Guy Langman, Crime Scene Procrastinator

February 6, 2012
Berk (The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin) is back with another irreverent mixture of wisecracking humor, teenage insecurity, and the occasional corpse. When underachieving class clown Guy Langman joins his school’s forensics club, it’s both to help deal him with the death of his father and to meet girls. Unfortunately, his plan to get closer to the lovely Raquel Flores fails when she falls for his best friend, Anoop. Guy throws himself into the lesson plan, mastering the art of fingerprinting and using his knowledge to pry into the mysteries of his father’s checkered past. Then, during a forensics competition, he finds a real dead body. Convinced that recent events tie into one another, Guy tries to get to the heart of the matter, with help from the rest of the club. A somewhat thin and disjointed plot is balanced by many laugh-out-loud moments and entertaining interactions between characters, especially Guy’s banter with fellow club member Maureen. Berk has keen talent for characterization and fine insights into the teenage mind. Ages 12–up. Agent: Ted Malawer, Upstart Crow Literary.

January 15, 2012
Hilarious wit and serious gloom blend seamlessly as Guy wades through the year after his dad's death. Everything is slightly offbeat here, from Guy himself (a contemporary Jewish teen who cares about bubble baths but not music) to his late father's literal-treasure-hunting past to the forensics required right in the middle of the realism. Francis Langman had a long, colorful life before he met Guy's (much younger) mother, so Guy tries to write "Rules for Living": The Francis Langman Story as a tribute and quote-preserver ("Death is part of life, but so is the clap.... Seriously, Guy, wear a rubber"). Guy's running inner monologue is sharply observational, sardonic, funny and sad. "Does replacing an 'e' with an apostrophe automatically make something sound more poetic? I lunch'd on school burritos...." Best friend Anoop and other peers are freshly unusual, not recycled character types. Anoop corrals passive Guy into forensics club, and none too soon--a real death occurs at a forensics meet. Is someone trying to off Guy? The pals lift fingerprints and don golf attire to follow a hunch but instead find something surprisingly touching. It's only too bad that Berk's "rules for living" structure uses a stereotypical primitive-tribe trope to contrast with complex first-world humans. Realistic grief, humor, camp, crime investigation--and plenty of good boner jokes. (Fiction. 12-16)

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June 1, 2012

Gr 8 Up-Sixteen-year-old Guy is lazy, immature, and sarcastic, and he will do just about anything to meet hot girls, even if that means joining the Forensics Squad with his best friend, Anoop. His father has recently died, and the teen's wisecracking only partially helps him cope with the loss. The Forensics Squad does lead Guy and Anoop to attractive girls, and also helps them solve three mysteries surrounding the identity of a man in an old photo with Guy's father, the theft of valuable coins from Guy's attic, and the death of the teen's look-alike on a rival school's forensics team. As he struggles to solve the cases, Guy writes down what he remembers of his father's words of wisdom and wonders what he would have done. The writing starts as a book about his dad and over time morphs into a journal of the teen's own thoughts, revealing his sensitive side. The boys' friendship is genuine, and the back-and-forth between them is realistic and sprinkled with mild profanity and sexual references that's not surprising to hear from older teens. Their trip to Manhattan in pursuit of the man pictured with Guy's father results in a hilarious adventure and vivid glimpse of the city. Strong characters, a well-structured plot, and a dash of CSI-like science make this novel a surefire hit.-M. Kozikowski, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NY

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2012
Grades 9-12 Guy discovers his recently deceased father's secrets, a long-lost relative, a burglar in his house, and a corpsewhich is more than enough hassle for any 16-year-old. When his best friend, Anoop Chattopadhyay, wants him to join the school's forensics squad, he realizes it could be useful for more than just meeting girls. Despite smart-assedly wondering if there really are four ensics, he enjoys dusting for fingerprints almost as much as taking bubble baths, both of which prove beneficial as he confronts all of his aforementioned issues. Berk (The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin, 2010) is best at depicting realistic modern teens, but less skilled at fleshing out any one quality element to grasp ontothe book is crude, but not too crude, and funny, but not too funny. Many guys will enjoy reading it not so much for the thin plot and somewhat weak mystery, but for the truth behind the main character's slacker facade, his tongue-in-cheek banter and MILF jokes, his authentic private feelings of grief, and the story line's tidy and rapid resolution.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)