Castration Celebration

After catching her father cheating on her mother, Olivia has sworn off the male population. She intends to write a musical at Yale’s summer arts camp titled Castration Celebration. Too bad Max comes along, and he’s a ladies’ man who knows exactly what to say, which buttons to press…and he wants Olivia. Can this unlikely twosome, with the help of their mutual friends, make it?

I am still giggling and shaking my head weeks after reading this book. CASTRATION CELEBRATION is bawdy and offensive if it’s not your kind of book. Luckily, I enjoyed every minute of it.

In CASTRATION CELEBRATION, witty sexual innuendo is the name of the game. The characters’ repartee is so fast that if you don’t watch out, it might give you whiplash. show more Flirtatious teasing and suggestive comments fly back and forth, almost without stop. Even when Olivia and Max weren’t flirting, the characters’ dialogue was just so entertaining. They speak the way I always wanted to but was never brave or clever enough to do back in high school.

Some of the supporting characters are admittedly stereotypical “supportive friend” types, and sometimes I can even see that Olivia and Max are not all that well-rounded. However, they were just so successful at being entertaining that I didn’t even mind. I think that their role isn’t necessarily to be understood, but rather to entertain without resorting to tasteless, over-the-top antics, and they succeed.

CASTRATION CELEBRATION is not for everyone, but if you enjoy the occasional dollop of teenage boy humor, then this will make for an uproarious read. show less

My favorite parts from Castration Celebration were the scenes from Olivia's script, which included some lyrics that I really wished had been accompanied by music. If it resembles anything like Avenue Q, then it sounds like a winning musical to me. :) I think she captured the essence of girls AND boys in her scenes, and it was amusing to see how she would banter with Max and use that in her writing.

Maybe I missed it, but I wish that Olivia's "sordid" past had been explained more. I was not sure if she had sworn off boys primarily because of what her father did (which, I must admit, is a doozy!) or because she also experienced a terrible relationship. Now that I think about it, it probably is related to her father's disgusting behavior - show more but from certain scenes of her musical, it felt like there might have been an underlying relationship-gone-wrong story that she never tells.

I felt that Jake Wizner captured the teenage voice fairly well, especially the boys. It was not too raunchy, but I definitely had moments when I thought "This totally sounds like boy-speak" :) I always love the bantering done between girls and boys, and Castration Celebration has it done to an art! :D If you're looking for a good laugh with a side of ridiculous, then I think you'll like this one :) show less

I'm going to go with what a lot of other reviewers are saying and tell you that the cover is kind of misleading. I was expecting a book that was mocking "High School Musical" and it's...well to me it's not. It's just a more perverse version. Did I enjoy the book? Yes, it's a quick read. But I found myself thinking that I must have been quite a prudish teenager, and that somewhere along the line I must have missed what guys "really talk like" because there was a LOT of sex talk. It definitely wasn't as graphic as it could have been, and I did like that not just the guys were sex hounds, but I don't remember acting anything like these kids until I was in college. But again, maybe I was just really really prudish.

Reviewed by LadyJay for TeensReadToo.com

Olivia has had it with men!

After walking in on her dad fooling around with a grad student, Olivia decides that she must write a musical to express her outrage at the situation. Yale University's summer arts camp is the perfect place to craft her masterpiece. Olivia's musical is aptly titled Castration Celebration.

She tries to sequester herself in her dorm suite and finish the daunting task put before her, but Olivia's suite mates aren't going to let her hide out for long. Neither will the handsome Max, a fledgling actor who almost killed Olivia on the first day of camp.

Max is bound and determined to win Olivia's heart - come hell, high water, or castration!

Wizner has written an outrageously funny show more novel that focuses on the battle of the sexes. High school kids will appreciate how candid the author is with his use of language. Some may feel that it is a bit explicit, but I think that all who read this novel will find the humor in it.

This book would be best enjoyed lounging by the pool with a frosty beverage in hand. A perfect summer read! show less

** spoiler alert ** This review will be short and simple. I loved this book. That’s all I have to say. It was disgusting, lewd, perverted, and “holy cow” worthy. Don’t believer me? Here are some quotes then:

“‘Menstruating Mandy,” Callie said. “Wind her up and watch her squirt.”

Or how about this one, it might look familiar:

‘“You know the book Twilight?” asked Max.

“I’ve heard of it.”

“It’s about this vampire who hooks up with a teenage chick. They never do more than kiss, but I was thinking if he ever went down on her while she was having her period it would be like winning the lottery.”’

Fun enough for you? This book is not the most politically correct book, or one with the best plot (heck I show more didn’t even care about the plot!), it was just downright hilarious. Would I recommend this for everyone? Absolutely not. There are things in there that probably offends everyone in this country but that does not mean it cannot be enjoyed.

If you have a slightly twisted humor, you will love this book. It you have a more sane humor, read it still! Grab it from the library, your friend, or stay in borders for 3 hours! I don’t care, just read it!

Overall: Wow. show less

Imagine "High School Musical" recast as a raunchy teen comedy and you have some idea of the tone here. You may be relieved that no character is actually castrated. Olivia weaves themes and problems from her own love life as she writes a musical during a summer arts program for high school students at Yale University.

This was an interesting book... Pretty much the entire thing was hilarious. Though this book may not be the book for everyone.
It was well-written, and I liked the format it was written. The main character, Olivia, is writing a play and you switch between reading about what's actually going on at the summer arts program at Yale, and her play.
Though, the whole part about Olivia playing hard to get and that Max keeps going for it. All the stuff she does is just rididulous and to me was annoying to read. The other characters were great though, Trish and Zeke were my 2 favorites.