Media and extras
Allison rated five stars: It was amazing
Shelves: 2016
The best book I've read all year. every adult in Travis's life is failing him in some way: drugs, cancer, perversion, absenteeism. the one thing he can count on is basketball and his best friend, Creature. when his choices start to jeopardize even that, Travis has to figure out how to control what he can and deal with the things he can't. amazing book, true to life, hard topics. so good.
Meli rated five stars: It it was amazing
Peter Brown Hoffmeister’s first young adult novel, This Is the Part Where You Laugh, opens with the young protagonist Travis releasing two small South American crocodiles he bought from a guy who posted a flier at the Chevron station—caimans—into the little lake in the middle of the North Eugene neighborhood where Travis lives. The book is compulsively readable from the first page.
Jared rated it five stars: It was amazing
I really enjoyed reading This is the Part Where you Laugh! It has dynamic characters and a plot that kept me turning the pages. It left me wanting more! Looking forward to Hoffmeister's next book.
Lee Ann rated it five stars: It was amazing
Now you can look at that title and expect comedy, or you can look at the cover photo and read the synopsis and you'll realize the title is a wry piece of advice about getting through a terrible period the only way you can.
Hoffmeister's book is a tiny stage filled with powerful characters: the cancer-stricken grandmother, a former English teacher, whose life lessons have saved her grandson, Travis; the grandfather who weaned himself off alcohol and the terrible person it made him, only to lose himself in a near perpetual high on his wife's medical marijuana. Travis' best friend, Creature (Malik), whose talent on the basketball court is matched by his writing skills evinced in his erotic essays ("The Pervert's Guide to Russian Princesses"). He loves to read and talk, but his mouth buys him terrible trouble. Natalie is the new girl who lives across the lake, living a life of privilege but doing it uncomfortably under the creepy gaze of her new stepfather. And our hero, Travis. I can't tell if he's a little thick because maybe his addicted mom was already using while she was pregnant...or if his single-minded focus -during basketball, he forgets about other players to the point of collision - was born of the things he had to do to survive while his mom dragged him from one crappy motel to the next. Did his kleptomania arise from a need to steal in order to eat or did it give him a feeling of control? When he released 2 caiman into the nearby lake to give his trailer park elderly neighbors something to talk about, thereby enlivening his grandma's dwindling days, did he not realize the terrible consequences of that act involving the deaths of several beloved pets. Does he not realize his tendency to punch first and think later may forever limit his dreams of a basketball future to pick up games on dangerous playgrounds?
At first skeptical, I was soon won over by Hoffmeister's skillful characterization and my hope that Travis would not only survive, but thrive. This is the perfect YA book for a hot summer read, but I would say its audience is 16 and up.
Shelves: 2016
The best book I've read all year. every adult in Travis's life is failing him in some way: drugs, cancer, perversion, absenteeism. the one thing he can count on is basketball and his best friend, Creature. when his choices start to jeopardize even that, Travis has to figure out how to control what he can and deal with the things he can't. amazing book, true to life, hard topics. so good.
Meli rated five stars: It it was amazing
Peter Brown Hoffmeister’s first young adult novel, This Is the Part Where You Laugh, opens with the young protagonist Travis releasing two small South American crocodiles he bought from a guy who posted a flier at the Chevron station—caimans—into the little lake in the middle of the North Eugene neighborhood where Travis lives. The book is compulsively readable from the first page.
Jared rated it five stars: It was amazing
I really enjoyed reading This is the Part Where you Laugh! It has dynamic characters and a plot that kept me turning the pages. It left me wanting more! Looking forward to Hoffmeister's next book.
Lee Ann rated it five stars: It was amazing
Now you can look at that title and expect comedy, or you can look at the cover photo and read the synopsis and you'll realize the title is a wry piece of advice about getting through a terrible period the only way you can.
Hoffmeister's book is a tiny stage filled with powerful characters: the cancer-stricken grandmother, a former English teacher, whose life lessons have saved her grandson, Travis; the grandfather who weaned himself off alcohol and the terrible person it made him, only to lose himself in a near perpetual high on his wife's medical marijuana. Travis' best friend, Creature (Malik), whose talent on the basketball court is matched by his writing skills evinced in his erotic essays ("The Pervert's Guide to Russian Princesses"). He loves to read and talk, but his mouth buys him terrible trouble. Natalie is the new girl who lives across the lake, living a life of privilege but doing it uncomfortably under the creepy gaze of her new stepfather. And our hero, Travis. I can't tell if he's a little thick because maybe his addicted mom was already using while she was pregnant...or if his single-minded focus -during basketball, he forgets about other players to the point of collision - was born of the things he had to do to survive while his mom dragged him from one crappy motel to the next. Did his kleptomania arise from a need to steal in order to eat or did it give him a feeling of control? When he released 2 caiman into the nearby lake to give his trailer park elderly neighbors something to talk about, thereby enlivening his grandma's dwindling days, did he not realize the terrible consequences of that act involving the deaths of several beloved pets. Does he not realize his tendency to punch first and think later may forever limit his dreams of a basketball future to pick up games on dangerous playgrounds?
At first skeptical, I was soon won over by Hoffmeister's skillful characterization and my hope that Travis would not only survive, but thrive. This is the perfect YA book for a hot summer read, but I would say its audience is 16 and up.