Excellent read! ( )

I've been meaning to read or listen to this young adult novel for years, but just got around to it! I know Lubar created the idea for Full Cast audio, so I'm glad I was able to interlibrary loan the CDs.

Scott Hudson is a lowly freshman trying to survive high school. His older brother was a popular troublemaker who is kinda a loser now that he's out of high school. Scott's friends are leaving him--moving, joining the wrestling team, and just drifting apart. Scott is constantly trying to get closer to Julia, the beautiful classmate who might be out of his league. But the freaky pierced girl is getting a lot of his attention, too, even though Scott is embarrassed to be seen with her. And, um, Scott's mom is pregnant. So the story is told in a journal (not a diary, he tells us) to his future sibling. Let's just say he isn't too thrilled with sharing his home with a whiny little kid! Scott is a smart, funny kid, even though he is exhausted from him freshman year. ( )

This books had some parts that were a little slow but it was overall a pretty good read. The main character was pretty weird and funny and that plot line was interesting for the most part. It got better towards the end. ( )

Rating: A-

I love to read YA literature about guys that are written by guys. I find it to be more entertaining, on the whole, than books about guys written by women. This book didn't disappoint in that regard.

The gimmick of chronicling the lessons learned in school was not too over the top so as to get annoying. Also, the author does a good job of making some surprising characters to be really interesting, and the romance resolution wasn't at all what I thought would have expected. It seems like it's going to go against type, and then he throws a wrench, and then it's all up in the air. I liked that.

I also liked that the author got into the characterization of the parents and Scott's older brother--they spiced up the book (and I hate to read a book about teenagers that acts as if they exist in a vacuum and they have no meaningful interactions with adults).

All in all, a decent book that I was able to rip through in a day. If you've got an extra 6 hours or so, you might try and find a copy of this book and get a laugh or two. ( )

A fair typical novel of a young man's freshman year in high school. It was very realistic -- this book could describe the daily life of millions of American youth. I like how the protagonist was so well-adjusted, a refreshing contrast to the angstyness of many other fictional teens. ( )