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Why Can't Freshman Summer Be Like Pizza?

(The Pizza Chronicles #2)

Andy V. Roamer

3.50 · Rating details · 16 ratings · 13 reviews

RV, having successfully completed his freshman year at the demanding Boston Latin School, is hoping for a great summer. He’s now fifteen years old and looking forward to sharing many languid summer days with his friend Bobby, who’s told him he has gay feelings too. But life and family and duties for a son of immigrant parents makes it difficult to steal time away with Bobb ...more

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Published June 1st 2020 by NineStar Press

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Oct 11, 2020 Alaina rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020-arcs, 2020-ng, october-2020, fiction

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Without knowing beforehand that Why Can't Freshman Summer Be Like Pizza? is the second book in the pizza chronicles, I will admit that I wasn't lost once. Maybe it's because this series could be read out of order but who knows? I guess I will have to dive into the first book to let you all know.

In it, you will meet RV and he is the oldest son in his family. After first meeting him, I didn't really know what to think. He was ...more

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Jun 03, 2020 Veronica of V's Reads rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary, fun-fast-read, innocent-fun, interracial, male-male, ya-romance, no-steam

This is the second book in a series and I'm going to sum up a bit of stuff that many be spoiler-y if you haven't read the first book.

Arvydas "RV" ...... (sorry I don't have the tenacity to write his last name) is the eldest son of Lithuanian ex-pats living on green cards in Boston. RV's parents have worked hard for their modest American existence; it's not the American Dream they had envisioned upon emigration. They are up for citizenship, if they can pass their tests, but RV's dad is a bit sour This is the second book in a series and I'm going to sum up a bit of stuff that many be spoiler-y if you haven't read the first book.

Arvydas "RV" ...... (sorry I don't have the tenacity to write his last name) is the eldest son of Lithuanian ex-pats living on green cards in Boston. RV's parents have worked hard for their modest American existence; it's not the American Dream they had envisioned upon emigration. They are up for citizenship, if they can pass their tests, but RV's dad is a bit sour on the idea. RV also struggles to connect with his younger brother Ray, who seems like a "cool kid" while RV is an avowed dweeb and total book scholar.

It's the summer following RV's freshmen year at the prestigious Boston Latin School. RV is a real scholar and thinker, and he's a bit nerdy if he does say so himself. He struggles to fit into his Lithuanian role, and he doesn't fit in well at school. He has two good friends: Carole who was his first girlfriend, and Bobby who is somewhat of a boyfriend. Bobby had asked RV for tutoring help in the first book, but they both feel an attraction that leads to discussing their fluid sexuality. Bobby thinks he's gay, but he doesn't want ANYONE to know. RV struggles to understand his sexuality, but he's thinking he's gay because he's really generally attracted to men. He worked on these ideas while visiting his dear Latin teacher, Mr. Aniso in the hospital last winter. Mr. Aniso is clearly gay, and was brutally bashed one weekend. Their mentor-friendship has grown over the course of the summer when RV has felt more and more isolated. Carole is in Paris with her dad, a military man with a new appointment, and Bobby spends more and more time at football camp.

Bobby is black, Mr. Aniso is gay, and RV is the child of immigrants, and potentially gay--or bisexual. They each experience prejudice in their lives and RV documents this with the kind of unflinching honesty only a confused child can bring. Mr. Aniso and Bobby both agree that RV is innocent, but in different ways. Mr. Aniso affirms RV's goodness and willingness to see the best in people, and Bobby is a little on the pressuring side, willing to explore their sexuality in a way that's a bit too fast for Bobby.

I really liked the side characters here, even Ed, the garage and gas station owner that RV works for. Ed is without question the embodiment of white American male supremacy, but RV is able to talk to him in ways that diffuse his inherent racism. He's a product of his environment like many unacknowledged racists, and RV is able to shift his bigoted paradigm. RV also grows the strength to stand up for his family, and his feelings, once he figures out the depth of them.

