolemy, the founding father of astronomy, contains astronomical data of 9th to 16th century!

The Bronze Age,that has supposedly began 5000 years ago. Bronze is made of 90% copper and 10% tin, but the technology for tin extraction dates back to 14th century A D!.

All eclipses contained in manuscripts, like Thucydides one, relating 'ancient' events have exclusively medieval dating. All horoscopes cut in stone or painted in Egyptian temples, like Dendera have exclusively early medieval dating solutions.

Not quite what you have learned in school? Open your eyes, and, you will find sufficient proof to reach step by step the inevitable conclusion that the classical chronology is false and therefore, that the history of ancient and medieval world universally accepted today, is also false. Have a fresh outlook on everything said or printed about "ancient" and "enigmatic" Roman, Greek and Egyptian, medieval as well as all other "lost and found" civilizations.

Antiquity and Dark Ages are phantoms invented in the 16th 18th and polished in 19th 20thcenturies. Human civilization is in fact barely 1000 years old!

This book will change your perception of History forever!
What if Ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt were invented during Renaissance?
What if The Old Testament was a rendition of events of the Middle Ages?
What if Jesus Christ was born in 1053 and crucified in 1086 AD?
Sounds Unbelievable?
Not after you've read "History: Fiction or Science?" by Anatoly Fomenko, the genius mathematician.
Armed with astronomy and computers Anatoly Fomenko turns History into a rocket science.

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

Average customer rating:

Light, funny, and somewhat cliche
Light, Fluffy, And Entirely Unmemorable
Sloppy Firsts
Chuckle, Chuckle, Ha Ha, Hee Hee, Tear
Welcome Back

Sloppy Firsts: A Novel
Megan McCafferty
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Accessories:

Conair Pro Color Accents Temporary Hair Color Kit
Conair MDF2R Facial Sauna With Timer

ASIN: 0609807900
Release Date: 2001-08-28

Book Description

“My parents suck ass. Banning me from the phone and restricting my computer privileges are the most tyrannical parental gestures I can think of. Don’t they realize that Hope’s the only one who keeps me sane? . . . I don’t see how things could get any worse.”

When her best friend, Hope Weaver, moves away from Pineville, New Jersey, hyperobservant sixteen-year-old Jessica Darling is devastated. A fish out of water at school and a stranger at home, Jessica feels more lost than ever now that the only person with whom she could really communicate has gone. How is she supposed to deal with the boy- and shopping-crazy girls at school, her dad’s obsession with her track meets, her mother salivating over big sister Bethany’s lavish wedding, and her nonexistent love life?

A fresh, funny, utterly compelling fiction debut by first-time novelist Megan McCafferty, Sloppy Firsts is an insightful, true-to-life look at Jessica’s predicament as she embarks on another year of teenage torment--from the dark days of Hope’s departure through her months as a type-A personality turned insomniac to her completely mixed-up feelings about Marcus Flutie, the intelligent and mysterious “Dreg” who works his way into her heart. Like a John Hughes for the twenty-first century, Megan McCafferty taps into the inherent humor and drama of the teen experience. This poignant, hilarious novel is sure to appeal to readers who are still going through it, as well as those who are grateful that they don’t have to go back and grow up all over again.

Download Description

When her best friend, Hope, moves away from Pineville, New Jersey, 16-year-old Jessica Darling is devastated. Jessica is a fish out of water at school, a stranger at home, and now -- with the only person with whom she could really communicate gone -- more lost than ever. How is she supposed to deal with the boy-and-shopping-crazy girls at school, her dad's obsession with her track meets, and her nonexistent love life? Sloppy Firsts is an insightful, true-to-life look at Jessica's predicament, from the dark days following Hope's departure to her hopelessly mixed-up feelings about the intelligent and mysterious bad-boy who works his way into her life. Sloppy Firsts is right in line with some of the great teen crossover works of popular culture, like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and is sure to appeal to readers of all ages who appreciate the inherent humor of high school angst.

