The unusual, somewhat fantastical twist worked into the storyline (I won't give it away) may alienate readers expecting something a little grittier, but for those who don't mind a little quirkiness, this book manages to hold on to a ring of truth for all that. It's hard not to get pulled into this story. Sam, an average skater kid finally hits has a run of great luck and dates someone a little out of his league only to find out that he's going to be a new dad once the flirtation has run its course. Sam struggles (and sometimes fails) in doing the "right" thing and while some things are resolved fairly smoothly, Hornby really manages to capture a lot of the gray areas as far as Sam's feelings are concerned, and the flux in his relationship with Alicia. It's not quite the Hornby of High Fidelity and How to Be Good, but this guy is definitely worth keeping around too, and I hope we will see more YA books from him.