I started and finished A Sense of Direction in one evening; I couldn't really stop thinking about it, so I couldn't put it down. I found it...
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Just when everything is coming together for Sam, his girlfriend Alicia drops a bombshell. Make that ex-girlfriend — because by the time she tells him she's pregnant, they've already called it quits. Sam does not want to be a teenage dad. His mom had him at sixteen and has made it very clear how having a baby so young interrupted her life. There's only one person Sam can turn to — his hero, skating legend Tony Hawk. Sam believes the answers to life's hurdles can be found in Hawk's autobiography.
But even Tony Hawk isn't offering answers this time — or is he? Inexplicably, Sam finds himself whizzed into the future, for a quick glimpse of what will be...or what could be. In this wonderfully witty, poignant story about a teenage boy unexpectedly thrust into fatherhood, it's up to Sam to make the right decisions so the bad things that could happen, well, don't.
Review:
"'Listen,' says Sam Jones, the garrulous young narrator of Nick Hornby's likable first novel for teenagers, 'I know you don't want to hear about every single little moment.' He then relives every single little moment anyway, and that's just about one date with a pretty girl. But he's wrong about us. We want to hear whatever this kid has got to say — the whole scary, hilarious story. ... Washington Post Book Review (read the entire Washington Post review) It's not that Sam's tale, stripped to its bones, is all that different from a million other YA novels. His involves a boy; the boy's struggling young single mom (mum, actually — this is London); a girl; the girl's posh, bickering parents; a surprise pregnancy; the baby's arrival; and the messy aftermath. Other novels might sub in a different crisis — drugs, alcohol, racism, illness or disability, a sibling's death, whatever. But lots of them turn on what Sam, a skateboarder, calls a slam. His own life illustrates. There it was, 'ticking along quite nicely,' until the day the pretty girl, Alicia, alerted him to his impending fatherhood, and he realized that 'the wheels had come off the trucks, the trucks had come off the deck, and (he'd) shot twenty feet into the air and gone straight into a brick wall.' That voice is the difference. As Sam says, 'You can tell someone the facts in ten seconds if you want to, but the facts are nothing.' You have to know what it feels like to suddenly become a dad at 16, which is where Sam has an advantage. His creator, the author of several wry sagas of British life, is known for channeling adult male voices with uncanny verisimilitude. It turns out he can channel teenage boys as well. Yet Sam, who is 18 as he recounts the story of his 15- and 16-year-old self, isn't just a junior version of the 30-something hero of 'High Fidelity.' Age-appropriately, he's all over the map. There's teen anguish: 'The boy who was talking to Alicia that afternoon ... he wasn't sixteen. ... It feels now, and it felt even then, as though that boy was eight or nine years old. He felt sick, and he wanted to cry. His voice wobbled just about every time he tried to say anything. He wanted his mum.' And there's near-constant teen humor (I'm still laughing about the birth scene and the parental squabbles). But the book's real distinction is conveying the illusion of teen artlessness when it actually pulls off some seriously artful moves. In one effective plot device, Sam has an ongoing, Socratic-type conversation with a poster of his real-life skateboarding hero, Tony Hawk. In another, he's 'whizzed' repeatedly into the future, where he finds out how much he will prove capable of. Hornby just makes it look easy. Elizabeth Ward reviews children's literature for The Washington Post Book World." Reviewed by Elizabeth Ward, Washington Post Book World (Copyright 2006 Washington Post Book World Service/Washington Post Writers Group)
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Review:
"Vintage Hornby: a witty trek inside the emotional life of the modern male." People
Review:
"We know exactly how Sam feels — even when he feels differently from the beginning of a sentence to the end — and it feels just right: a vertiginous mix of anger, confusion, insight, humor, and love." Booklist (Starred Review)
Review:
"Hornby's witty, gentle genius shines through." USA Today
Review:
"Like the movie Knocked Up, this is a story about an accidental pregnancy that nudges the male protagonist into adulthood....[S]trong and disturbing, a must read for older boys." Kirkus Reviews
Review:
"Hornby pens a first novel for teens that is a sweet and funny story about mistakes and choices." VOYA
Synopsis:
Nick Hornby, bestselling author of High Fidelity and About a Boy, delivers his first novel for young adults — a wonderfully witty, poignant story about a teenage boy unwittingly thrust into fatherhood.