Customer Reviews:

Light, funny, and somewhat cliche.......2007-10-17

Though we've seen countless novels like this one before, and countless characters resembling Jessica Darling, this book will make for a fun read. If you're in the mood for some teen-angst, high-school drama, this book hits the spot. There's nothing really unique about this novel, but Megan McCafferty still finds a way to make it so good, that you'll be eager for more.

Light, Fluffy, And Entirely Unmemorable.......2007-09-06

After reading all the praise this book has gotten from the legions of readers who seem to find it absorbing, humorous, and realistic, I was disappointed to find both the plot and the characters extremely clichéd and formulaic.

I'm not saying that I found the book horrible. It was very quick and light, written in a straightforward journal format, making it a fluffy, effortless read. If you're looking for a lightly humorous chick lit novel, this book will fill those requirements.

However, if you're looking for a smart, unique novel that you're going to remember in years to come, I wouldn't recommend this. Most of the characters are either stereotypical or one-dimensional, with the exception of Marcus, who was quite unusual. Jessica was the traditional "smart, misunderstood runner girl". You can find her type in all sorts of teenaged novels. She irritated me. She was incredibly intelligent, a gifted runner, and great at writing, and yet her attitude toward life was generally pretty negative.

With all of her talent, you'd think Jessica would be confident, not pessimistic, which is why she struck me as fake. As for her friends, they were like characters from a soap opera. The plot was monotonous and unsurprising, with no truly exciting twists, right up to the end, which was neither final enough to provide closure nor enough of a cliffhanger to have you eagerly awaiting the sequel.

Instead of this novel, read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen, or Just Listen, also by Sarah Dessen. I found all these novels to be much more realistic depictions of high school.

Sloppy Firsts.......2007-08-27

I read this book a few years ago when I saw it in the book store. I'm a rather picky reader and thought this might be fun to pass some time. I was attached to the character Jessica Darling by the end of this book and even more thrilled to find out that there was a second out at the time. Even more so I bought the third one just as it had been released and the same thing now with the Fourth Comings. Megan has created a character that simply comes to life in the reading. I would suggest to most who like coming of age stories to read this. Its quiet heart warming.

Chuckle, Chuckle, Ha Ha, Hee Hee, Tear.......2007-08-16

The first time I read this book, I was in 8th grade and I still love it to this day! I have read it at least 15 times and have never grown tired of it. Jessica Darling is me in a nutshell...if I were a female track star. Everything else is me...yes, I graduated salutatorian of my class and am currently going to Columbia University. I LOVE this series and you should too...especially if you are an angst-filled teenager.

Welcome Back.......2007-08-10

As Charles Dickens once very aptly obsevered: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Of course Dickens wasn't referring to high school, but the French Revolution. But today, in our current American society his words can be no closer to the truth when discussing the legally mandated ritual called high school.

Everyone has his or her story. From the glory days full of football games, after-hour parties, and social ruling to the lesser exuberant memories our being an outsider, not understanding anything going on around you, and the unfortunately bullyness. Yet despite the pangs of High School and the sometimes harsh memories that come along with it, it is a time in our lives that years removed somehow becomes glorified as "the best time of your life," wither that statement is true or not.

McCafferty has constructed an unlikely heroine who reminds us exactly why we hated high school so much... and exactly why we will probably always look back on it with fond memories of times pass. Jessica Darling is you. Jessica Darling is me. Jessica Darling is everyone. Whither you can relate to everything she says, or just a few of the experiences she goes through during these novels, there is a little bit of everything within our heroine.

Unlike the heroines of classic literature that defeat the sociality structures (Dicken's "A Tale of Two Cities"), learn the true meaning of love (a la Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice"), Jessica Darling's one true clam to fame is not only surviving high school, but figuring it out before she leaves the hallowed halls. Most people figure it out sooner or later, but usually when they are removed from the experience.

What McCafferty is trying to say to the audience at large is that life matters. Everything that has happened to you, is happing to you, and will happen you have an effect that you can never dream off. The point of life isn't just sitting back and waiting for the next step. But it is embracing the here and now.

