From Publishers Weekly
Brad Wilson is the first 13-year-old to hit a ball into the billboard beyond center field; Jessie, the girl he likes, returns his feelings; and he's drop-dead gorgeous. Most boys would be happy to be in his shoes, but Farrell (Marrying Malcolm Murgatroyd) shows how assets can turn into liabilities if you don't stay true to yourself. The lone male at home among his grandmother, aunt, mother and little sister, Brad, goaded by his nemesis, Skeff, worries whether his knowledge of pantyhose and other feminine arcana makes him "wimpy." He feels even wimpier when the PR manager at the local department store asks him to model for a newspaper circular and his picture ends up on the billboard. But his self-image quickly changes when he becomes a local celebrity: girls follow him everywhere and a teen model invites him to a glitzy Manhattan party. Farrell adroitly shows Brad's slide into conceit and his scramble back out. Though some story elements are a bit farfetched (what ad director lets a novice model, and a teenager at that, call all the shots?) and the climax is both forced and predictable, the vignettes of the fashion world are amusing and characterizations and emotions have the ring of authenticity. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 6-8AThis is the story of 13-year-old Brad Wilson's transformation from baseball star to pretty boy and back again. The novel begins with Brad reaching a defining moment in his young life-he smashes a home run off a billboard that sits beyond the outfield of his local baseball diamond. Little does he realize that he will soon be appearing on the billboard as his good looks and a chance encounter land him a modeling contract. Seeing himself on the billboard and the idol of all of the girls in his junior high goes to his head. He soon gives up baseball for fear of injury to his face and attends a party for models in New York City, which ends disastrously when the champagne makes him sick. Soon after, Brad realizes that his friends have turned on him because of his outsized ego. He decides to give up modeling and return to his old life, friends, and baseball. This is a fast-paced, lighthearted, and funny novel that should appeal to boys and girls, baseball fans and nonfans, kids into fashion and those who have a sloppy outlook about their attire. Although many readers won't relate to Brad's problem of being overwhelmingly attractive, most will enjoy his amusing story.ATodd Morning, Schaumburg Township Public Library, IL
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
