Reviewed
by: BigAl
Genre:
Humor/Coming of Age/YA
Approximate
word count: 85-90,000
words
Availability
Click
on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes &
Noble, or Smashwords store
Author:
With
the exception of the bit in the book description which says the book
was written by a stand-up comedian, I was unable to find out anything
about the author, Collin Mitchell.
Description:
“Matthew
Willard and the Quest to Kiss a Girl is a humor novel written by a
stand-up comedian about what it feels like to have a high school
crush, and how it feels when that crush inevitably stomps on your
heart.
The
story begins with Matthew’s initial challenge in middle school –
to kiss the girl of his dreams. After a serious of failures and
mishaps, it progresses to his high school objective – finding any
girl above a 'six' who will let him stick his tongue in her mouth for
a split second. Along the way Matthew and his snarky friends attend
carnival freak shows, encounter muscle bound Christian life coaches,
and learn why nothing good ever happens when you put on a Speedo.”
Appraisal:
This
book is humorous while still feeling real, hitting the right notes on
what it's like for a reasonably typical boy growing up. We follow the
protagonist, Matthew Willard, from sixth grade until high school
graduation, and his quest to kiss a girl. (If he gets one kiss,
making out can't be too far behind.) Much of what Matthew and his
friends went through gave me flashbacks of my school years many years
ago.
An
example of the way a boy of a certain age thinks and the humor
inherent in that is this line:
“The
best out-of-town girls where the ones from small towns, because they
have limited access to boys they’re not related to.”
The
theory being that a hot small town girl visiting the state fair would
be more likely to kiss Matthew or one of his friends, not realizing
that he wasn't that great of a catch. Unfortunately this quote shows
a minor instance of an issue that was widespread. Specifically, this
book is in drastic need of copy-editing. Sometimes these errors made
me laugh (a beautiful girl telling Matthew “put your hands on my
waste” was one). More often it just irritated me as I tried to work
out what was intended, just moving past one error and getting back
into the flow when I'd trip on another. There is a fun story here,
but unless you're much more forgiving of these types of errors than I
am, it might not be worth the effort.
FYI:
Some
adult language.
Format/Typo
Issues:
Numerous
issues with grammar, homonym errors, wrong words, missing words.
Pretty much any kind of issue that should be shaken out as a part of
the copy-editing and proofreading process makes an appearance
somewhere.
Rating:
** Two Stars
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