McCafferty is able to do these through a narrative that reads more like a self-aware John Hughes script, rather than 95% of book one would find in their local "young adult fiction" section. And the true genius and charm of the book doesn't from Jessica's stories of high school. But through your own memories, that while reading this book you are able to relive again vicariously through the eyes of Jessica. This book was not written for the tween set as a way to drool over what those "magical four years" will be like (a la "Dawson's Creek"), but as a way for people past that experience to look back and realize just how much their high school years truly means.

I cannot recommend this book enough, especially to fans of the budding new genre of self-aware coming-of-age stories such as "Prep," "Boy meets Boy," and the "Rules of Attraction." In all honestly I must request that everyone in their post high-school years, but still young enough to remember the impact John Hughes has on society to order a copy of this book. You will not be disappointed in the least!

Average customer rating:

Sometimes the truth hurts
The Bad Seed redux
Disturbingly Good Book
A Chilling, Riveting, Brilliant Page Turner
Excellent, Disturbing Read

We Need to Talk About Kevin: A Novel
Lionel Shriver
Manufacturer: Counterpoint
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

The Post-Birthday World
Suite Francaise
Nineteen Minutes: A Novel
Water for Elephants: A Novel
The Glass Castle: A Memoir

ASIN: 1582432678
Release Date: 2003-04-15

Book Description

A stunning examination of how tragedy affects a town, a marriage, and a family, for readers of Rosellen Brown's Before and After and Jane Hamilton's A Map of the World.

That neither nature nor nurture bears exclusive responsibility for a child's character is self-evident. But such generalizations provide cold comfort when it's your own son who's just opened fire on his fellow students and whose class photograph--with its unseemly grin--is blown up on the national news.

The question of who's to blame for teenage atrocity tortures our narrator, Eva Khatchadourian. Two years ago, her son, Kevin, murdered seven of his fellow high-school students, a cafeteria worker, and a popular algebra teacher. Because he was only fifteen at the time of the killings, he received a lenient sentence and is now in a prison for young offenders in upstate New York.

Telling the story of Kevin's upbringing, Eva addresses herself to her estranged husband through a series of letters. Fearing that her own shortcomings may have shaped what her son has become, she confesses to a deep, long-standing ambivalence about both motherhood in general and Kevin in particular. How much is her fault?

We Need to Talk About Kevin offers no pat explanations for why so many white, well-to-do adolescents--whether in Pearl, Paducah, Springfield, or Littleton--have gone nihilistically off the rails while growing up in suburban comfort. Instead, Lionel Shriver tells a compelling, absorbing, and resonant story while framing these horrifying tableaux of teenage carnage as metaphors for the larger tragedy--the tragedy of a country where everything works, nobody starves, and anything can be bought but a sense of purpose.

Customer Reviews:

Sometimes the truth hurts.......2007-10-24

One of the most thought-provoking books that I have ever read is Lionel Shriver's "We need to talk about Kevin". I can't imagine that fifty years ago it would have dared to be published, let alone win the Orange Prize for Literature.

So it's a credit to today's more candid society that Shriver could have written a book about a parent-child relationship that isn't total bliss. Whilst the novel is described as taboo-breaking, gutsy and startling, which means that most people would have had some reservations about the theme of not really liking one's child, the author has excused herself to some extent by making her child a sort of Damien Omen character and that is a kind of cop-out, in my opinion.

What I mean by that is that Eva, the narrator, rationalises her distaste for her son by having him commit a terrible atrocity along the lines of the Columbine High killings. She never liked him anyway and now she can say "well, no wonder I never bonded cause he was a potential killer."

The question that this novel asks, of course, is whether Kevin would have turned into a murderer if his mother had loved him. It's the question that all mothers ask themselves. If he has turned out to be less than she would have liked, was it anything that she did? Could she have done anything to prevent him turning into a killer?

