Sean Beaudoin, Going Nowhere Faster

For the sake of all my boys who love humorous books but are past the 6th grade, I am grateful to authors like Mr. Beaudoin, who are able to write funny books about older boys and yet not include foul language and undesirable adventures. Thank you!

Not only was the storyline funny (gifted boy decides to work at Happy Video and stay with quirky parents instead of going to college), the prose was well-crafted and I irritated my family my snorting through the first couple of chapters and having to quote them. I knew I had to buy the book after page 5, where Stan describes his life thus: "... so people thought I was destined to Become Something. What that something might be was more or less negotiable, as long as it involved a bow tie, some chalk, super-thick glasses, and lots of published articles in journals no one ever reads." No, Stan, no! Don't major in Classics! The job opportunities are better at Happy Video!

Even the quirky parents (run health food store, drive biofuel car) did not distract from the funny and hapless way Stan bumbles through his life. Definitely one to add to the collection, along with Adam Selzer's How to get suspended and influence people, Jordan Sonnenblick, Alex Bradley's 24 Girls in seven days, and just about anything Gordon Korman.