From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up–An insightful, appealing, and very funny novel about a teenage boy whose world is turned upside down when his father takes a job in Geneva and he chooses to stay in Australia to finish school. Dan lives with his 22-year-old Aunt Jacq, who is in a band, and her roommate, Naomi, an attractive psychology major who makes bad choices when it comes to men. Inexperienced and unsophisticated, he quickly falls for Naomi and is devastated when his feelings are not returned. Worse still, he has to listen as she and her jerk of a boyfriend have sex in the room next door. Extremely bright and sensitive, Dan is still learning about women, relationships, and controlling his compulsive behavior. His excessive introspection sometimes slows the pace of the novel, but the character feels genuine. Dan's socially awkward, porn-obsessed friend, Chris Burns, adds comic relief. The party Jacq and Naomi throw toward the end of the story leads to a conclusion that is both hilarious and moving. Dan is a wonderful, complex character. He combines his intense curiosity about sex with a rare thoughtfulness as he tries to figure out who he is and who he wants to become. Teen boys–and girls–will find much that they can relate to in this coming-of-age story.–Miranda Doyle, San Francisco Public Library
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Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Booklist
Gr. 10-12. Like Hillary Frank's Better Than Running at Night (2002), this Australian import is an unusually sharp-eyed, witty view of an older teen's anxious first year of independence. When his parents move to Geneva, Switzerland, Dan stays in Brisbane for his senior year of high school, living with his slightly older aunt, Jacq, a university student. Dan instantly falls for sexy Naomi, Jacq's housemate, and he tries to win her with the same zeal he applies to his rigorous academics, even as he struggles with a bewildering home so different from the "well-parented," "beige suburban castle" where he has grown up. Dan's minute analysis of events and his own flaws may slow readers who demand swift plots, although the story wraps up with several surprises, including a revelation of homosexuality. Older teens will relish Dan's wry, self-deprecating honesty about attraction, sex (mostly overheard), beer, calculus, and his uproariously funny, earnest search for the kind of guy he wants to be. Named Australia's Children's Book Council Book of the Year. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