This 15 year old's digital journal is the meat of the story, and RV's private thoughts really cut to the heart of racism and prejudice over several classes. In a time when there is heightened awareness of the institutional racism and racial inequity in America, RV's insight is a welcome call out for people to just be more human, and understand that their personal experiences does NOT invalidate the injustices experienced by others.

I adore RV and will follow him on his quest for truth, justice and the American experience. Trigger warning for incidences of gang behavior, teen drug use, and a shooting. ...more

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Sep 23, 2020 Annie Maus rated it really liked it

If you’ve ever wondered where you belong or what you truly value, Andy V. Roamer’s Why Can’t Freshman Summer Be Like Pizza? is a delightful way to consider your options. Yes, it might be classified as young adult literature, but its themes are ageless and timely. And true, it reads with more depth if you’ve read Why Can’t Life Be Like Pizza, the first edition in Roamer’s The Pizza Chronicles series, but it works as a standalone.

Written as fifteen-year old RV’s computer journal, this teen’s summe If you’ve ever wondered where you belong or what you truly value, Andy V. Roamer’s Why Can’t Freshman Summer Be Like Pizza? is a delightful way to consider your options. Yes, it might be classified as young adult literature, but its themes are ageless and timely. And true, it reads with more depth if you’ve read Why Can’t Life Be Like Pizza, the first edition in Roamer’s The Pizza Chronicles series, but it works as a standalone.

Written as fifteen-year old RV’s computer journal, this teen’s summer vacation is chock-full of dilemmas. Lithuania-American RV understands his parents’ struggles with their heritage as they wrestle to become American citizens, but he wishes they didn’t foist these on him, while he struggles to acculturate. And RV’s love interest, Bobby the football player, also struggles with pressure from successful black parents who battled against cruelty to achieve.

While RV’s sounding board, best friend Carol, summers in Paris, her boyfriend seems to be shutting RV out of their mutual business. And RV’s younger brother is a lost, angry kid. Plus, RV’s part-time job takes violent twists. RV isn’t certain he’s gay and looks to Bobby for support. But is support possible, if Bobby needs to stay closeted… or will it rip them apart? The tension undulates, much like life…. And I wished I could turn life’s pages as fast as I did this book’s. “The future wasn’t something promising anymore, but there was that big fat question mark instead.”

One reason Why Can’t Freshman Summer Be Like Pizza? rises to importance is that RV’s simple questions are as profound as most people’s answers. And he examines them with refreshing eyes. “Don’t take on other people’s prejudices. It’s easy to do sometimes, so be careful of that.”

He certainly struggles with ethics, like when he wonders if he can discuss his relationship problems with his proudly-out gay teacher. RV’s self-honesty is a refreshing model during an era of slippery liars. Even if he often keeps his mouth shut, not knowing what to say, RV doesn’t rationalize his choices. “Breaking my promise to Bobby would feel like a betrayal of him. And that’s the last thing I want to do.” Oh, that adults could remember this sentiment!

Mr. Roamer enlivens The Pizza Chronicles with RV’s love of words, which parallel his confused self-reflection. Since I happen to be a logophile, I frequently laughed, because RV’s definitions are deceptively simple, yet humorous and perceptive. “Oblivious is a good word too. It’s a little like invisible, but better. It means you do exist but are clueless. Hello! How often do I feel clueless about things?” Or how about this? “Procrastinate. My new ten-cent word. Sounds kind of dirty, doesn’t it? Procrastinate. Something people do in the dark.”

Andy V. Roamer’s ‘Why Can’t Freshman Summer Be Like Pizza?’ is an all-around winner! Go ahead, I dare you not to smile your way through each page, for RV’s hunger to understand, as much as the humor.
...more

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Jul 06, 2020 Samantha Ortega rated it it was amazing

FR- Alors alors … alors j’avais énormément aimé le premier tome de cette série et j’avais hâte de retrouver RV et son univers. J’avais trouvé très rafraîchissant ce premier tome. J’avais adoré l’humour qui s’en dégageait et la vision de la vie d’RV.

