Chris Miles

Jack Sprigley is hitting puberty. Actually, Jack is worried because he feels he is lagging behind others in his journey to puberty. Why are others more developed? Jack frequently checks for the most important and trustworthy sign of puberty, pubic hair. When it is slow to arrive he decides he needs to "fake" puberty with his friends or risk being ostracized. When his friend gives him a merkin, it leads to some uncomfortable moments. Through many twists & turns, Jack finally rights himself and his relationships with his friends. In the end, the sign of puberty arrives. Fun read about the trials & tribulations of growing up.… (altro)

This book was provided to me as an uncorrected proof by the publisher, via Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

A boy who’s the last in his class to go through puberty tries to fake it till he makes it through a series of cringe-worthy and hilarious events in this balls-and-all coming-of-age novel that’s Judy Blume for boys! Jack Sprigley isn’t just a late-bloomer. He’s a no-bloomer. He’s in the ninth grade, and puberty is still a total no-show. Worse yet, he hasn’t heard from his friends all winter vacation. He assumes they’ve finally dumped him and his child-like body—except then he finds out that it’s much worse than that. His friends are now so far ahead of him that they’ve started dating and getting girlfriends. Jack is out of luck. But then he comes up with a plan to catch up and win his friends back. And his plan is perfect: he just has to fake puberty.

I nearly gave up on this book early on, going so far as to start the next book on my review list, but ended up going back. It’s a relatively quick read, and, as the blurb implies, it is something of an “Are You There, God” for boys, but without the emotional investment. Maybe I fell that way because I’m female and could relate to Judy Blume’s story better, but I don’t know, the characters in Spurt didn’t come across as likeable to me. And I mean none of them. They all seemed very self-absorbed and whiny. There are funny parts, but unless one is prepared to learn what a merkin is, and to have that particularly disturbing item returned to their attention repeatedly, the humor is not worth the potential of wanting to bleach your own brain. I mentioned earlier that I nearly gave up on the book, and now I tell you I wish I had gone with my first impulse. I would not recommend this book to anyone, but most definitely not to anyone who has not yet gone through puberty; unless parents are prepared to (or already have) discuss the significance of pubic hair and masturbation in relation to growing up. Yikes.
… (altro)