Going Nowhere Faster

This was a truly bizarre book. Stan Smith is working at Happy Video the summer after high school ends. He's a genius, but he's going nowhere. He fears for his life at the hands of Chad Chilton, whose girlfriend he lusts after, and he just doesn't understand his hippie mom and inventor dad. At times, this was hard to follow, simply because it was so unusual. I didn't like how the mystery of the slashed tires and red dolls was solved - it didn't seem very likely to happen in real life. However, Stan is an interesting character and I did like the end. At times, I was annoyed by him because it was clear that he knew what he was doing and simply pretended to be clueless. Frenetic is a good word for this one I think.

Short novel about a nerdy boy with an embarrassing family who's a bit paranoid and can't decide whether to go to university (or college, as it's American) or stay in his small town and work in the video store.

It would be good to read this and then figure out exactly why it's not a great book, because all the ingredients are there, just not quite mixed correctly. Some of the dialogue is great, and there are some really funny moments. But overall I found I couldn't totally believe in the main characters. And, not to give anything away, but the ending was pretty predictable and, when it came to it, bordering on trite. Which is not a good place to end up.

I'm a big fan of geeky boy books, and this did entertain me. But wasn't up to John show more Green standards or anything. However, and I don't want this to sound patronising, this was Sean Beaudoin's first novel, and I'm sure the next one will be much better. Damn, that did sound pretty patronising didn't it? Sorry, Sean. show less

Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

I'll admit I picked this because of the title, GOING NOWHERE FASTER. Aren't there times when we all feel that way?

Stan Smith has more problems than you can shake a stick at. One problem is his name - "Stan." Who names their kid Stan? But then his parents aren't exactly your normal, run-of-the-mill parents. They are another one of his problems. His dad is a crazy inventor and his mother is an over 6-foot-tall Amazon vegan who attempts to run an organic food market.

Another sore spot in Stan's life is Prarash, his mother's smelly yoga and meditation partner, who practically lives with them. There's also Chopper, the family dog who produces more "gas" than the oil fields of show more Kuwait. The only normal one in the family is Stan's little sister, Olivia. She's the one bright spot in his existence.

Stan should be thinking about college, but instead is working a dead-end job at Happy Video. It at least gives him the chance to watch endless videos in an attempt to prepare for what he hopes is a future in writing movie scripts. In the meantime, he is stuck riding his ten-speed, helping out in the family business, and hoping for a chance to date the girl of his dreams, Ellen.

As if Stan doesn't have enough problems, he believes he has a stalker. The victim of high school taunting and bullying, he was threatened by Ellen's ex, Chad Chilton. Now the evidence is mounting and points to Chad as the probable driver of the speeding car that almost ran Stan off the road one dark night, as well as the twisted mind that left a mutilated Barbie doll on Stan's steps. These acts of terror, plus slashed bike tires and vandalism at the Happy Video store, are sending waves of fear through the frustrated Stan.

Sean Beaudoin uses witty dialogue and hilarious descriptions to grab readers and get them cheering for poor Stan. The first person style helps readers understand Stan's above-average intelligence and his passion for movies and scriptwriting. This is definitely one I found difficult to put down once I started reading. show less

This book was funny! I loved how the author would insert parts of movie scripts the main character was working on. It made the book so much better!

I did not enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. Maybe I didn't like it because I had such high expectations for it but I felt as though the plot was pointless and by the end it went nowhere, maybe the title of the book is right on? I found little humor throughout it's pages and found Stan to be a bit annoying and bratty. It was difficult to get through this book and after finishing it I found it was a waste of time.

This book was so hilarious!! I loved reading every minute of it!! As the main character tries to write a movie script, he puts in some of his ideas in the book. Some of them are crazy, but most are just funny!

Funny book...good for teen boy or girl that doesn't love to read. Has excerpts of movie script main character is writing.