JANUARY 2011 - AudioFile
Andy Paris pulls off a strong performance in this audio production. As Sam grapples with his Tourette’s syndrome, high school graduation, and his overbearing stepfather, he encounters a friend of his biological father, who reveals a side of life previously closed to him. Paris provides an expressive portrait of a challenged and frustrated character. While his overly strong enunciation of words that begin with hard consonant sounds can wear on the listener, his skill in delivering a fully believable first-person point of view engages listeners with Sam’s hopes and struggles. L.E. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
Like its Tourette Syndrome-afflicted protagonist, this novel lacks grace. Sam lives with his mother, his baby half brother and his stepfather, an abusive man with OCD who hates Sam's dead father so much that he changed Sam's name. With no prospects after graduation, Sam takes a job with "Coot," a local oddball who knew Sam's dad and quickly becomes Sam's best friend (as well as his connection to beautiful Naomi) before dropping dead and leaving Sam his farm and a quest. Sam, now reverted to Jack and accompanied by Naomi, follows the quest and discovers his parents' Mennonite past and the windmills his father built. Quirky characters who barely rise above caricatures, clunky dialogue and inconsistent voice and a pregnant leading-lady round out the tale. Cluttered plot and issues galore, with a too-easy resolution and a rickety back story (why did no one ever mention to Sam that his dad was not a boozing two-timer?) undermine the potentially interesting premise. Hardly worth the effort. (reading-group questions; author interview, not seen) (Fiction. 13 & up)
From the Publisher
-Compelling.+ -School Library Journal
-Emotionally rewarding and effective.+ -VOYA
-Like any good road story, there are enough corners and bends to keep readers eagerly anticipating what lies ahead at the journey+s end.+ -Booklist
School Library Journal
Gr 8 Up—When Sam was diagnosed as a young child with Tourette's Syndrome, handed down to him genetically by his deceased father, his stepfather Bill rejected him and his mother allowed it to happen. Now a high school senior, the boy expects nothing from his mother and abuse from his stepfather. Sam is an outcast in school due to the tics and verbal outbursts his Tourette's precipitates, yet he never explains the disease that causes this behavior. He just struggles on, continues to be bullied, and accepts it all. The day he graduates, George, his dad's old friend, appears in his life and changes everything. All the lies that Bill told him about his father are revealed, but none of it sinks in until George dies and leaves Sam his money, property, and a map that he must follow to learn the truth about his father. George's granddaughter, Naomi, the girl of Sam's dreams, comes along for reasons of her own. On this quest, Sam comes to know himself as James's son, Jack, and learns that his father was a remarkable man. The plot of Jonathan Friesen's debut novel (Penguin/Speak, 2008) is somewhat unbelievable, the story is overly long, and Andy Paris's narration does not fully distinguish the characters. Although Sam has been raised in the Midwest, there is no trace of a regional accent. The winner of the 2009 Schneider Family Book Award for its portrayal of Tourette's Syndrome, this offering will fill a niche in libraries seeking novels about the condition.—Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
JANUARY 2011 - AudioFile
Andy Paris pulls off a strong performance in this audio production. As Sam grapples with his Tourette’s syndrome, high school graduation, and his overbearing stepfather, he encounters a friend of his biological father, who reveals a side of life previously closed to him. Paris provides an expressive portrait of a challenged and frustrated character. While his overly strong enunciation of words that begin with hard consonant sounds can wear on the listener, his skill in delivering a fully believable first-person point of view engages listeners with Sam’s hopes and struggles. L.E. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine
