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Teenage Rewrite
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Every year millions of teenagers graduate from high school, embrace adulthood, and go on to lead happy, productive lives. That’s great and all, but Justin Davis thinks this is a complete load.
Withdrawn and perpetually anxious, Justin begins senior year completely overwhelmed by thoughts of life after high school. Up until now he’s been able to coast through life without an ...more
Withdrawn and perpetually anxious, Justin begins senior year completely overwhelmed by thoughts of life after high school. Up until now he’s been able to coast through life without an ...more
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Kindle Edition, 269 pages
Published
February 29th 2012
by Brandon Williams
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Start your review of Teenage Rewrite
I might be a little biased since I wrote it.
"We need to be around people who understand us. We need people who want to be around us. We need people who don't care that each of us is socially inept in our little way."
Teenage Rewrite follows the story of Justin and the domino-effect changes that take place when he does something completely out of character during his first day of senior year in high school -- initiating social interaction.
Although Justin is this average joe who leads a pretty ordinary and banal life, this is a book whic
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A really delightful read. The three main characters are well filled out with their quirks and foibles. The main character, Jason, says a hundred times that he is ‘bi’ however; it’s obvious that he is ‘gay’. He says he is equally interested in girls but he obviously isn’t. I’m not sure why the author was so insistent that he be bi instead of gay. I was sorry to see the story come to an end. There is obvious room for a sequel (very obvious since the story doesn’t really end; it just seems to come
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I'm DNFing at 41% - dudes narration was self-deprecating and drama prone. no thank you!
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This book means so much to me. As a bisexual person, and particularly as a bisexual person who suffers from severe anxiety, I really don’t think I’ve ever read something that I could relate to as much as I found myself relating to this book.
It just felt so… honest. Honest about bisexuality, and honest about what it’s like to be shy, to have anxiety… there was such a fantastic portrayal of both bisexuality and anxiety in Teenage Rewrite, and it’s so refreshing to read. Especially with Justin’s at ...more
It just felt so… honest. Honest about bisexuality, and honest about what it’s like to be shy, to have anxiety… there was such a fantastic portrayal of both bisexuality and anxiety in Teenage Rewrite, and it’s so refreshing to read. Especially with Justin’s at ...more
Despite the slightly inappropriate cover (*cough*crotch*cough*) the story itself far from the inappropriate things. Instead it's a heartfelt, sweet, cute, and delightful story about a boy's struggle to embrace life's complications and realize that ignoring life is much more difficult than living it.
Withdrawn and perpetually anxious, Justin begins senior year completely overwhelmed by thoughts of life after high school. Up until now he’s been able to coast through life without any complications. ...more
Withdrawn and perpetually anxious, Justin begins senior year completely overwhelmed by thoughts of life after high school. Up until now he’s been able to coast through life without any complications. ...more
I believe this would appeal greatly to teens 15 to 17. Older than that, probably not.
Teenage Rewrite was well edited, and smoothly written. However the characters lacked depth, especially the protag Justin. I just couldn't find any compassion for him. It was as if we were only privy to a portion of his mind, his emotions, his life. I understand he was just floating through, but he was remarkably unemotional about it all. And because of his lack of depth we did not get to know Travis or Evan as ...more
Teenage Rewrite was well edited, and smoothly written. However the characters lacked depth, especially the protag Justin. I just couldn't find any compassion for him. It was as if we were only privy to a portion of his mind, his emotions, his life. I understand he was just floating through, but he was remarkably unemotional about it all. And because of his lack of depth we did not get to know Travis or Evan as ...more
This was such a cute a sweet story. It was really nice to see how Justin and Evan's relationship developed during this book. It is a very realistic portrayal of how teenagers start their first serious relationship. Justin is bi and Evan is gay, that causes a problem for Evan because he does get a bit jealous but to me it was nice how it was handled. The book was short enough so I hope that there will be a sequel because I would love to see how this couple survive :)
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I didn't warm up to any of the characters. They were all rather bland and flat imho, and the POV (first person) didn't make me feel any closer to the narrator, either. I felt so distant, actually, I just finished it and can barely remember what happened. So yeah - not my book. Nothing really bad, but nothing memorable, either: Okay, that's what is was - 2 stars.
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This book had some really great LOL moments. I actually snorted my drink in one part!
at first it was very good but then it ended up like every other ya so it was a 3/5 for me.
i can summarize this entire book with one word: creepy
I mean, these people are cool and all, but I don't care what their favourite colour is or where they went to high school. Talk to me about books
So this is the kind of book that I'd describe as Slice of Life. It's as if you take a life of a person, take a certain time period in that life and just describe what happens there and ignore what came before and what comes after. That's what this book does, you get dropped into the life of Justin who's a senior in high school and you literally follow ...more
Amazing reality and memory triggers for HS graduates.
