King of Screwups by K.L. Going
Adolescence. Sex (on a desk). Glam Rock. Homosexuals. Trailer parks. Super models.
Sounds like a pretty good recipe for a book to me. So, this is my first young adult (YA) book that I’ve reviewed. Not the first one I’ve read though. What actually makes this a YA book, well the book centers on an adolescent (Liam), and as far as I know that’s what does it.
Overall, the book was enjoyable to read. Any book that takes me less than a day to read usually has that effect on me. I did of course have some problems with this book. Despite it being amusing and being able to relate to it in some ways (remembering those good old high school days) I’ve come to the conclusion that the message or moral of the book is just a bit too in your face. It’s pretty clear that communication is of the utmost importance and that following your dreams is as important as having supportive parents. I didn’t really need to have a couple hundred pages hammering this down.
If I were a teenager reading this book and I could relate to Liam in any way, I would most likely get annoyed really quickly with all the babble. Time and time again Liam screws up; like most teenagers this is not that out of character. He does manage to do it in unique ways though, I’ll give him that much. His father, a royal pain in the ass, doesn’t help things by being a real jerk and pushing Liam to do the things he does. But again, what’s central to the book is the idea that its incredibly important to keep lines of communication open. Which is grilled into the reader so thoroughly it kind of makes you want to rebel yourself, you know seduce the bookworm and have sex with her on your fathers meticulously clean desk. Ultimately the book is somewhat depressing in that the father-son dynamic is painful at times to read about. The ending is ridiculously predictable but at least you can be happy for Liam.
I should also mention that the “super models” noted above are not a reason to read this book alone. Said “super models” are a mother and son. Just felt the need to point that out to ya’ll.