As one of the characters in "We need to talk about Kevin" says:-

It's always the mother's fault, ain' it...That boy turn out bad cause his mama a drunk, or she a junkie. She let him run wild, she don't teach him right from wrong. She never home when he back from school. Nobody ever say his daddy a drunk, or his daddy not home after school. And nobody ever say they some kids just damned mean. Don't you believe that old guff. Don't you let them saddle you with all that killing.

Basically this would seem to be the main theme of the novel, is it nature or nurture? Not that there is a simplistic answer to that question since human beings are much more complicated than that. Anyway, it's not a given that "good and devoted parents" give birth and bring up good children. Also, how many times have we heard about so-called lousy parents having amazingly marvellous children, which would support the nature argument. That is, if one could dismiss the genetic impact of lousy parents.

One could discuss this topic forever and still keep going round in circles.

What was interesting about the novel is how blind Kevin's father was to his son's manipulating character, but on the other hand, children do treat parents differently and play one off against the other. I found Franklin to be a very silly man,but it is wrong to ignore one child's faults and one can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Or can one?

Similarly, Franklin dismissed his wife's misgivings about Kevin's sadistic nature and in the end he paid the price for being blind to his faults.

I must admit that I was taken aback when Eva, the narrator, decided to have another child. Perhaps she wanted to make up for her original disappointment and perhaps she was trying to prove that she could produce a nice child, after all. Eva also said that it would be good for Kevin to have a sibling. Hard to understand why when he seemed to hate everything and would no doubt hate his brother or sister. Not surprisingly that turned out to be a dismal failure too. Besides, the second child seemed so implausible and was perhaps meant to act as a foil for the demonic Kevin.

If there is a lesson to be learned from "We need to talk about Kevin" it's that having a child is one of the biggest risks one can take in life. There are no guarantees that we will like the child or that the child will like his parents. If we do it because we feel we should, or it's about time, or we are bored with our life, we should seriously consider that we may be buying grief. It may be a fulfilling experience or it may not.

If it's not nature or nurture, it may very well be the luck of the draw, with the highest stakes in the world.

The Bad Seed redux.......2007-10-23

An earlier book by the author of "The Post-Birthday World," which I enjoyed earlier in the year. This is an epistolary novel - letters from Kevin's mother to his father that reveal gradually and painfully the history of their family, a family that we know from the outset has been shattered by Kevin's going into school one day and killing a bunch of classmates and a teacher. The mom is a woman who was conflicted about having children in the first place, and Kevin is a bad seed right from the start of his life. He is unloving and cruel to others, and the conflicted mom can't seem to make the dad see that Kevin is not just a normal kid going through phases. Dad maintains (for perhaps too long to be credible to the reader) that Kevin is misunderstood, or a follower rather than an instigator. As the book builds to the horrific climax and unveils what happened on that fateful "Thursday," it unsettles and disturbs - it makes the reader question the effect of lackluster parenting and whether or not any kind of parent creates a monster. Kevin seems to spring from the womb already imbued and endowed with evil. I was totally shocked by the ending - didn't see it coming, and thought Shriver was quite skillful at letting out the skein of plot thread to keep things out of sight until just the right moment.

Disturbingly Good Book.......2007-09-18

Although I found this book to be written about very disturbing subject matter, I also found it to be very well written and compellingly readable. The mother of Kevin chronicles the ongoing crisis situation of an upwardly mobile New York couple and their decision to start a family. Dire consequences follow when their first child is nearly 16. The "narrator," in a series of letters to her huband reveals what happened with tantalizing glimpses of her life at present and the life of her family in the past.

Shriver also makes sly yet poignant commentary on American culture throughout the book, and it really works in this context, not ever coming across as condemning or preachy. She writes what is real, and gives life to her characters in the suburban, upper-class environment they live in.

I don't want to give too much of this book away, but Shriver does an excellent job with this storyline. This is sophisticated writing with incredible character development and a great story that actually has meaning, something that seems to be lacking in so much popular literature of the day.

