Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie

Scott Hudson has one goal for his freshman year: to survive. To cope with the expected (friends dumping him) and unexpected (mom's pregnant!) changes of his first year of high school, Scott keeps a diary in the guise of writing advice to "Smelly," his unborn brother. Full Cast Audio evokes the humorous growing pains of Scott, his friends, and family. Ryan MacConnell does an especially good turn at portraying Scott as a smart, wry young man wondering how to convert these unpopular traits into assets. Light music separates narration from epistolary episodes, and a catchy jazz phrase indicates new chapters. This excellent production will keep all listeners awake, even sleeping freshmen. M.M.O. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

July 18, 2005
As much an exercise in wordplay and narrative structure as it is a rendition of Freshman year woes, Lubar's (Dunk) story starring Scott Hudson, a brain from a blue-collar background, contains many stock characters and situations associated with high-school initiation. In his first few weeks at Zenger High, Scott gets smacked by Seniors, robbed of his lunch money, ignored by the girl of his dreams and ousted out of his position of youngest member of his family when his mother breaks the news she is pregnant. On the bright side, he has a great Honors English teacher, who encourages Scott to join the newspaper staff and introduces him to some interesting literary devices that Scott practices throughout the novel. Speaking in "Tom Swifties" (" 'I lost my wrists,' Tom said offhandedly") couplets ("Me dance?/ Fat chance") and a few different points of view, Scott reports sports news for the school newspaper and, in a series of journal entries, lends advice to his unborn baby brother. While the book does offer some humorous moments and real-life drama (such as when an unpopular classmate attempts suicide), it strains too hard to be clever. Most readers will breathe a sigh of relief when the gimmicks start to fade as Scott tries his hand at conventional journalism. Ages 12-up.

August 1, 2006
Gr 7 Up -Scott Hudson begins his freshman year of high school as a source of income to Wesley, the school shakedown artist. The girl he -s known since kindergarten has blossomed into a goddess, but doesn -t seem to know he -s alive. He gets roped into writing the sports column for the school newspaper, even though he -s not an athlete. On top of everything else, his mom is pregnant. As Scott maneuvers through a number of serious situations -bullying, a suicidal classmate, school dances -he still manages to be upbeat and true to himself. Overloaded with extracurricular activities and honors homework, he begins a journal filled with lists and tips for his expected sibling on how to survive freshman year. As the school year and his mom -s pregnancy progress, Scott begins to find his niche at school in David Lubar -s laugh-out-loud novel (Dutton, 2005). The main narration is more than capably done by Ryan MacConnell as Scott. The rest of the characters are voiced by a variety of actors, adding depth to Scott -s experiences. Unobtrusive music throughout enhances the recording, including a lullaby whenever Scott writes in his journal for the baby. An excellent choice for public and school libraries. -"Charli Osborne, Oxford Public Library, MI"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.