Carter's Unfocused, One-Track Mind

Carter Finally Gets It #3

by Brent Crawford

After an eventful freshman year and disastrous summer, fifteen-year-old Will Carter returns to Merrian High none the wiser. His sophomore year will present a host of new problems: the return of Scary Terry from juvie, the pregnant presence of Amber Lee, friends-with-benefits negotiations with Abby, prom night expectations, and the ever-constant harassment from his boys. When Abby announces that she might be transferring to a New York arts school, Carter's world is turned upside down and he'll be forced to make the biggest decision of his life. In his signature voice, author Brent Crawford details young Will Carter's high school struggles, this time focusing on Carter's discovery of his true passion and the sacrifices he'll need to make.

Genres: Young Adult, Humor, Contemporary, Teen, Fiction, Audiobook, Realistic Fiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published June 7, 2011

Reviews

[Sarah Billington · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of these books, I love Brent's writing style. Can't wait for it's release!

He did it again. I laughed out loud a whole bunch of times and had to share some passages with friends (who couldn't have cared less but also laughed because the passages were funny), as well as identifying with Carter, as Brent Crawford weaves in some fabulous insights, some universal truths that you often feel are unique to you but are in fact shared by everybody. Did that make sense?

I don't care.

I love seeing Carter grow up, and REALISE he's growing up and be proud of himself for doing so.
But he's never going to FULLY grow up, not with friends like that. And I wouldn't want him to. Looking forward to the next installment - there's a next installment, right? Because it sounds like it'll be pretty epic.

[সালমান হক · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not that much fun like the previous books. So so.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine conclusion to an enjoyable trilogy. This one spans Carter's sophomore year, including more shenanigans with his boyz, foolish exploits aplenty, and confusion that befits his ADD. I thought the second installment fell short of the original book, taking a turn away from reality and entertaining too much Hollywood, but this seems to return to the voice that made Carter Finally Gets It such a success. Curiously, I thought the action wasn't as prominent, but there was more character development.

By now no one who know's Crawford's writing will be surprised that there is vomit and flatulence and nudity, sometimes all in the same scene. Nor will there be surprise at the heart and kindness of the story. We might even get to see Carter and his friends grow just a LITTLE maturity.

If you don't enjoy adolescent male voice, warts and all, none of these books will work for you. But if you're looking for something to get fourteen year old boys as excited about books as they are about 'Sports Center,' this is your series. May this lead you to Swim the Fly, Spud, Going Nowhere Faster, I Love You, Beth Cooper, Spanking Shakespeare, and all the other funny books you may need.

[Brandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know what? I really, really loved this one. Carter is a fantastic character, very real and true and he's really grown up and matured through the series. I love him.

And I don't know why Nick Podehl won't narrate my life, dammit.

[Tammi Drevers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Brent Crawford. He is so damn funny and inappropriate.

[Sonya Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that this book was the funniest of all the Carter books! I have never laughed so hard in my life!

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved re-reading this series all these years later. It's still ridiculous and hilarious.

[Denise Monegato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laughed til I cried! Which goes to show I've got the emo of a 15 year-old horny teenage boy up to no good

[Krystl Louwagie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was still laugh out loud funny in a lot of places, and I remembered why I loved these so much when I read them years ago. The first half of the book is better than the last half, but that seems to feel common for me. Maybe it's a me thing and not an actual book thing. I love the setup potential but often feel a little let down with the actual conclusions and closures.
What did feel uncomfortable in this book reading it as an older person is realizing the amount of PRIVLEDGE these kids have. Think a black teen and his friends could get away with what Cater and his friends do in this book? Not a freaking chance in hell, unfortunately. And that makes me think that any black or POC reading these has to hate them just a bit--for realizing they're realistic, they're just not realistic FOR THEM.

[Nick Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

My overall feelings about this book is, I thought it was a good book except it was kind of all of over the place. The book was about a group of friends who play basketball and do fight club. The main character Carter has a thing with this girl named Abby except one of his friends also dated her and he said that she wouldn't do anything with him but he thought that since they she was moving she would have sex with him. They have an on and off relationship, he wants to be with her so he moves to New York with her but when they come back, they barlie talk and he kissed another girl. I thought the book was good but it got boring at certain parts. I liked how the book wasn't how the cover looked like, it looked like a guy who acts but it ended up being a good book and wasn't boring.

[Jacob Hall · Rating 2 out of 5]

Will Carter is a kid who has everything go wrong. His friend Amber Lee is pregnant and everyone makes fun of her. His other friend Abby wants to go to New York to a very high up art school. She wants him to go with her to art school but he does not want to leave all of his friends behind. By the end Will has more friends and goes to more parties.

[Eno · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I didn't really finish it. That's how much I didn't like it. Too much... hmm... I dunno, too much 'boy mind' it got annoying to me.

[Laurent Dhellin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love that serie

[Jackson K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty fire

[Landon Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good young adult.