A Chilling, Riveting, Brilliant Page Turner.......2007-09-16

This is one of the best books I've read in a while and I read everything! It is riveting, creepy, intelligent, and profound. I just devoured it. It's one of those stories that stays with you long after you finish the last page. This was my first book of Lionel Shriver's and I can't wait to read more of her stuff. Great book!

Excellent, Disturbing Read.......2007-09-14

A Novel, a story - that's what I had to keep telling myself. One that stays with you. The Negative to "My Sister's Keeper" - just as haunting.

Average customer rating:

Okay...
shameful
like it
Eh, ok.
Good book with one caveat

Girl Walking Backwards
Bett Williams
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Mothers & Children | Women's Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Dare Truth or Promise
Annie on My Mind
Keeping You a Secret
Pages for You: A Novel
Empress of the World

ASIN: 0312194560

Amazon.com

Although the protagonist of Girl Walking Backwards is a young, more-or-less "out" lesbian, this not a lesbian novel so much as a classic, post-Catcher in the Rye roman à clef, closely observed and skillfully written. Skye has even fewer illusions than Holden Caulfield, but she manages to be cynical without being world-weary. She signs up for volleyball at her new high school only because the girls on the team are beautiful, then shrinks from making the first move toward them: "Making friends is such a formal thing," she reflects. "It would have been so convenient if we all drank. Puking is great bonding, holding your friend's head over the toilet seat is kind of an intimate act. Puking friends come and go, though, at least that was my experience in junior high." When she catches sight of the doomed, black-clad Jessica, Skye thinks she has found a soulmate, but Jessica turns out to be a murky reflection of Skye's mother--unhappy and unstable, feeling cheated by life. To what extent Skye will be pulled down into others' trouble is the issue beneath the more pressing questions of whom she will love, and who will love her. A first novel of unusual distinction. --Regina Marler

Book Description

Skye wants what all teenagers want--to survive high school.She lives in Southern California, though, which is making that difficult.Her mother has fallen victim to the pseudo-New Age culture and insists on dragging her to consciousness-raising workshops and hypnotists.As if this weren't difficult enough, Skye falls in love with Jessica, a troubled gothic punk girl who cuts herself regularly with sharp objects.When she finds her boyfriend having sex with Jessica in a bathroom stall at a rave, her romantic illusions collapse and she has to face the fact that she's been running away from her mother's insanity.Right when things look their worst though, Skye is helped by Mol, a pagan who becomes her true friend, and Lorri, a graceful volelyball player with whom she finds real love.From them she learns how to feel authentic emotions in a culture of poseurs and New Age charlatans. In this anti-coming-of-age novel, where growing up is irrelevant, this is the best gift of all.

Customer Reviews:

Okay..........2007-09-24

After having read many novels from this genre, I just wasn't that impressed. There are many pros and cons to this story...

Pros: It did keep my attention, and I found the imagery between Jessica and Lorri as polar opposites interesting. It also exposes cutting as a real issue.

Cons: The blatant drug usage didn't really appeal to me. What I like about this genre is the actual realness of characters and I found the idea of this everyday usage being normal a bit out there. There wasn't very much development of the Skye/Lorri relationship and I thought the mother was just a bit too extreme.

So, in the end, it's nothing compared to the greats of this genre--Annie on my Mind, Empress of the World, etc., but it's not terrible either. Just not great for realists...

shameful.......2007-07-23

I wish I could give this even fewer stars. It is despicable that there are authors peddling books to our children that encourage not only premarital sexual behavior, but perverse behavior at that. Shame on Bett Williams.

like it.......2007-04-11

im currently reading the book and i rele like it..the author is very intriguing in how she expresses the character's through sex and stuff...its just very interesting

Eh, ok........2007-03-16

I liked this book more towards the beginning. After a while, it became tedious and a bit sloppy. It was sort of depressing, but the problem is that it's depressive nature was not artistic, nor did it lead to any sort of greater understanding. It was just dim. I'd suggest that you just buy the book used or borrow it, if you're intent on reading it.

