“Carter Finally
Gets It” by Brent Crawford (Hyperion, 9781423112464, $15.99, ages 13 and up)
Will Carter doesn’t get it, not at first. He doesn’t know how to talk to
girls. He doesn’t know not to stare. He’s a bit of a hopeless case--at least
to begin with. And to make things worse, he’s surrounded by a crowd of guy
friends who are almost equally clueless. Separately, they’re a danger to
themselves. Bunched together, they’re practically a menace to society. In
short, Carter is a fourteen-year-old boy.
Here’s the great thing about this young-adult novel (other than that it is
laugh-out-loud hilarious, which it is): Carter, for all his foibles, is a
good guy, and as the story of his freshman year unreels, he demonstrates
that underneath his awkwardness and acne, there beats a heart of gold. He’s
a human-in-training, and watching his attempts to fit himself into high
school is a great pastime for readers of many ages.
“Carter Finally Gets It” does have some edgy edges: Carter is obsessed with
looking at girls, and his teen humor can be frank and juvenile. But it’s all
in the service of being true to the subject matter (young guys), and you can
rest assured that in the end, Carter really does finally get it. He’s still
imperfect, but he’s getting there. This is a fun book that teen boys will
instantly enjoy and learn from, and it provides a great stepping-off point
for talking with them about all the crazy stuff that floats around a teen
guy’s head. It’s a blast, and Carter is a winner.
Review by
Mark David
Bradshaw, June 9, 2009
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