King of the Screwups

When Mr. Popularity Liam Geller's type-A dad kicks him out of the house, Liam goes to live with his cross-dressing uncle Pete in a trailer park upstate. As Liam struggles to change, to be unpopular, his uncle battles to help him be true to himself in the face of parental disapproval.

Based on the flap copy, I thought this book would be funny and poignant- a great light read. Though it was in fact funny and poignant, it was also a painfully raw look parental mental abuse at its worst. I was shocked and appalled that Liam's mother stood by as his father attempted to crush every spark of life and humanity from his son, pandering to his egotistical need to recreate his son in his own image.

I read this book from start to finish in one show more evening- it is just that powerful a novel. This book was moving and raw and at times absurd- just like the life of an average teenager. Highly recommended! show less

When Liam is assigned an essay on his greatest talent, there is no question in his mind what he will write about. There’s one thing in life that he can do better than anyone else: screw up. Even when Liam TRIES to screw up, he screws that up. He’s the King of the Screwups. And so it’s no big shock to Liam when his ultra-successful type-A dad finally sends him away. It is, however, a shock that he’s going to live in a trailer park with his cross-dressing, glam-rocking Aunt Pete.When Liam gets to his new home, he does everything he can to reinvent himself in the image of his father. He wants so badly to be studious, brilliant in school, and as unpopular as possible in the hopes of gaining his father’s love. But things don’t go show more quite as he planned it - his grades aren’t exactly improving, the head cheerleader is taking quite an interest in him, and in a hysterical scene he somehow manages to make the A.V. Club hip. This is a tough book in that it looks like a light screwball comedy, and a lot of it reads that way, but at the heart of the story is an abusive relationship between a parent and a child. It is never physically abusive, but there is no question that Liam’s treatment by his father - and to some extent his mother as well - is mentally and emotionally abusive. Liam’s complete lack of faith in himself, and his willingness to dismiss his considerable talents, are a direct result of that treatment. Fortunately, taking Liam away from his parents puts him in the care of a new group of people who are willing to see the great things about Liam. Aunt Pete and his band buddies have a tough line to walk - Liam is not open to hearing negative things about his dad or positive things about himself, and Pete does not have any experience with teenage boys. But they are a strong, thoughtful, supportive group of guys. And when they finally latch on to Liam’s love for fashion, they are able to help him find the good in himself. Liam is a likeable guy - sometimes almost in spite of himself. And while it hurts to hear his skewed self-perceptions, he is a pleasure to get to know. With Liam and her other characters, K.L. Going presents people who cheerfully defy their first-impression stereotypes. Once again, Going has given us a winner. show less

Liam always seems to be screwing things up, but when his businessman father catches him making out with a girl on the desk in his office, he finally gets kicked out of the house. Instead of going to his uptight grandparents in Nevada, however, Liam's mother (who used to be a famous runway model, and has passed all her knowledge and beauty to her son) arranges for him to stay with his cross-dressing, glam-rocker uncle Pete, who lives in a trailer in upstate New York. Liam decides that in order to win his father's approval, he needs to be something other than the "popular kid" he's always been in the past. Despite his keen fashion sense and designer clothes, he tries dressing in Pete's t-shirts, reads the morning announcements, and show more generally acts as "uncool" as he can manage. Fortunately for him, his plan backfires in a variety of spectacular ways, and he learns that it might just be better to be himself than try to please his father (who is, frankly, an abusive jerk).

What I liked about this book the most was Liam's character. When he is being himself, he loves clothes, loves modeling, and cares about other people. It's also nice that Uncle Pete's gayness (and the sexuality of his bandmates), rather than being a major focus, is downplayed. I felt the book cried out for a sequel--will Liam get together with Darleen? Will Liam's mother ever leave his father? What is Liam going to do with his life? I hope he will become a world-famous model! show less

K. L. Goings has once again written an excellent YA novel. This book introduces Liam Geller, who's parents are famous and his dad never fails to let his son know how much of a disappointment he is to him. Finally having had enough after one too many drunken parties, his dad kicks him out and he's sent to live with his uncle Peter who's gay, in a glam rock bank and lives in a trailer in the middle of BFE practically. Along the way,
Liam learns to accept himself how he truly is, and despite what his dad always tells him, that he isn't a screw up at all, just simply,
Liam. I definitely recommend this book to everyone who enjoys a good YA novel.

Reviewed by coollibrarianchick for TeensReadToo.com

You can't please everybody. I knew that before reading KING OF THE SCREWUPS by K.L Going. Ms.Going, however, is going to please a lot of people with her newest book. I have read her other books and she just has a way of creating an engaging ensemble of characters in each book you read.

I like Liam Geller, the protagonist in this story. He is Mr Popular. You know the type - very good looking, knows how to dress, has his way with the ladies, excels at sports. He is just an average student, though, and this disappoints his father to no end. His father is a CEO of this prestigious company and a member of Mensa, so you can imagine what an embarrassment it must be for him that his son does not show more take after him. Liam actually takes after his mom, a former runway model. He has a great eye for fashion and this does not sit well with dear old dad. His father absolutely believes that intelligence and discipline is what will get him far in life. Popularity and likeableness in high school will not help in the real world. I beg to differ on that point....

