Overview
It’s High School Musical—rated R!
When the girl who’s foresworn men meets the boy who’s devoted himself to picking up women, there’s bound to be drama—perfect for a sixweek summer program devoted to the arts. Olivia’s summer goal: to write a musical that censures men with wandering eyes. Max’s summer goal: to hone his acting skills, along with his talent for attracting the ladies. Before camp is over, they’ll perform Olivia’s musical onstage and in real life—though the ending may turn out differently than either expects.
Jake Wizner’s story within a story takes the battle of the sexes to a whole new level in a bawdy, uproarious romp that’s laugh-out-loud fun.
Synopsis
It’s High School Musical—rated R!
When the girl who’s foresworn men meets the boy who’s devoted himself to picking up women, there’s bound to be drama—perfect for a sixweek summer program devoted to the arts. Olivia’s summer goal: to write a musical that censures men with wandering eyes. Max’s summer goal: to hone his acting skills, along with his talent for attracting the ladies. Before camp is over, they’ll perform Olivia’s musical onstage and in real life—though the ending may turn out differently than either expects.
Jake Wizner’s story within a story takes the battle of the sexes to a whole new level in a bawdy, uproarious romp that’s laugh-out-loud fun.
Publishers Weekly
It's summertime and hormones are raging for the high school students at Yale University's camp for the arts. Olivia arrives with pentup anger over walking in on her dad cheating on her mom with a student, and is determined to write about it. Though Olivia has instituted a personal "boy boycott," when dashing Max develops an immediate crush on her, her skepticism fuels her writing. Her musical, a reworking of Much Ado About Nothing, mirrors Olivia and Max's own ups and downs and features many libidinous musical numbers ("Threesome, threesome, threesome/ How can I get me some?/ ... The things we will be doing/ Like the pornos I've been viewing"). The characters' actual dialogue is equally sex-drenched-the American Pie crowd will love it-though the relentless and explicit banter can be exhausting. With a skeevy reinterpretation of Pat the Bunny and a crudely funny song about Bella Swan likely to draw the ire of Twilighters, Wizner's (Spanking Shakespeare) sophomore novel may reach new heights-or, possibly, depths-of notoriety. Ages 14-up. (May)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
It's summertime and hormones are raging for the high school students at Yale University's camp for the arts. Olivia arrives with pentup anger over walking in on her dad cheating on her mom with a student, and is determined to write about it. Though Olivia has instituted a personal "boy boycott," when dashing Max develops an immediate crush on her, her skepticism fuels her writing. Her musical, a reworking of Much Ado About Nothing, mirrors Olivia and Max's own ups and downs and features many libidinous musical numbers ("Threesome, threesome, threesome/ How can I get me some?/ ... The things we will be doing/ Like the pornos I've been viewing"). The characters' actual dialogue is equally sex-drenched-the American Pie crowd will love it-though the relentless and explicit banter can be exhausting. With a skeevy reinterpretation of Pat the Bunny and a crudely funny song about Bella Swan likely to draw the ire of Twilighters, Wizner's (Spanking Shakespeare) sophomore novel may reach new heights-or, possibly, depths-of notoriety. Ages 14-up. (May)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up
Max is stoked to be attending Yale's arts program, but his near-disastrous run-in with Olivia leaves him wondering about his romantic prospects there. Olivia's sworn off guys for the summer, and she's working on Castration Celebration , a musical about a sweet girl wronged by her lust-driven boyfriend. The two spar throughout the program, with Max accepting Olivia's elaborate challenges to prove his dedication to her. After a quick road trip and an all-night discussion, the pair finally accept their attraction to one another and nearly achieve a happy ending. It's no surprise that hormones drive this plot, and Max's attempts to win Olivia's affections are perfectly pulled from contemporary date movies. Pop references collide with gross-out humor as Max creates a song featuring Twilight 's Bella and music by U2 that will have teens groaning and laughing. Olivia's writing feels stilted, an odd blend of small-town nostalgia and urban edginess, and the characters, both in the musical and in the narrative, lack diverse voices. Max enjoys the odd joint, and his drug use does have consequences. Teens will enjoy the plentiful laughs and the authentic friendship that Max develops with Zeke, his roommate. Lighthearted and humorous, this novel will appeal to older readers.-Chris Shoemaker, New York Public Library