Monday, February 21, 2011
Spanking Shakespeare
by Jake Wizner
Shakespeare Shapiro. Yep, that's his real name. (Hey, his brother is named Gandhi - but somehow, his brother is popular and everything works out for him anyhow.) He's thinking not much is going his way, and tends to see himself as the victim - or at least, that's the way he writes it in his writing projects, which always take the funny slant and lump in a dose of crude teen guy humour. He writes a lot - not only because he goes to a school with a special writing programme and he's hoping to get picked as one of the finalists in the memoir contest, but also because it is one of the few things he seems to do well.
He grows up - a little - over the year, and there are some lessons about choices and what's important, as well as a bit of loser-makes-good teen movie optimism, but mostly, this novel is a really funny and very guy-oriented read. If you know a fan of Don Calame's Swim The Fly, this is a good followup in the same sort of vein, with just the same good balance of solid message and rude, crude humour. Yes, I snorted as I read it - always a good indicator.
Shakespeare Shapiro. Yep, that's his real name. (Hey, his brother is named Gandhi - but somehow, his brother is popular and everything works out for him anyhow.) He's thinking not much is going his way, and tends to see himself as the victim - or at least, that's the way he writes it in his writing projects, which always take the funny slant and lump in a dose of crude teen guy humour. He writes a lot - not only because he goes to a school with a special writing programme and he's hoping to get picked as one of the finalists in the memoir contest, but also because it is one of the few things he seems to do well.
He grows up - a little - over the year, and there are some lessons about choices and what's important, as well as a bit of loser-makes-good teen movie optimism, but mostly, this novel is a really funny and very guy-oriented read. If you know a fan of Don Calame's Swim The Fly, this is a good followup in the same sort of vein, with just the same good balance of solid message and rude, crude humour. Yes, I snorted as I read it - always a good indicator.
Labels: 2007, good stuff, growing up, humour, teen
# posted by kittenpie @ 5:52 AM 
