A disarming cautionary tale that’s just naughty enough to be kept from Handler’s Lemony Snicket fans but real enough to...
A perpetually horny teenage boy learns the difference between a breakup and heartbreak.
Puerile portrayals of aroused teenage boys are nothing new in any medium, from 1980s sex comedies like Porky’s to novels like C.D. Payne’s Youth in Revolt (1993). But this interesting experiment by Handler (We Are Pirates, 2015, etc.) may be the most cleareyed and honest portrayal of the sexuality of adolescent boys in recent memory—it’s raw, authentic, fitfully funny, and tragic all at the same time. Our narrator is Cole, a high school student who's developed a well-earned reputation as a horndog in his school, as pointed out by his platonic frenemy, Kirsten: “I’m not talking about sex, Cole. I’m talking about how it’s one girl, and then it’s another.” It may be true, but Cole is also consumed by the topic in the way teenage boys typically are, lost in a flood of yearning, online pornography, and blinding lust. During a dry spell, Cole even starts fooling around with his best friend and masturbating buddy, Alec, with unforeseen consequences. But halfway through the school year, Cole meets Grisaille, an exotic and dangerous exchange student who is every bit a match for Cole and more. “She could snap you in two, Cole,” warns Kirsten. “She probably has, come to think of it.” It’s a slim volume, more stream-of-consciousness moments than true narration, but Handler has clearly put a lot of thought into what he’s trying to teach here. His prose can be laser-focused—one of Cole’s conquests is “crazy breathless Jesus Christ beautiful.” Yet he can still disarm on the fly with surprising humor: “Four years ago, I think, I thought anal sex just meant you were really particular about it.”
A disarming cautionary tale that’s just naughty enough to be kept from Handler’s Lemony Snicket fans but real enough to spark genuine conversations about sex and its consequences.Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-63286-804-6
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
A scheming rival and an obsessive fan convince a TV star that she's a long way from Kansas—in more sudsy romantic suspense from Roberts (Honest Illusions, 1992). Deanna Reynolds and Angela Perkins are both smart, talented, attractive, and ambitious. The big difference between the two talk- show hosts is that Angela is an attention-hungry woman desperate to maintain her fading charms and worshipful audience at all costs, while Dee maintains her Midwestern values even as her Chicago-based show makes her a star and threatens Angela's in New York. Angela, who was once Dee's mentor, has never forgiven the younger woman for turning down her offer to come to New York with her. Even less forgivable is Dee's romance with Finn Riley, a footloose foreign correspondent and once Angela's lover. Finn, who coolly calls in exclusives from a crash-landing 747, shrugs off a bullet wound while he broadcasts live during a shootout, and indisputably earns the nickname "Desert Hunk" during the Gulf War, finds his match in the unbelievably beautiful, desirable, and sweet Deanna. While the two make seismic love on any available surface and Angela plots Dee's downfall in the ratings, a secret admirer (whose identity is more obvious than the author must have intended) writes her love notes. Then, one by one, he begins to kill off all the people who have hurt or betrayed her—and attempts to realize his insane dream of making Deanna entirely his own. A sexy hero whose no-nonsense presence cuts through the vapors and cattiness of the womenfolk and a convincing behind-the-scenes look at TV—both help make up for the weak humor, implausible plot, and trite glitz of this predictable novel.
Pub Date: July 1, 1993
ISBN: 0425190382
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1993
A fun, snappy read about the over-the-top world of private school admissions and the unbreakable bonds of family.
The director of admissions at a prestigious private school attempts to balance her job, her family, and her love life in Frank and Youmans’ debut.
Once upon a time, Josie Bordelon was walking the catwalk as a sought-after fashion model. Now that she’s almost 40, she’s the director of admissions at Fairchild Country Day School, an ultraprestigious private school in San Francisco. Josie’s used to being the only black woman in a largely white male–dominated field, and after all these years, she knows what to expect from her job—overscheduled children, pushy parents, and a boss who wants to undermine her. While she may be killing it at work, her personal life is another story. She hasn’t had a serious boyfriend in years, much to the chagrin of her Aunt Viv and her best friend, Lola. It’s too bad that the only man who’s caught Josie’s eye lately is a married and gay dad of a prospective student. And even though Josie just wants her daughter, Etta, to attend an Ivy League college and major in something practical, Etta insists she wants to follow her ballet dreams and study dance at Julliard. But it turns out that Etta’s career goals aren’t the only shock Josie’s about to face—her job, her romantic life, and her own Aunt Viv have plenty of surprises up their sleeves. While Josie’s budding relationship is certainly interesting, it takes a back seat to the rest of the plot, and it never quite gets the chance to blossom. The book shines, however, when it comes to the Bordelon women, especially Josie’s hardworking and hilariously meddling Aunt Viv, who clearly loves Josie and Etta more than anything. The family’s bond comes across vividly on the page, manifesting in sometimes-gentle and occasionally not-so-gentle banter among the three women. Frank and Youmans create strong voices even for the side characters, like Josie’s no-nonsense teacher BFF, her quick-witted assistant, her clueless boss, and Etta’s snooty ballet teacher.
A fun, snappy read about the over-the-top world of private school admissions and the unbreakable bonds of family.Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-08502-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
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