[Mason Bolger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book is a really funny book and I would recommend it.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love some things about this series:

Carter's voice is so real. He's an average teenage boy who thinks about normal things in normal teenage boy ways. I say "normal teenage boy" ways because he absolutely thinks like a boy. Not a girl. Some reviewers (women) complained about how crass and gross and inappropriate some of the stuff in this book was, to which I reply, "It's about a teenage boy. Have you never met a teenage boy?" So, to be clear, there are a lot of references to sex and fighting scenes and boys doing really stupid stuff. But it's so accurate. Teenage boys really are just like that. Crawford honestly and accurately and beautifully captures the essence of average teenage boyhood and writes his character so perfectly that I want every girl in the world to read this just to understand how teenage boys think. Seriously, ladies. Go read it.

Crawford manages to work in some really poignant morals and epiphanies. Carter is always discovering things about himself or about those around him and there are these "Ah-hah!" moments that people sometimes gloss over in real life, if that makes sense. Carter reacts to things like a normal person would but reading about them in this context just makes things so much more clear.

The characters are so fun and lovable. I really just love all these characters and I want to know what happens to them. And they're all layered. I don't think there was one flat character in the whole series. Love that.

Humor. I seriously laughed out loud reading this. Not as much as I laughed during the first book but it was definitely funny. I love Crawford's humor. I wish I could say more about how funny it was... other than, "It was really funny!" But that about sums it up.

So, there's a lot to love here. The whole series is entertaining and teaches some good things without ever being preachy or lame. This last book didn't feel as strong as the first but I still loved it. And I think everyone should read it: Boys to feel completely related to, and girls (and women) to understand how boys think.

Sexual Content: Moderate
Language: Moderate (although most "language" is fake curse words, so there's really not much)
Violence: Heavy (lots of boys fighting)
Drugs/Alcohol: Moderate

[Gabriel Shaver]

Brent Crawford: He released his first Young Adult book “Carter Finally Gets It” in 2009, released “Carter’s Big Break” in 2010, And “Carter’s Unfocused One-Track Mind” released in 2012. He was born in Kansas, but moved to LA and then New York to go into an acting career.
A lot of Romance books were released in 2012, as this book has some romantic assets to it. Although this book is more humorous than most of the other books released that year.
The setting is only described as Merrian High School, but around the present day.
The only real main character is Carter, a fifteen year old sophomore who gets into a lot of trouble, a sophomore in high-school.
This book’s theme is all about romance with a sense of Humor, this book is both humorous and romantic. This book is a great novel for young adults, but have a large amount of language and some sexual parts to it, but is a great romantic novel.
Carter is trying to get back together with his on/off girlfriend Abby, who was accepted into a college in New York, and doesn’t want to leave.
Irony, Irony is when something happens that was completely unexpected to the current situation, This book uses Irony to add a humorous effect to the book.Allusions, Allusions are where the writer makes an indirect reference to something. This book referenced to another book in the series.
“Levi tries to calm me down, what are we a gangster group? A switchblade is nothing.”,Carter and his group of friends were entering a gas station and the clerk even said something about them being ni here. This shows the significance of the fact that carter and his friends are troublemakers and have a reputation.

[Kelby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a great way to end the trilogy in my opinion. Overall a wonderful book, and there was no loose ends. The author completely ended the story.
My opinion of this book are the exact same as the others. Funny and entertaining. I would recommend not just this book, out the whole trilogy in particular. It think that they would enjoy it just as much as I did.
There was more to the book than just the worlds themselves. The book showed that you should be yourself, and to not care what others think. Another thing it showed was that your enemies are also your friends.
With these deeper meanings, you can relate these to your life. As a 9th grader, being yourself is sometimes hard to do, when all you want to do is fit in. We shouldn't hate our enemies, but become friends with them.
Two literary terms I noticed in this book was epilogue and conflict. Epilogue was at the end, and it mainly tied up all of the loose ends. Conflict was noticed as well. In different forms, there was internal and external conflict. Carter fought with himself mentally throughout the book, and Carter fought with his girlfriend and friends throughout the book.
I rated this book 5 stars, because of its meaning, affect on me, and of its humor.

[Purelyamuse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series! I've been trying to find similar books, and I can't. No one gets that fine line of joking round like real, crass boys (and not grossing out your reader) like Brent Crawford. He is a master at this genre, and I hope he writes more.

Carter and his friends are at it again--being stupid, doing stupid things, saying stupid things. And I love them all. I love that every time Carter's in trouble with the cops he hands over his friends name. I love that every time he's with Abby he's thinking about kissing her and getting some boob. And then when he's not with her, his head is clear and he thinks about how sweet she is and how smart and how she sings like Adele. I love that he loves her but behaves like an idiot. I love that the police is this town are morons. And I love that these kids are just kids. I love, love, love this series.

Read this book. I can't think of anything else to say. That is all.

