Robert Wilder (1)Recensioni

Will I ever tire of coming of age novels? Probably not. Will I ever stop identifying with the teenagers rather than the adults/parents (even now that I'm the age of most teen parents or older in many cases?) Not yet. The writing captures the awkwardness and angst with both humor and grief- all the references to 80's music and movies didn't hurt as that was my own "coming of age" supposedly...

This was pretty much a waste of time. Some guy who changed careers and decided he wanted to become a teacher. Since he could not get his credential, he figured teaching in a private school would do fine. He starts out in some alternative hippie school in New Mexico where they are more worried about new age and feeling good than actually teaching and instilling some discipline. While there is some humor and some funny moments, for the most part, the book is convoluted, and often he just has no clue. Then again, considering the types he deals with, it's a miracle he is in a classroom. Guy lacks total common sense. Only sensible character is the teacher that went with him to that writing workshop, then walked out of a workshop meeting when she could not stand the bullshit they were passing for writing lessons. Sorry, but I have been to actual writing workshops, and we never had some little index of terms with no meaning. In the end, she was the smart one since she spent the rest of the time hiking and enjoying the town. She likely managed to renew her energy as well.

This author is certainly not what a young teacher would want to emulate. I suppose for new agers and aging flower children, he may be the guy. Otherwise, skip this. There are a lot other teacher memoirs and accounts that are much better. Good thing I borrowed this at the public library. Otherwise, I'd have a hard time getting rid of it since I could not bring myself to recommend it to anyone.

I received this book from librarything as a giveaway and to tell the honest truth, I haven't had a chance to read it yet. I loaned the book to my friend's teenage daughter and I still do not have it back. She absolutely LOVED it and gave it to her friend to read and it is still making the rounds among her group of friends. I am giving it four stars because they can't stop raving about it and passing it on for someone else to read!

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I actually ended up DNF-ing this book.
My reasoning -- I couldn't get into it. It's definitely written for a younger audience (I'm 22), and it's not a genre I tend to lean towards. I'm not the biggest fan of books set in school-settings.
Since I didn't finish the book (I only got about a third of the way through it) I don't think I can give it a proper review or rating. What I do think though is that if you are younger (13-15 range), or if you like YA contemporary with quirky characters, then this book would be great for you.

I probably shouldn't have read the other reviews because I was quite satisfied with my read. While reading there were a few times that I wondered about expressions being used but also know that teens in different places speak differently and that there is not always a universal language, even with social media.
I found the story intriguing and never thought about not going to the end. The chapters were such that it was an easy book to read in small amounts of time.
I thought the first person account of Coy was realistic and lacked the depth it would have taken to appear to me to be an adult writer. Reading is about enjoying...I enjoyed it and liked that not everyone thinks things have to end the same way.½

It was slightly hard to read it but I really enjoyed it. The end was not what I expected and while some people may not like it , I felt I preferred it to be this way.

I liked this book but the ending fell a bit flat and left me a bit confused. Also the excessive slang will effect the longevity of this book as some of it already felt a bit dated/inappropriate.

"Nickel" was an enjoyable read. I loved Coyote and Monroe. My only complaint was the abrupt end. Mr. Wilder vividly and accurately captures today's teens. I look forward to reading another of his books.½

This was challenging to get through, primarily because of the character voice. Coy is quite obviously a middle-aged man trying to be a quirky teen, rather than a quirky teen, trying to be himself.

The exploration of what it means to be a backwards child, with only one friend you are in the process of losing... Well, it should have been gold. But instead, it was tarnished with aging slang, eighties references (rather than focusing on what is popular today with the geeky crowd) and too much of today's celebrity news to have any lasting voice.

Many, many times over I was thrown out of the story because of my disbelief. I wanted to love these characters, but I don't feel I was every given a fair chance.½

I like to think that I gave this book a fighting chance, but I just couldn't do it. DNF at 85 pages.

I really just felt like the author was trying too hard; to be hip, to be cool, to be . . . I don't know what.

One of the things that drew me to this book was the fact that Coy and Monroe were 80's aficionados (I love the 80's!), but pop culture references in, like, every other sentence is a bit much. And I didn't really get Coy and Monroe's friendship. At all.

Add to that an overzealous use of "teen slang" and a few distasteful jokes (e.g. Columbine), and I hit my limit. I'm sorry.

Unfortunately, I could not relate to this book. I felt it a little too young and hip for my liking.