I do not like Allan Geller. Personally, I think he is a horse's ass. The pressure he puts on his son is ridiculous. Working in the school system, I see a lot of fathers like that. Their kids are generally good kids, have potential, but just feel like losers because they are buried under such criticism and feel no love.

This definitely can be considered a coming-of-age story. Liam, throughout this book, discovers who he is and how to make it work. Going seamlessly combines much needed comic moments with some heartbreaking ones. I think the intention of this book was to show that it is okay to not be perfect, but what really came out is how damaging a parent's high and sometimes unrealistic expectations can be on their child.

Now, I am not saying Liam is perfect - he does screw up and does some things that may make parents cringe, but he is not an utter failure at everything. I don't think it was right to get drunk and pretty much have sex on his dad's desk. He was doing what teenagers do, but this last episode was the one that broke the camel's back. This screwup gets him kicked out with a slim chance of ever returning. His father has had enough of him and wants him out of the house.

He has made arrangements for Liam to live with his grandparents, but because they don't care for him too much, Liam makes alternative arrangements to live with his Aunt Pete, which angers his father even more. You see, aunt Pete is a gay glam rock DJ living in a small trailer, not exactly the role model for discipline that his father wants for Liam. It turns out though that "Aunt" Pete and his colorful assortment of friends are better role models for Liam than his dad will ever be by a country mile.

And so begins Liam's new life. Here in Pineville, NY, where nobody knows him, he can reinvent himself. Here he could be a nerd, focus on academics like his father wants, and just become someone that his father is proud of. Once his father sees how much he has changed, he will surely take him back.

The thing is, no matter how hard he tries to be unpopular, people like him anyway. Well, most people like him. The only one that he wants admiration from is a girl that can't stand him - Darleen, the girl next door.

I know as I got further and further into the writing of THE KING OF THE SCREWUPS that I wanted Liam to succeed. I needed Liam to succeed. But Darleen is right when she tells Liam that you can't create love - you have to take it where it happens..... show less

Full review at http://yannabe.com/2009/07/29/review-king-of-the-screwups/

Summary: Liam is a high school senior, and everyone loves him. Except his father. Somehow, no matter how hard he tries not to screw up, Liam disappoints his dad. When his dad kicks him out, Liam’s only option is to live with his dad’s cross-dressing brother. Which pisses off his dad even more.

Review: I will definitely be reading more by K.L. Going. (Can you believe I haven’t read Fat Kid Rules the World? YA sacrilege!)

I love it when a main character breaks out of tired old stereotypes. Liam is straight and yet surprisingly comfortable in his own masculinity for a guy who’s inherited the sensibilities of his supermodel mom. Still, he has to figure out how to show more live in the real world, where even his dad is homophobic.

And my goodness, his relationship with his father is screwed up. I sometimes wished that I had a little more insight into why his dad was the way he was, but then again parents don’t come with an owner’s manual to explain all their hangups.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, so I’ll be passing it along to my rarely-reading hubby. show less

Liam Geller is Mr. Popularity. Everybody loves him. He excels at sports; he knows exactly what clothes to wear; he always ends up with the most beautiful girls in school. But he's got an uncanny ability to screw up in the very ways that tick off his father the most.

When Liam finally gets kicked out of the house, his father's brother takes him in. What could a teenage chick magnet possibly have in common with his gay, glam rocker, DJ uncle who lives in a trailer in upstate New York? A lot more than you'd think. And when Liam attempts to make himself over as a nerd in a desperate attempt to impress his father, it's his "aunt" Pete and the guys in his band who convince Liam there's much more to him than his father will ever see. From show more Amazon US

I can't tell you how amazing this book is! Seriously, it's unbelievably emotional and poweful, and at times depressing, but it's fantastic.

This book is all about self-perception. The perception Liam has of himself, of being a screwup who's never going to amount to much, is based on the way he is treated by his father. His father is a successful business man, his mother is the owner of a boutique and an ex-super model. Nothing Liam or his mother does is ever good enough for his Dad, and one problem I have with this book is you never really find out why. All you know is his Dad is a bully, but the word "bully" doesn't seem strong enough for him. He demeans, insults, and drags Liam down in every way he can. Of course, some of the things Liam does aren't the best, but the way he is treated by his father in unjustifiable. It's disgusting.

When his Dad is kicks him out and he moves to live with Aunt Pete, Liam desperately wants to go back home. To impress his father, to show he's changed, he tries to become a nerd. He tries to befriend the unpopular girl, he joins the AV club, he wears his uncles clothes to discourage the in crowd. It doesn't work though, all his attempts to be an outsider just make the in crowd love him more. And Pete, along with Pete's friends and bandmates, can see right through it. This is not who Liam is.

This book has such huge messages on how we should just be ourselves, and not try to change for anyone - no matter who it is you feel needs impressing. It's absolutely heart breaking to see Liam try so very hard, yet feel even worse when his attempts fail. And everytime his father spoke I was made so unbelievably angry! It's an absolutely fantastic book, and I would recommend it to everyone!

There was one thing I had a huge amount of trouble with; reading it. As you can tell, I really loved this book, I think it was amazing. Yet I had trouble picking it up once I had put it down, and I have no idea why. I enjoyed it immensely while reading, but when not, I wasn't motivated to pick it up. It's took me far too long to read it, and I can't say why. But it is absolutely awesome, and definitely needs to be on everyone's wishlists!

From show less