One seriously messed up week...
… in the Otherwise Mundane & Uneventful Life of Sam Taylor JACK SAMSONITE
Our hero? Jack Samsonite
His mission?
1. pass his GCSEs2. get the girl (to notice he exists)3. survive the week without a serious face punching Good thing he's got a plan. Well, half a plan...
One seriously messed-up week in the otherwise mundane & uneventful life of Sam Taylor Jack Samsonite is being billed as a cross between Adrian Mole meets The Inbetweeners.
It is also the only book I have had to stop reading on the underground as I was laughing too much in between cringing at the memories of my teenage years it was dredging up. I am seriously in awe of Tom Clempson, the man is a genius with the pen! He has captured the awkwardness and uncertainty of being a teenage boy perfectly, combining crudity, romance, confusion, lust, friendship and the desire to get through the day without being bullied into the package of Jack Samsonite.
Warts and all protagonists of the male variety appear to be rare in YA fiction, it started with Adrian Mole in the '80's and then there was not much. It is quite possible that we are witnessiong hte birth of a new trend in YA fiction.
The story is told in the form of a diary written as a school project. It begins with an introduction which was written at the end of the week, so I knew where Jack ended up but as someone once said “Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity, but in doing it!”
The story starts on a Monday – with nob ache. Which, if I remember my teen years correctly, (and believe me there is not a man alive that does not – no matter what we may say. We remember every embarrassing moment clearly) is how many days start for boys in their teens.
Read this book, gain some insight into the mind of a teenage boy and perhaps you will even sympathise with them the next time one of them really pisses you off for just being a teen.
I read it and loved it (unconditionally) for the laughs, the angst and the cringe-worthy memories it evoked. I was Jack without being cool but then most of us were in those days.
His mission?
1. pass his GCSEs
2. get the girl (to notice he exists)
3. survive the week without a serious face punching
Good thing he's got a plan. Well, half a plan...
One seriously messed-up week in the otherwise mundane & uneventful life of Sam Taylor Jack Samsonite is being billed as a cross between Adrian Mole meets The Inbetweeners.
It is also the only book I have had to stop reading on the underground as I was laughing too much in between cringing at the memories of my teenage years it was dredging up. I am seriously in awe of Tom Clempson, the man is a genius with the pen! He has captured the awkwardness and uncertainty of being a teenage boy perfectly, combining crudity, romance, confusion, lust, friendship and the desire to get through the day without being bullied into the package of Jack Samsonite.
Warts and all protagonists of the male variety appear to be rare in YA fiction, it started with Adrian Mole in the '80's and then there was not much. It is quite possible that we are witnessiong hte birth of a new trend in YA fiction.
The story is told in the form of a diary written as a school project. It begins with an introduction which was written at the end of the week, so I knew where Jack ended up but as someone once said “Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity, but in doing it!”
The story starts on a Monday – with nob ache. Which, if I remember my teen years correctly, (and believe me there is not a man alive that does not – no matter what we may say. We remember every embarrassing moment clearly) is how many days start for boys in their teens.
Read this book, gain some insight into the mind of a teenage boy and perhaps you will even sympathise with them the next time one of them really pisses you off for just being a teen.
I read it and loved it (unconditionally) for the laughs, the angst and the cringe-worthy memories it evoked. I was Jack without being cool but then most of us were in those days.
This sounds like an excellent book.
ReplyDelete*gasps* I actually blushed and nearly covered my eyes from embarassment just reading your review!
ReplyDeleteI think this book sounds like it'd be incredibly funny/awkwardly embarassing and your review actually really makes me want to read it despite the fact that I would probably squirm all the way through it!