It has been over 50 years for me, but I remember graduating better now than when trying to live it the first time. I still have contacts that are in school or recently graduated, and this book just fits for everyone who will admit how messed up their lives are and how scared of the future they are.
Everything is confused chaos of the unexpected blending friends, family, relatives, lovers, enemies, leaders, teachers, employers, and officials tog ...more
It has been over 50 years for me, but I remember graduating better now than when trying to live it the first time. I still have contacts that are in school or recently graduated, and this book just fits for everyone who will admit how messed up their lives are and how scared of the future they are.
Everything is confused chaos of the unexpected blending friends, family, relatives, lovers, enemies, leaders, teachers, employers, and officials tog ...more
THIS was exactly what I was needing.
I had this book sitting on my kindle for quite some time, and for some reason I never decided on picking it.
This book managed- with a rather simple style (which in this case isn't a bad thing at all)- to be both a cute and funny story, but also very real and relatable.
I found myself in Justin more often than not, even though he's more than 10 years younger than me, I found that we are sort of dealing with the same inner struggles, and I was pleasantly surpr ...more
I had this book sitting on my kindle for quite some time, and for some reason I never decided on picking it.
This book managed- with a rather simple style (which in this case isn't a bad thing at all)- to be both a cute and funny story, but also very real and relatable.
I found myself in Justin more often than not, even though he's more than 10 years younger than me, I found that we are sort of dealing with the same inner struggles, and I was pleasantly surpr ...more
What a delight to be carried through Justin's social awkwardness and self-discovery during his last year of high school! What makes this novel a delight and easy reading is the voice; it's human and young and vulnerable and sometimes brave enough to overcome self-consciousness and make friends.
Justin's journey into friendships . . . and even boyfriendship with Evan. . . is fraught with social fumbles but ultimately successes. And as the sweetness of the bisexual Justin emerges, I was reminded of ...more
Justin's journey into friendships . . . and even boyfriendship with Evan. . . is fraught with social fumbles but ultimately successes. And as the sweetness of the bisexual Justin emerges, I was reminded of ...more
Straightforward story with positive ending about what happens when a boy embraces his sexuality and through the freedom this brings him, allows others into his emotional and affective arena. No great drama but just a sense of how much we sacrifice to preserve our supposedly private self from scrutiny and ultimately acceptance. Thought provoking underlying message delivered in a non didactic story frame.
A fun coming of age novel
I enjoy this writer's style quite a bit, it's easy to read and easy to put yourself into his world, so you care about ten characters and want good things to happen to them. Depictions of the interpersonal relationships and interactions are real world and genuine. I'd like to read more by this author ...more
I enjoy this writer's style quite a bit, it's easy to read and easy to put yourself into his world, so you care about ten characters and want good things to happen to them. Depictions of the interpersonal relationships and interactions are real world and genuine. I'd like to read more by this author ...more
Note to self: I should maybe start a review blog for LGBT books
The meh factor was just this potent with this one.
It took me ages to get this read for multiple reasons, really. The writing style bugged me as it's simple and basically going nowhere (same goes for the storyline). As horrible as it sounds the book it boring on many levels. Williams' writing lacks air and 1st person POV just doesn't work with this. This is due to the fact that Justin is a bland character and all the other characters lack depth too.
There's no plot, so basically nothing happens. The story revolves around the uneventful life of Ju ...more
There's no plot, so basically nothing happens. The story revolves around the uneventful life of Ju ...more
Oct 09, 2016
Crisanda (Sapphire)
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
Everyone curious about bisexuality
Shelves:
highschool,
new-author,
relatable,
2016,
young-adult,
favorites,
great-debuts,
contemporary,
the-best-of-the-best,
male-pov
I'm not sure what exactly it was that made me pick a book with such an.. unfortunate cover (which turns out to have a meaning behind it after all). But I'm so glad that I did, because I adored every bit of it.
Teenage Rewrite turned out to be this extremely realistic, interesting, funny, incredibly sweet and came with a powerful message. Justin was the most normal, ordinary protagonist I have ever (and I mean ever) read about. He's awkward around people (and not in an adorable way) and has troubl ...more
Teenage Rewrite turned out to be this extremely realistic, interesting, funny, incredibly sweet and came with a powerful message. Justin was the most normal, ordinary protagonist I have ever (and I mean ever) read about. He's awkward around people (and not in an adorable way) and has troubl ...more
Well I bought this book for my kindle like maybe 3 or more months ago and forgot about it.
So recently I've been unable to do much other than read my kindle so I was flipping through various titles I had on it.
So I forgot what this book was about when I was reading it, but when I read the first page/locations/chapter what-have-you I read it and the words on the page resembled how I view school and social situations and such.
So yeah I couldn't remember whether I bought this as a teenage angst thin ...more
So recently I've been unable to do much other than read my kindle so I was flipping through various titles I had on it.
