Liviania’s review of Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford
Young adult released by Hyperion 7 April 09

I may be twenty, but I still enjoy young adult novels.  They’re usually quick, fun, and willing to experiment with genre.  And, like adult novels, I don’t really care whether one is aimed at guys or girls.  Carter Finally Gets It is definitely aimed at teen guys, but I think the girls could still enjoy it.

Carter’s your basic horny fourteen-year-old, starting his freshman year of high school.  (For the first bit, he’s your basic horny thirteen-year-old, which bothers me a little.  For some reason I’m much more cool with the idea of a fourteen-year-old being sexually active rather than a thirteen-year-old.  Of course, even then, I’m glad he doesn’t go past heavy petting in the book, because I think even fourteen is young for sex.)  He wants to be popular and get a hot girl, but doesn’t really know how to go about either.

I love that he kind of stumbles into both.  Carter gains glory through sports and is smart enough to date the girl who says she’s interested in him.  Unfortunately, he messes things up with Abby when he agrees to go out with the hottest girl in the grade.  Then he’s got to get the girl back.  I love that Brent Crawford isn’t afraid to allow Carter to be a jerk.  He’s just a kid; some of his decisions are going to be less-than-admirable.  But Carter always manages to redeem himself since he’s, in general, a good guy.

Now, while I say teen girls will probably enjoy this, I probably wouldn’t have liked this one much until I was an older teen.  But I’m sure there are others who would enjoy it just fine during or before their freshman year.  I think actual adults would enjoy it to, as long as they don’t mind reading about young teens.  It’s a very funny book.  Carter Finally Gets It relies on an engaging protagonist and humor to carry one of the world’s most basic plots.  And I don’t want to give away the end, but what happens after swim season ends is awesome.

Grade: B+

Summary:

Meet Will Carter, but feel free to call him Carter. (Yes, he knows it’s a lazy nickname, but he didn’t have much say in the matter.)

Here are five things you should know about him:

1. He has a stuttering problem, particularly around boobs and belly buttons.
2. He battles Attention Deficit Disorder every minute of every day…unless he gets distracted.
3. He’s a virgin, mostly because he’s no good at talking to girls (see number 1).
4. He’s about to start high school.
5. He’s totally not ready.

Join Carter for his freshman year, where he’ll search for sex, love, and acceptance anywhere he can find it. In the process, he’ll almost kill a trombone player, face off with his greatest nemesis, suffer a lot of blood loss, narrowly escape death, run from the cops (not once, but twice), get caught up in a messy love triangle, meet his match in the form of a curvy drill teamer, and surprise the hell out of everyone, including himself.

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