Move Over, Girl

February 28, 2000
College junior Tony Norris kicks it with his crew, shoots hoop and gets it on with the ladies more often than he goes to class, but through all his carousing, he eventually gets around to learning the difference between sex and intimacy in this breezy coming-of-age story by first-time novelist Peterson. Like his buddies, Tony thinks he has it made: he's tall, good-looking and a member of the African-American elite: "we are young black men in demand--the chosen few, college educated, heterosexual." Tony decides to make the most of his gifts, by bedding every fly girl he encounters. The problem is that once the sex is over, Tony can hardly stand the sight of his conquests. Tony's three best friends are cool Derrick, organized Jay and live wire Kwam. Through this macho quartet Peterson captures the lingo, energy and bravado of young African-American men grappling with critical issues of manhood and maturity. This ambitious effort only occasionally bursts free from its dependence on limp clich s and repetitive, vague language, however. Peterson's writing at its best shows Tony talking himself through his emotions and negotiating the complex relationship between his Casanova image and his heart. Eventually, he begins to question his wham-bam version of the mating ritual, and this quandary is far more palatable than are his petty, endless complaints about the hopelessly imperfect women he seduces. If readers can wade through the meandering, mostly dull shallows of Tony's mind, they will find that the protagonist's voice occasionally rises to the surface with astute observations of African-American college life.