10th Grade

Rating:
Summary: Undecided
Review: Throughout the novel I found myself not sure about the book. I wasn't sure if I enjoyed reading the grammatical errors, or if it really pissed me off. After the first few chapters I realized it's not easy to read the way teenagers speak. I hated the grammatical errors in this book! The book itself was pretty point less. I didn't think this book had much to offer, at all.

Rating:
Summary: Modestly Entertaining
Review: Written from the perspective of a 15-year-old, Weisberg's debut is the journal of a New Jersey boy as he enters and progresses through 10th grade in 1981 or thereabouts. The conceit here is that the prose is supposed to mirror the syntax, vocabulary and punctuation one might find in such a teenagers journal. So, one encounters entire pages without commas, sentences that run on and on and on, and the use of numerals such as 1, 2, 3, instead of the words one, two, three. Weisberg has exaggerated these stylistic tics for comedy sake, but the end result is that the book is a bit of a trial to read. Yes, it makes sense in context, but it's a gimmick that wears thin very early (and will doubtless insult many a 10th-grader). The diarist, Jeremy, is somewhat of an everyman. This is both a positive and negative: the easy-go-lucky good-hearted kid doesn't do anything extreme that might alienate the reader, but he's so average that the reader never gets much of a feel for him. Yes, he's likeable and inoffensive, and you root for him, but he never truly comes alive as a living, breathing character. And yet his relatively smooth journey through the ups and downs of sophomore year makes for a modestly enjoyable read.

The bulk of the story revolves around his friendships and a secret crush on the new girl at school. At first he falls in with a circle of pseudo-outsiders: one fat girl, one hot girl (who has a 23-year-old boyfriend), one cynical guy, and a plain girl. They hang out together at lunch and in various people's rec rooms. A lot of this is pitch perfect, as the group subtly shifts to include him, and it becomes clear over time that one of the girls is interested in him. His own ambivalence to her is slightly implausible, as he's holding out for someone better looking. In 10th grade hormones are running awfully high, and it's a little hard to buy his rejection of the girl. Still, it's nice to find a teen character that doesn't instantly tear his clothes off, or isn't so eager to try pot.

Eventually, Jeremy is accidentally absorbed into the cool jock and cheerleader crowd. This shifting of friendships between groups is done well, and Weisberg wisely avoids any of the many potential cliche pitfalls that might have been tempting. Along the way, there are lots of little pictures drawn of Spanish class, his soccer season, trips to New York to buy clothes with his father, evaluating the breasts of his classmates, and the first acquisition of porn. The book climaxes with the prom and post-prom party, where Jeremy's first sexual encounter occurs with an unexpected partner. This is not a book to read for stunning insight into a 10th grader's mind, not is it a particularly vivid slice of early '80s nostalgia (only passing references to Air Supply and Meatloaf lyrics, a Charlie's Angels poster, a player on the NY Knicks, and mentions of Izod shirts give the story any sense of time). Rather, it is a moderately humorous and wry take on what a typical white, suburban boy's 10th grade experience might be--and kind of a pain in the butt to read.