Skip to main content

STUPID FAST by Geoff Herbach



copyright date: June 2011
primarily marketed for: (young adults, 8th grade and up)

This is what I call a “smart guy-book".  When you guys are ready to move away from fantasy into realistic fiction about teenage guy issues, Stupid Fast is one of the books you will have to turn to.  This is a book for you guys who read Invisible and Godless by Pete Hautman, Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson, Shift by Jennifer Bradbury, Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman, anything by Chris Crutcher or John Green, and especially About a Boy by Nick Hornby.

Stupid Fast is the story of Felton Reinstein.  He is a Jewish teenager who was fiver years old when he discovered his father had hung himself in the garage.  That was the beginning of a lot of years of instability for Felton and his family. 

Now that he is a teenager, Felton is struggling to grow up, take care of his younger brother, reach his newfound athletic (not to mention social) potential, and escape the disaster his mother is becoming. 

It is important to know that this is not going to be the sports book it advertises itself as (based on the cover).  It has much more depth than that.  Felton is dealing with major family issues and uncovering long buried family secrets in the midst of fostering a budding romance and maintaining a long distance friendship with his best pal over the summer. 

His voice is filled with humor, sarcasm, and the language you would expect from a frustrated, angst-ridden, teenage boy.  The unusual cadence and writing style had me laughing out loud at some points, then wondering where the story was headed at others, then laughing out loud again before I could put the book down.

This is a book that takes some reading stamina to get through, but what a gift this story is if you stick with it!
Labels:

Comments

  1. Linda BFebruary 21, 2012 at 8:56 PM

    You've read some great books lately, Christy. This is already on my list like the previous too, but I didn't know that much about it. It sounds like a good book for a number of young students I know. Thanks as always.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownFebruary 28, 2012 at 9:09 AM

    When I first started reading Stupid Fast I thought this is a guys book but in the end I loved Felton so much that female readers will also love it! I think Geoff is a great writer and I love the journey he takes the reader on!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TAKE WHAT YOU CAN CARRY by Kevin C. Pyle

copyright date: March 2012 primarily marketed for: young adults (12 and up) Despite the fact that the teacher in me sees so many lesson possibilities in Kevin C. Pyle’s graphic novel Take What You Can Carry , you should read it simply for the grace of its stories.   The artwork is as striking as the stories it tells.   Using artwork in two different colors and styles, Pyle tells the stories of two teenage boys living years and miles apart.   And yet, he communicates the universality in their experiences.   One boy is a Japanese American forced to move into an internment camp during WWII.   His family struggles to maintain their dignity and sense of peace under unbearable conditions. The other is a rebellious boy with an attitude whose reckless behavior causes him to wind up in trouble with the law.   To make amends, he finds himself completing community service hours in the most unlikely place.   I found my...
1 comment
Read more

THE SEA IN WINTER by Christine Day

  release date: January 5, 2021 primarily marketed for: Middle grades The Sea in Winter  by Christine Day is a gift to its readers. It is a book of quiet strength with much to offer.  Maisie is a ballet dancer who feels most herself when she is at the dance studio. However, at the start of this story, Maisie is coping with a serious knee injury that prevents her from dancing long-term. She misses her friends from dance and struggles to maintain those connections when she is no longer part of the dancing life they shared.  When her mom and stepdad plan a road trip to the Olympic Peninsula to visit sites of familial and cultural significance, Maisie stubbornly overworks her healing knee. She is determined to heal and return to the studio  faster than expected. Although her knee is the only focus of Maisie's wellness journey, it turns out there is more to healing than physical fitness.  Maisie is a quietly compelling character, but I was surprised to find myse...
Post a Comment
Read more

THE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF AIDAN S. (as told to his brother) by David Levithan

 copyright date: February 2, 2021 primarily marketed for: Middle Grades I devoured this one in a single sitting. The Mysterious Disappearance of Aidan S. (as told to his brother)  by David Levithan is the book I did not know I needed.  The story opens when Aidan S. has gone missing. His parents are distraught. His brother, Lucas, is beside himself. The town is pitching in to help search. As the days pass, the outcome looks more and more grim.  And then Aidan shows up in the attic, wearing the same pajamas he had on when he left, and everyone wants answers. Is he alright? Where was he? What made him disappear?  Although Aidan's story is the driving force behind this novel, it is really Lucas's story readers enter. When Aidan returns with an explanation beyond belief, Lucas is left to decide what really matters. Levithan hints at classic tales, but his perspective is uniquely fresh and inventive. Readers will be left thinking about what really makes a story true....
Post a Comment
Read more