Honestly, I was rather disappointed in this book. The main character Coy, is supposed to be best friends with Monroe, but they actually seemed to not like each other very much. I understand that Monroe's rash affected their friendship, but what was depicted in the book was not very congruent with my idea of friendship. Another thing was that I didn't really like the characters, so I ended up reading the whole book with a sense of displeasure.
Another problem was the writing. It wasn't very well structured and the author couldn't seem to hold onto the same thought for more than one or two sentences, resulting in a jumbled mess that had me rereading whole paragraphs to understand their ameaning. Also, this might just be a personal peeve of mine, but while I understand that the writing style was supposed to emulate that of a teenage boy, it got a little irritating after a while. While I am sure that in some places teenagers do use some of the vocabulary in the book, there is a rather larger audience including myself who doesn't and can not understand what the author is trying to say.
I felt like nickel was trying to be one of those really good, quirkey books, but it unfortunately fell rather short.

Nickel by Robert Wilder

Coy and Monroe have been best friends for a long time. The both enjoy "everything 80's", both are loners, and basically only have each other as friends. Then Monroe gets an unusual illness, a very frightening and mysterious one. It puts a bit of a strain on their friendship. When a popular Girl (Avree) befriends Coy, Monroe starts to feel the changes in her old friend. Will things stay the same? How will the Monore's illness and Coy's new friendship affect their lives?

Coy is facing many problems at home, as well as being an "outcast" at school. Yet he is very likable, I could feel every emotion and understand what he is feeling. Monroe does not have it any easier, with this strange new illness, she just feels more alienated by her peers. Then there is Avree a popular girl who does not have these problems, but she is willing to give them a chance.

A well written story of friendship, loyalty & love. The characters are likable, their situations are true to life. The struggles and daily life of a teen is captured on each page. I was hooked from the first page up until the very end. I strongly recommend Nickel to Y/A (14+) and adults as well.

Not as much about teaching as I had hoped and not as funny as it claims to be!

This is a hilarious collection of narrative essays by a new father. Robert Wilder has such a great voice, and his blunt disclosure is wildly entertaining.

Great for a quick read or a cover-to-cover read through!

A collection of memoirs about parenting that sometimes made me laugh out loud. I especially liked the story about his trying to change his little girl in a Macaroni Grill restaurant, so much so that I had to show it to my husband, because it reminded me of a situation he had with our little daughter Aubrey.

It's funny - before I was a parent, I wouldn't have thought much about picking this book up and reading it. In fact, I probably would not have appreciated the humor as much. But once you have a child, everything in your world changes, and it's nice to read stories from other parents that show you're not alone in this crazy, upside-down place. It's comforting to know that others are just as befuddled as you are.

The other aspect of this book that I liked was Wilder's obvious love and adoration for his family. Even though he is writing about the crazy and strange and unsettling moments of familydom, it's clear that he will do just about anything for his wife and kids. Yet he isn't sappy about it. (Warning - he can be vulgar or risque, though.) A very genuine and heartfelt memoir about the absurdities of parenting. I highly recommend this as a nice escape for parents, and anyone who wants to know what the more hilarious side of parenting is like.

I literally laughed out loud numerous times while reading this book. Any parent whose children have embarassed them or made them want to kick another adult's butt should read this book. So fun.

Don't read this book hoping to find cheery essays about teaching. This book was a misery to read. The essays consist of cruel jabs at the author's fellow teachers, his students, and administrators. Yes, I laughed here and there, but I always looked around to see who was watching me. I actually put the book down and was going to give up on it, but then I went to see the author at the Texas Book Festival. He seems to be more compassionate in person than he seems in his essays. I decided to give the man another chance and I read through to the end. I can't imagine who I'd recommend this book to; its view of education is bitter and bleak and left me feeling that what I do is pointless in light of the present state of the world.

This book is frustratingly dual personality. First, let's get the mechanics out of the way. As you would expect from an English teacher with an MFA, the book is well-written. It is, at times, a howlingly good time. Wilder finds moments all parents can recognize and then uses HGH (Humor Growth Hormone) to blow them to the extremes. There is a story of his father getting angry about Wilder not disciplining his son properly that rings true in the generation gap of parenting, with the grandfather ending up sticking his lower lip out and pouting on the couch.

So why three stars? Wilder tries to pull off the Dave Barry/Paul Reiser/Bill Cosby schtick but just can't pull it off. There are too many offsetting moments where arrogance pokes its head through and the attitude of "I'm better than these people" is there. Combined with an anarchic book structure that doesn't readily follow either timeline or subject, it makes for moments of pure hilarity followed by the puzzlement of "Why is this here" to, "What a jerk." Normally all within 10 pages of each other.

A good library check out.

Not as voice-y as "Mack Daddy" by Larry Bleidner. More thoughtful and writerly, but still very guy-to-guy. The subtitle gives you a better picture of what you're going to get than the title. This isn't about booze. It's about a dad who loves his kids, is very involved in their lives, and wants to share what he's learned. Great gift for a new dad or dad-to-be.

10.07½