Good book with one caveat.......2007-02-06

I really enjoyed this book and thought the character of Skye was very fleshed out and real. However, I was a little disappointed by the character of Jessica, a goth girl who self-mutilates. I thought Jessica was a fascinating character, but I took issue with the fact that all of her self-mutilation behavior was described very stereotypically, in a way that shows that the author has limited knowledge of the subject. Jessica cuts herself for attention, to stand out, and to look tough. Her self-mutilation also works as a tool to show that she is ultimately self-destructive. The issue I have with this is that most people who cut are not doing it for attention, are trying very hard NOT to be self-destructive, and don't want people to know about their self-mutilating behaviors. It's a topic that I am somewhat sensitive about, and I was a little peeved at the author's stereotypical characterization of the subject. Other than that, I really loved this book and would reccommend it to anyone, teens or adults, as a beautiful, difficult coming of age story.

House of Good Hope: A Promise for a Broken City (River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Prize)

Average customer rating:

thoughtful & interesting
A Tale Well Told

House of Good Hope: A Promise for a Broken City (River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Prize)
Michael Downs
Manufacturer: Bison Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

New England | Regional U.S. | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

The Children in Room E4: American Education on Trial
The Professional Teacher, The Preparation and Nurturance of the Reflective Practitioner (Agenda for Education in a Democracy, V. 4)
Girls of Tender Age: A Memoir
The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America

ASIN: 0803260121

Book Description

It was a crumbling city, like so many others. But in Hartford five gifted young men, who met as high school athletes, promised their lives to the hometown that shaped them even as it was coming apart. They intended to go far. They would, they pledged, bring back college degrees and commit themselves to living and working in Hartford. This is the story of those five men and how they kept, or broke, that promise—told by a writer whose own family history and departure are also part of Hartford’s struggle. It is a story of hope and heartbreak; love, sacrifice, and murder; big-time college football and police brutality; a drug sting that fells a high school coach; and, finally, a reunion of friends who have learned how hard it is to honor the past and live for the future in a place like Hartford.

Through it all Michael Downs comes to terms with his own decision to leave his hometown and abandon his ailing grandparents to a city that shows little mercy. His is very much a narrative of our nation of migrants and immigrants, where we must forever ask: What happens to those we leave behind? And how can we make peace with ourselves when we can no longer help the places we once called home?

Customer Reviews:

thoughtful & interesting.......2007-06-18

Makes a person think about education, urban planning and the cost of suberbia.

A Tale Well Told.......2007-04-11

Michael Downs has done a wonderful job of weaving in his personal life with a story of hopes and dreams--some realized and some not. At times, his prose is poetic. The story of the virtual collapse of huge chunks of Hartford is a story that has played out in major cities across America. This story, extremely well-documented and reported, is uniquely and poignantly told.

New Jersey Dreaming: Capital, Culture, and the Class of 58

Average customer rating:

New Jersey Dreaming

New Jersey Dreaming: Capital, Culture, and the Class of 58
Sherry B. Ortner
Manufacturer: Duke University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Talk of Love: How Culture Matters
Exotic No More: Anthropology on the Front Lines
Anthropology and Social Theory: Culture, Power, and the Acting Subject (A John Hope Franklin Center Book)
Investigating Culture: An Experiential Introduction to Anthropology
The Gebusi: Lives Transformed in a Rainforest World

ASIN: 0822335980

Book Description

In New Jersey Dreaming the renowned anthropologist Sherry B. Ortner turns her attention to how social class is lived in the United States and, specifically, within her own peer group. Ortner returns to her Newark roots to present an in-depth look at Weequahic High School’s Class of 1958, of which she was a member. Exploring her classmates’ recollected experiences of the neighborhood and the high school, she provides an ethnographic chronicle of their journeys from the 1950s into the 1990s, following the movement of a striking number of them from modest working- and middle-class backgrounds into the affluent upper middle and professional/managerial classes.