Synopsis:
Just when everything is coming together for Sam, his girlfriend Alicia drops a bombshell. Make that ex-girlfriendabecause by the time she tells him sheas pregnant, theyave already called it quits. Sam does not want to be a teenage dad.
Thereas only one person Sam can turn toahis hero, skating legend Tony Hawk. Sam believes the answers to lifeas hurdles can be found in Hawkas autobiography. But even Tony Hawk isnat offering answers this timeaor is he? In this wonderfully witty, poignant story about a teenage boy unexpectedly thrust into fatherhood, itas up to Sam to make the right decisions so the bad things that could happen, well, donat.
Synopsis:
Nick Hornby, bestselling author of "High Fidelity" and "About a Boy," delivers his first novel for young adults-a wonderfully witty, poignant story about a teenage boy who is unexpectedly thrust into fatherhood. When he's inexplicably whizzed into the future, it's up to Sam to make the right decisions.
The New Yorker calls bestselling author Nick Hornby "the maestro of the male confessional." His bestselling adult novels include High Fidelity and About a Boy, both of which were made into highly successful movies. He lives in the UK.
katatrina, August 5, 2008 (view all comments by katatrina)
This was a good book. Nick Hornby always writes with humor that I enjoy, and even though I figured out later that this is supposed to be a young adult book, I didn't think it was beneath me. I think it was an interesting look at the choices and mistakes we make, and an interesting and laugh-out-loud way of dealing with them
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No (4 of 9 readers found this comment helpful)
rw3, April 15, 2008 (view all comments by rw3)
excellent read. there doesn't seem to be as much humor as his other books. you would think that a writer capable of making a group of people who met while attempting suicide funny could make teen pregnancy a bit funnier. none the less, this book hits the spot. hornby is sensitive to the issues and stays true to his character's voice. i like that abortion is not debated or mulled over. it is mentioned and when it is obvious that it is out of the question the characters move on. time travel is an interesting twist in this book. i can't say i was expecting it but i wasn't put off by it. overall a very good read.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No (6 of 11 readers found this comment helpful)
Product details
304 pages
Putnam Publishing Group -
English9780399250484
Reviews:
"Review"
by People,
"Vintage Hornby: a witty trek inside the emotional life of the modern male."
"Review"
by Booklist (Starred Review),
"We know exactly how Sam feels — even when he feels differently from the beginning of a sentence to the end — and it feels just right: a vertiginous mix of anger, confusion, insight, humor, and love."
"Review"
by USA Today,
"Hornby's witty, gentle genius shines through."
"Review"
by Kirkus Reviews,
"Like the movie Knocked Up, this is a story about an accidental pregnancy that nudges the male protagonist into adulthood....[S]trong and disturbing, a must read for older boys."
"Review"
by VOYA,
"Hornby pens a first novel for teens that is a sweet and funny story about mistakes and choices."
"Synopsis"
by Ingram,
Nick Hornby, bestselling author of High Fidelity and About a Boy, delivers his first novel for young adults — a wonderfully witty, poignant story about a teenage boy unwittingly thrust into fatherhood.
"Synopsis"
by Ingram,
Just when everything is coming together for Sam, his girlfriend Alicia drops a bombshell. Make that ex-girlfriendabecause by the time she tells him sheas pregnant, theyave already called it quits. Sam does not want to be a teenage dad.
Thereas only one person Sam can turn toahis hero, skating legend Tony Hawk. Sam believes the answers to lifeas hurdles can be found in Hawkas autobiography. But even Tony Hawk isnat offering answers this timeaor is he? In this wonderfully witty, poignant story about a teenage boy unexpectedly thrust into fatherhood, itas up to Sam to make the right decisions so the bad things that could happen, well, donat.
"Synopsis"
by Libri,
Nick Hornby, bestselling author of "High Fidelity" and "About a Boy," delivers his first novel for young adults-a wonderfully witty, poignant story about a teenage boy who is unexpectedly thrust into fatherhood. When he's inexplicably whizzed into the future, it's up to Sam to make the right decisions.
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