[Magic Shop · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, I first have to admit that I didn't realize this was the third book in a series, until I got home because I'm always at a rush at the library. But that didn't confuse me while I was reading because it explained the big events from the first two books. So anyway, I kinda have mixed feelings about it. The plot was very funny and at time I really liked how Carter and his friends joked around at times. But at other times, it kinda annoyed me by the way they acted. Next, the characters were all funny and they really did get into hilarious situations. But one thing I don't get is that their fifteen years old and they all act tough. But at some random moments, they ended up crying. Other than that, Carter and his friends always had each others back and even though they sometimes tease and torture each other, they are really great friends. So all in all, this was a pretty good book and maybe someday, I'll read the first two books in the series.

[Superadam64 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is obviously the third book in the Carter series. While it still wasnt as good as the first one, I can honestly say it was a Great book!! This book is definately for any teenage guy who loves a funny book or for anyone who loves stupid teenage dude humor, just as the other two are. This book was good, but some things didn't quite make sense, like how the author hardly metioned qnything about the movie Carter was in. I do love the way Brent Crawford wirtes, making it sound like an actual teenage boy is talking. I think the big idea of this book is that Carter finally realizes to be himself and he grows up more in this book, but not fully. So the big idea is to be yourself in this world and you can grow up proudly, too. A very good book that I absoltely reccomend!!

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as fantastic as the first book, but more realistic than the second. Carter is still funny and smart and easily distracted, and Nick the narrator still does a fabulous job reading it, but Carter's life is not the potential disaster that it was in the first book, which reduces the hilarity somewhat. I appreciate the Carter books especially because, unlike many YA books the scenario seems real. He has parents and a sister who are supportive and affectionate - not something you find in many YA books. In fact, when I was doing a book talk with some high school students, one asked, "Does someone die at the beginning of all these books?" which is so true. Carter still has to figure out many things for himself but he does not grow up alone.

[Mr.T thelibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book in the Carter series... and it might just be the best! Carter and his friends are still immature, raunchy, and hilarious. But Carter has actually grown up -- just a little bit -- since his misadventures in the first book, and he's just self-aware enough to make him the charming, sensible one in his group (although in his crowd, that's still not saying much!). This book was as cringe-worthy and funny as the other two, but a little bit touching as well, without being too dorky about it. I don't know if Crawford has plans for more Carter books (I hope so!), but if this is the end, it's an entirely satisfying finish to the Carter saga.

[Alaina Sloo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 3 in the terrific Carter series for older middle school and high school readers. Not as good -- not as true -- as the first two books, but fans of the series will want to read it. This is a series to read in order, though, so read the other books first. Carter Finally Gets ItCarter's Big Break

[Tammy Cordeiro (devadasi7) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was my favorite yet! I went in to this trilogy because I felt like I needed to have more books that I could personally recommend to boys, but it would recommend these books to everyone......except for people who are uptight and easily offended. I wouldn't recommend these books to those people.

I have laughed so hard reading all these books that I had to stop reading because my stomach was aching. I told my sister random funny scenes from all the novels. The only bad thing about this book is that it's over. I would welcome any more novels about poor Carter and his hi jinks any day! I just love this kid! Thank you Brent Crawford!

[Brianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is got to be the best I've ever read. They are so funny ..like there was something to laugh about on every page funny. Whether it was something dumb that he did or just something funny he said and I enjoyed all the stupid but entertaining things Carter did with his friends. It's also great to read something in a guy’s perspective too, normally I have a hard time finding good books written by guys that don't make the guys sound like total jerks or make the girls sound too dramatic. Hopefully Brent Crawford will write more Carter books =).

[Adream adream · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books make me laugh out loud. A lot! I always love BPOV. These are actually written by a guy, which is awesome. There is nothing forced about Carter. He is just...everything you want a teenage boy to be basically. There's no doubt about what he's thinking, ever. His ADD is absolutely hilarious. I love the way they're written. I love the heart of this character. I want so badly to be a 15 year old girl again just so I can find a guy like him and help him out! :D I truly, truly hope there are more Carter books planned. I need more of him.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book even more than the second one...possibly more than the first! I liked Carter's Big Break but it wasn't as realistic as Carter Finally Gets It and Carter's Unfocused, One-Track Mind is completely relatable. I loved every bit of it! I also highly recommend the audiobook version; Nick Podehl is Carter, body and soul. Love it!

P.S. I am very concerned that guys were thinking about getting laid this much when I was in high school...they hid it remarkably well...or I was totally oblivious.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carter and his friends are still a whole lot of fun. Plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, especially while listening to the audio version.
I just wish that narrators would do their homework: Nick Podehl, while doing a fabulous job voicing the teenaged characters, sang the wrong tunes to both Joplin's "Piece of My Heart" and Lerner & Loewe's "If Ever I Would Leave You." How hard is it to sing the songs the right way? It can't be harder than making up a melody to an extant song. Is it a copyright issue?