Customer Reviews:

New Jersey Dreaming.......2007-06-16

Ortner returns to her classmates in order to determine their social mobility over 40 years later. She describes the boundaries created people during high school. She also offers a discussion about the complexity of structure versus agency as it pertains to social mobility.

The Contest Problem Book V: American High School Mathematics Examinations (AHSME) / American Invitational Mathematics Examinations (AIME) 1983-1988 (Anneli Lax New Mathematical Library)

Average customer rating:

Excellent problems
Great book for problem lovers!!

The Contest Problem Book V: American High School Mathematics Examinations (AHSME) / American Invitational Mathematics Examinations (AIME) 1983-1988 (Anneli Lax New Mathematical Library)
George Berzsenyi , and Stephen B. Maurer
Manufacturer: Mathematical Assn of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Mathematics | Science | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Professional | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Science | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Contest Problem Book III: Annual High School Contest 1966-1972 : Of the Mathematical Association of America : Society of Actuaries : Mu Alpha Theta (New Mathematical Library)
The Contest Problem Book VII: American Mathematics Competitions, 1995-2000 Contests
Contest Problem Book No 1: Annual High School Mathematics Examinations 1950-1960 (New Mathematical Library)
Contest Problem Book IV: Annual High School Examinations, 1973-1982 (Anneli Lax New Mathematical Library)
Contest Problem Book II: Annual High School Contests of the Mathematical Association of America, 1961-1965 (New Mathematical Library)

ASIN: 0883856409

Book Description

This book will be of interest to anyone of any age who likes good problems. Pre-calculus background is presumed.

Over the years perhaps the most popular of the MAA problem books have been the high school contest books, covering the yearly American High School Mathematics Examinations (AHSME) that began in 1950, co-sponsored from the start by the MAA. Book V also includes the first six years of the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME) which was developed as an intermediate step between the AHSME and the USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO). The AIME has a unique answer format--all answers are integers between 0 and 999. The editors of this volume, George Berzsenyi and Stephen B. Maurer, were respectively the chairs of the AIME and the AHSME. In addition to a thorough index, they have added material to Contest Problem Book V not included in Contest Books I-IV, such as: a comprehensive worldwide guide to other problem materials, additional solutions to selected problems, and information on the development and history of the AHSME, AIME, and USAMO tests.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent problems.......2006-08-18

No doubt this is one of the greatest experience of high school math--problem solving. However, for those who are aspired for a taste or challenge in math contests but less well prepared, there is a book translated from the Russian which would be an ideal course for self learning--High School Mathematics by Yakovlev, ISBN 5030010114. Over 800 pages comprehensive yet concise and lucid!! They are great books and only the very best Russian math engineer students learn from them.

Great book for problem lovers!!.......2000-04-19

This is a great book for anyone who loves math problems. Also it is great for anyone studying for the American MAthematics Contest. It reviews all kinds of problems and is very useful. It will improve your score dramaticley. Since it is currently backordered you can have my copy email me mw@ikrsna.com

The Emergence of Voice in Latino/a High School Students (Counterpoints (New York, N.Y.), Vol. 147.)

Average customer rating:

The Emergence of Voice in Latino/a High School Students (Counterpoints (New York, N.Y.), Vol. 147.)
Rosario Diaz-Greenberg
Manufacturer: Peter Lang Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

High School | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
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Making It Happen: From Interactive to Participatory Language Teaching, Third Edition
Reaching All by Creating Tribes Learning Communities
Understanding by Design, Expanded 2nd Edition

ASIN: 0820449687

Book Description

The subordination, suppression, and silencing of bilingual students' voices and their communities by their educational system came under scrutiny at the end of the twentieth century. This book provides a forum for students' voices by examining some of the factors that promote the silencing of voice in Latino/a high school students thus submersing them in the culture of silence. Its significance rests on the ability to draw out, explore, and document how Latino/a students perceive their cultural and linguistic reality; the presentation of curricular and methodological approaches and alternatives to promote the emergence and legitimatization of students' voices; and its insight into and revelation of the ways shared teacher/student experiences, languages, and cultures can shape and impact both classroom relations and the emergence of voice.

