Cannonball Read, Book 13

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

I'm lazy, so I suggest heading over to Pajiba to read Sophia's Review here, as I feel exactly the same way about it: funny, touching, annoying end. Unlike most people, I love when films are based on novels I've read. It usually has no effect on my feelings on the novel itself. That being said, I'm extremely excited about Peter Jackson's "The Lovely Bones"...trailer here.

Cannonball Read, Book 12 (Is that all, really? God, I suck!)
Slam by Nick Hornby

I'm torn.
I love Hornby and everything he's written. I don't really know how not to love him. So, I'm gonna give him a pass for this one. I'll say (and hope) that he's attempting to dumb down his wit and humor for the younger crowd, as this is billed as a young adult novel.

Obligatory summary:
Sam is an implausibly immature 15-year old boy who has daily conversations with a Tony Hawk poster. The Tony Hawk poster talks back in snippets from his autobiography that usually just annoy both Sam and the reader. Sam meets a girl too pretty for him, falls in lust, has the sex, and knocks said girl up. The bulk of the book is basically Sam coming to terms with the pregnancy and trying to figure out how to deal with it.

Maybe saying that Sam is implausibly immature is naivete on my part. Maybe most 15-year olds really are this fucking stupid. It just didn't work for me. Most of the time, it seemed like Hornby was trying to write what it seemed like an adult trying to connect with a younger audience would write...rather than actually connecting.

I don't know. Apparently the book got pretty good reviews, so I'm probably being too harsh. Despite everything I've written here, I actually enjoyed reading the book. In retrospect, however, it's completely forgettable. I guess I just I expect better from Hornby.