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onclout99's review against another edition
3.0
☆the good☆
leon is hilarious; his friends are on point; melody is such a great person i love her to death; the samantha/amy drag session about feminism; melody telling leon the truth and giving it to him straight; the freakin axlerod movies or w/e; satanic dan; satanic dan suffering through a foreign film w/ buttercup
☆the bad☆
leon thinking he deserves a gf; leon leaving melody for amy; amy as a whole; leon trying to get melody back by embarassing her to death at a movie theatre; leon getting easily riled and being sh!tty to his friends
☆in conclusion☆
★★★☆☆, because leon was a likeable douchebag, the book was funny, and melody won in the end
greenbeanteenqueen's review
5.0
I read this one because it was on the Gateway premlinary nominee list and I'm so glad it was. I'm not sure if I would have come across it otherwise. I wasn't sure what to expect-I'll admit when I first saw it on the list, I thought "oh, it's just on there because it's a Missouri author." But I was blown away by this book.
Brian Katcher packed so much emotion into this story-I found myself tearing up at parts and honestly, I don't cry that much in books. The characters are all well drawn and the writing flows easily. I wanted to keep reading this one and found myself staying up late to do so.
Things moved a little fast, but I reminded myself I was reading about teens. I did like that it didn't take long to get the book going-I hate when the book jacket tells you a main plot point that doesn't happen until halfway through. That is not the case here-the story starts right away.
The only complaint I really had was Amy's character wasn't what I expected. I thought the way she turned out was a little unrealistic. I did like that she surprised me and had more depth though. (I don't want to spoil the book, so I won't say much else).
I would give this one to readers who have enjoyed John Green's novels-I can see the audience being the same. I'm looking forward to reading Brian Katcher's latest novel, Almost Perfect, and I'm very proud to say he's a Missouri author!
Brian Katcher packed so much emotion into this story-I found myself tearing up at parts and honestly, I don't cry that much in books. The characters are all well drawn and the writing flows easily. I wanted to keep reading this one and found myself staying up late to do so.
Things moved a little fast, but I reminded myself I was reading about teens. I did like that it didn't take long to get the book going-I hate when the book jacket tells you a main plot point that doesn't happen until halfway through. That is not the case here-the story starts right away.
The only complaint I really had was Amy's character wasn't what I expected. I thought the way she turned out was a little unrealistic. I did like that she surprised me and had more depth though. (I don't want to spoil the book, so I won't say much else).
I would give this one to readers who have enjoyed John Green's novels-I can see the audience being the same. I'm looking forward to reading Brian Katcher's latest novel, Almost Perfect, and I'm very proud to say he's a Missouri author!
hezann73's review
5.0
Time to be honest here. I only read this book as a favor to a friend who gave me a stack of books to read. I picked this one to read first because it was the one I wanted to read the least. The cover did nothing for me and I dreaded starting it. Imagine my surprise to discover I couldn't put it down.
Leon is a self-professed loser. He was bullied in middle school and has gotten throgh high school by essentially being invisable. But when he has to do a project with the school "freak" - burn victim Melody, he knows attention will come his way. Little did he know it would be romantic attention from the girl no one wants to look at. Leon manages to work through some of his prejudices about Melody, but throws it all away when beautiful Amy starts to notice him.
Yes, the message of "it's what's inside that counts" is a little heavy, but I didn't care for one second. I LOVED the language of this book and found myself reading it outloud to my husband. I thought Leon was totally believable (often thinking with his brain below the waist like a lot of high school guys). I liked him when I was supposed to, wanted to smack him when I was supposed to, but wanted him to be happy in the end. A totally satisfying read.
Leon is a self-professed loser. He was bullied in middle school and has gotten throgh high school by essentially being invisable. But when he has to do a project with the school "freak" - burn victim Melody, he knows attention will come his way. Little did he know it would be romantic attention from the girl no one wants to look at. Leon manages to work through some of his prejudices about Melody, but throws it all away when beautiful Amy starts to notice him.
Yes, the message of "it's what's inside that counts" is a little heavy, but I didn't care for one second. I LOVED the language of this book and found myself reading it outloud to my husband. I thought Leon was totally believable (often thinking with his brain below the waist like a lot of high school guys). I liked him when I was supposed to, wanted to smack him when I was supposed to, but wanted him to be happy in the end. A totally satisfying read.
lirael's review
4.0
Dorky guy drools over cute, popular girl from afar. Starts dating girl whose face was disfigured in a fire, but shares his love of geek pop culture and cheesy jokes. Suddenly, popular girl is kind of interested. Now who does he choose?
The narrator's voice reminds me of the guy in King Dork by Frank Portman. Funny and believable, mostly.
The narrator's voice reminds me of the guy in King Dork by Frank Portman. Funny and believable, mostly.
destdest's review
4.0
Overall, a good read. I really enjoyed the Melody/Leon dynamic and Leon's friends. I didn't always care for the humor. Some of the jokes don't hold up now due to their unpolitically correct nature. And Leon was a little iffy. I get he's a horny teenager, but I found him too sex-obsessed at times.
But dude. he starts kissing Amy and already trying to take her toward the bed/couch. like no, bro.
Still, I liked this book. Read it twice.
Still, I liked this book. Read it twice.
1tolkienfan's review
3.0
I like the way the author portrayed the characters, especially Leon. They didn't seem to grown up and make all the "best" decisions, very realistic.
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