Average customer rating:

Courtesy of Teens Read Too
The Doc is In!! Book of the year!
Funny, Sexy, Hip
I laughed til the tears rolled out of my eyes
When is the next one coming out???

The Making of Dr. Truelove
Derrick Barnes
Manufacturer: Simon Pulse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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Played
Jason & Kyra
Dymond in the Rough (Platinum Teen) (Platinum Teen)
Indigo Summer (Kimani Tru)
Street Pharm

ASIN: 1416914390

Book Description

Diego is a sixteen-year-old boy with a problem. He loves his girlfriend, Roxy. And when they suddenly break up due to Diego's own insecurity issues, the boy is crushed. How ever will he win Shorty back?

On the trusty advice of his (crazy) best friend, Diego invents an alter ego known as Dr. Truelove. A sex and relationship e-columnist, Truelove is smooth where Diego is gawky, skilled where Diego is clueless. Truelove is, quite clearly, the way back into Roxy's heart. Or so it seems. . . .

Customer Reviews:

Courtesy of Teens Read Too.......2007-03-29

When Diego's plans to lose his virginity with his girlfriend, Roxy, don't go the way he wanted them to, he pushes her away. Too late, he realizes his mistake, but he has no idea how to get her back. She's a great girl, being chased by one of the hottest young athletes around, and Diego is a jazz-loving math geek--a jazz-loving math geek who understands Roxy like no one else, but still. There's no way, he thinks, that he can compete with popular, athletic John-John McAfee.

However, his boy J-Live has a plan. A rather insane plan, sure, but it's all Diego's got, so he agrees to go along with it. J-Live wants Diego to start writing an anonymous column about love and sex online. The plan, he says, is foolproof. Diego will learn his stuff from girly magazines, write it all as the anonymous Dr. Dexter Truelove, and then, at the height of his popularity, Diego's identity will be revealed, and Roxy, realizing that he really does have a way with the ladies, will want him back.

Any sensible person--Diego included--would realize the insanity of this plan, but Diego will do anything to get back with Roxy. Of course, like all good plans, it has serious potential to blow up in his face...

Derrick Barnes' smart, funny, debut novel will appeal to all teens. Barnes holds nothing back here, so in case the previous summary isn't enough, beware of some racy content. However, if you're comfortable with that, you will love this book! Barnes is a talented author who really brings his characters to life--my personal favorite is the always scheming J-Live. I can't wait to see what Derrick Barnes comes up with next!

Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce

The Doc is In!! Book of the year!.......2006-11-07

This book is awesome!! The story of transformation of Diego into Dr Truelove to win back his love interest Roxy is hilarious, and made me laugh like crazy. Derrick Barnes does a great job - he knows how to reach out and win his readers. The Making of Dr Truelove has everything you could want in a book: Real and funny characters, an urban setting, a fast paced plot, sexy undercurrents and great humor, not to mention the 'Real Talk Sessions' of Dr Truelove and his 'prescriptions'. I had a great time reading this book. A must read!

Funny, Sexy, Hip.......2006-11-07

Dr. Truelove has a real hip-hop vibe and a sexy undercurrent that surfaces often enough to create calamity.

The characters are real, the situations are crazy, and the online advice column is hilarious.

I wish my high school experience was more like Diego's.

I laughed til the tears rolled out of my eyes.......2006-11-06

Barnes's language is so real, he gives real insight into how teenage boys think. Not to mention, some of the situations he invents are just side-splittingly hilarious.

Although, by far, what made me read this book over and over again was that it's full of heart. I like that Deigo cares about Roxy, that he has her best interests at heart.

But seriously, though, this high school hopped up on hormones. Read it, you'll love it.

When is the next one coming out???.......2006-10-28

A brave new author with a funny and unique voice, Derrick Barnes combines hip-hop Jazz and urban culture to make the perfect cocktail for any reader of any age. I would call this book a page turner!!!
Dennis J. Schleicher
Glastonbury, Connecticut

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