Going, K. L. King of the Screwups. Harcourt. April 2009. ISBN: 978-0-15-206258-3. Gr 7-12.
-- School Library Journal, 4/1/2009
Liam is a high school senior with charisma, but his CEO father doesn’t see that as a good thing; Liam is told constantly that he has screwed up yet again. When his father finally kicks him out of the house, Liam moves in with his gay, cross-dressing uncle and tries to become someone that his father would be proud of. Despite his best efforts, he screws it up as he discovers what it means to be yourself.
My favorite part of this book is how funny it is. Liam goes out of his way to avoid popularity, but somehow ends up messing up even the best thought out plans. I also loved the characters. Liam was well developed and real; his issues with parents’ standards were relatable. The spaced-out flashbacks really helped create a sense of what Liam dealt with as a “disappointment child” his whole life. I also loved Pete, his uncle. Though questionable at first—we hear of him showing up to a party in a red dress and he lives in a trailer—Pete was one of the most original characters I’ve read about in a long time.
The cover for this book was just OK. It featured a white button-down shirt with some ink stains on it spelling out the title of the book. I thought it reflected the overall story, but it was pretty boring and didn’t jump out at me at first.
This review is from a member of the Teens Know “Best” YA Galley Group of the St. Paul (MN) Public Library and the Metropolitan State University Library and Learning Center, a part of YALSA’s Young Adult Galley/Teen Top Ten Project, which uses 15 public libraries and school library media centers from across the country to provide feedback to publishers of young adult books.