So I forgot what this book was about when I was reading it, but when I read the first page/locations/chapter what-have-you I read it and the words on the page resembled how I view school and social situations and such.
So yeah I couldn't remember whether I bought this as a teenage angst thin ...more
Rating 3.5
I enjoyed following Justin on his journey through his last year in high school. We watch him make his first real friend as well as his first love. Travis is a funny character and good friend to Justin. Quirky and pushy in the best possible way, he helps get Justin together with Evan. Oh sweet Evan. He and Justin are so cute together! It was enjoyable to flash back to those beginning feelings of new love.
While this book is pretty quiet and nothing overly dramatic or earth shattering ha ...more
I enjoyed following Justin on his journey through his last year in high school. We watch him make his first real friend as well as his first love. Travis is a funny character and good friend to Justin. Quirky and pushy in the best possible way, he helps get Justin together with Evan. Oh sweet Evan. He and Justin are so cute together! It was enjoyable to flash back to those beginning feelings of new love.
While this book is pretty quiet and nothing overly dramatic or earth shattering ha ...more
I enjoyed reading this book. Of course there was some kind of bias on my side as I enjoyed the reference to Oregon and its Rose Garden, Portland and rain.
That aside, the story was well-developed although I did not really understand the reason for his lack of friends in school years earlier. Somehow, somewhere along the way, almost coming to the end, I would have thought the story was good enough to end as it was. To drag it any further to the point of him starting a life without all his comfort ...more
That aside, the story was well-developed although I did not really understand the reason for his lack of friends in school years earlier. Somehow, somewhere along the way, almost coming to the end, I would have thought the story was good enough to end as it was. To drag it any further to the point of him starting a life without all his comfort ...more
Despite the racy picture (which is completely misleading), Teenage Rewrite is a coming of age novel about Justin Davis, who is entering his senior year anxious and overwhelmed. But after coasting through life, his quiet world is disrupted by two new friends, Travis and Evan. Through the novel, Justin struggles to embrace his bisexuality, and the complicated aspects teenage life. Students who are coming to terms with their own sexuality may be able to relate to this, and the characters are fun an
...more
This particular book had me in a steady state. At least that's how it felt for me.
I wished to have more of Travis in the storylines though.
Justin and Ben were okay. The snippets of intimacy were effective but not much. It left me wanting more. It feels like intensity was rubbed off from the book during Justin and Ben's intimate times. I'm not saying that I want hardcore intimate moments ala "Fifty Shades" but a right amount would do and this book kinda lacked a bit of it to keep it exciting.
The ...more
I wished to have more of Travis in the storylines though.
Justin and Ben were okay. The snippets of intimacy were effective but not much. It left me wanting more. It feels like intensity was rubbed off from the book during Justin and Ben's intimate times. I'm not saying that I want hardcore intimate moments ala "Fifty Shades" but a right amount would do and this book kinda lacked a bit of it to keep it exciting.
The ...more
“Acquaintances are easy to come by, but friends are hard to make. Real friends. Friends you can be honest with and get lost together. Friends you can argue with and push to the edge of irritation, but then laugh it off together later.”
This was a cute book. The characters were funny and awkward and the plot was simple. The writing style, which was a bit juvenile, took me awhile to get used to but it reflected Justin's character well. I really liked the first half of the book but started to get bo ...more
This was a cute book. The characters were funny and awkward and the plot was simple. The writing style, which was a bit juvenile, took me awhile to get used to but it reflected Justin's character well. I really liked the first half of the book but started to get bo ...more
Based on the cover, I half expected this book to be a raunchy, teenage sex-fest. I mean, it's a close-up of a crotch! This book is actually very tame and sweet. It mostly focuses on Justin's inner turmoil and growth, which is allvery familiar to those who were super awkward in high-school (which was most of us). Overall, the dialogue was funny, the romance was sweet and appropriate for teens (yay for fade-to-back!), and the book provided a great picture of how even though most teenagers feel los
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I read this in one sitting and absolutely adored it. The characters were amazingly realistic, and despite being a straight female, I could really relate to Justin. I love YA fiction that feels like it could be your life, and that's exactly what teenage rewrite is. As someone finishing her final year of high school, so much of what Justin said resonated with me, which made it a super enjoyable read.
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I live in Portland, OR, where I am a children's bookseller and writer of fiction. Teenage Rewrite is my first YA book to be available to readers.
As far as my style goes, I write the kinds of books that I really like to read, with characters that I both like and identify with. More specifically, I write YA fiction (coming of age, romance, etc.) with strong gay and bisexual characters who are having ...more
As far as my style goes, I write the kinds of books that I really like to read, with characters that I both like and identify with. More specifically, I write YA fiction (coming of age, romance, etc.) with strong gay and bisexual characters who are having ...more
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“Change is ok, I guess. In small, infrequent, and easily chewable doses.”
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