Du coup j’avais super hâte de commencer le roman. Le Trigger Warning du début du roman m’a un peu refroidit mais une fois le roman lu, je me suis rappelée que le roman pouvait être destiné à un public plus jeune et que ce trigger warning pouvait être ...more

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May 31, 2020 Janna rated it liked it

rv just turned 15 and can't wait to spend his summer with his friend bobby, who he has feelings for. together they're both questioning their sexualities. but of course, life gets in the way, and suddenly rv has a job and bobby's father wants him to go to football camp.

i have mixed feelings about this one. one thing i definitely loved was that bobby is black and he also calls rv out when he's saying problematic things. he also talks about the struggles his father had while searching for work bei ...more

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Jan 09, 2021 Dead Sirius rated it liked it

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair review.

Why Can't Freshman Summer Be Like Pizza starts with RV who has decided his summer will be boring compared to his friend that is going to Paris and his romantic interest that is juggling working with football camp. To add to his terrible summer, RV will have to work with his dad's friend in an auto shop/gas station store. Meanwhile his family life is chaotic and his kinda-boyfriend is still struggling with their relationsh ...more

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Feb 11, 2021 Tarah Schaeffer rated it really liked it

I found the story and RV to be full of heart and it made me wish God had graced me with a little brother. Being that the main character in this story is questioning his sexuality I felt that how it was presented and handled was done extremely well. It's not easy to be a teenager especially one struggling about whether they may or may not be gay. Summer did not turn out as RV had imagined it. His very best friend Chloe ended up going to Paris to spend time with her dad and Bobby has a jam-packed ...more

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Jan 13, 2021 Zaba Cita Novine rated it did not like it

Shelves: dnf, arcs, teens-and-ya

DNFed at 47%

My Dad helped me give it up, actually. He said "You read half of it and you don't like it? Why do you torture your head like that!?"

And he's right, I have to start dnfing things I don't enjoy much sooner.

This is yet another story of a teenager who's trying to find his place in the world.
He is gay. Or not. He has no idea. He has "boring" parents who want him included in the Lithuanian community. He likes words. And there is a strange teacher who meets with 15- year-old boys for drin ...more

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Jun 23, 2020 Courtney Mays rated it liked it

I honestly was not a huge fan of the writing in this book. While the journal style writing was something that made it easy to connect to main character, the writing itself was not very deep. I had not read the first book and I think that probably would have helped me fill in some of the context that was missing for me. I also kept waiting for something big to happen and just never got there. While the premise of the book was evident, it was just a somewhat boring read for me. I was provided with ...more

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Oct 15, 2020 CR rated it liked it

This was a hit and a miss. Although I did like the first book and wanted to love this one it fell kind of flat for me. It was missing the spark that book one had. I ended up finishing this one but should have DNFed.

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Jul 01, 2020 Ash Luna rated it did not like it

I really had a hard time finding the right flow with this book. I felt like it was lacking something and I can not quite figure out exactly what. I was able to finish it, but I didnt like it.

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Jun 10, 2020 Shirley rated it really liked it

And RV's saga continues. Summer is supposed to be a time to relax, have fun, spend time with friends and forget about the pressure of school. It didn't take long for RV to figure out that his summer plans weren't going to happen. His best friend was off to Paris, his parents wanted him to spend the summer being responsible. Not exactly what a high schooler wants to hear when summer vacation is supposed to start. To make matters even worse, Bobby's parents want him to spend the summer being respo ...more

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Jun 09, 2020 Ashley T rated it really liked it

I love the format or style of writing. It's easy to follow and we see how RV's manages his problems even if they're not the way he wants it to. I thought it was quite interesting that his little brother, Ray, chooses to be deviant in terms of drug usage. I hope that RV somehow manages to form a better relationship with his little brother. I'm also glad that there is an interracial gay couple, even though this is my first LGBTQ+ book series, it makes me glad that it exists. The representation and ...more

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