Book summary

Themes of alienation, repressed sexuality, and fear of adulthood run through Peter Cameron's first young adult novel, along with humor and pathos. James Sveck is a severely alienated 18-year-old who can't understand his peers, finds the prospect of going to Brown in the fall deeply uncompelling, and spends his spare time on the internet searching for beautiful homes in the Midwest. Chronicled over the course of a stifling New York City summer, this tale of James's awkward attempts at sexual exploration, avoidance of his future, and humorous family dynamics spells out the suffering that, for many, is what adolescence is all about. Both a 2007 Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book and Kirkus Reviews Best Young-Adult Book.

Media reviews

"With its off-balance marriage of the comedic and the deeply painful, its sympathetic embrace of its characters and its hard-won hope, this smart and elegantly written novel merits a wide readership."