Book list
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*Starred Review* For Hornby, author of About a Boy (1988) and High Fidelity (1995), the move from adult to young-adult fiction represents more of a natural progression than a change in course. So it should come as no surprise that he has written an accomplished teen novel featuring a character whose voice hits its groove at the downbeat and sustains it through the final chord. Sam is a disarmingly ordinary 15-year-old kid who loves to skate (that's skateboarding, to you and me). But then he is blindsided: his girlfriend gets pregnant, and he lands in the middle of his mum's nightmare (she had Sam when she was 16). This may sound like an old-fashioned realistic YA problem novel, but it's a whole lot more. Sam, you see, has a sort-of-imaginary friend: the world's greatest skater, Tony Hawk, whose poster Sam talks to when he has problems. And the poster talks back, maybe, or maybe Sam is just reciting quotes from Tony's autobiography. And is it really Tony who is whizzing Sam into the future for glimpses of what is to come? With or without Tony's help, Sam gives us the facts about his very eventful couple of years, but as he reminds us, there comes a point where the facts don't matter anymore . . . because you don't know what anything felt like. Which is where Hornby comes in. We know exactly how Sam feels even when he feels differently from the beginning of a sentence to the end and it feels just right: a vertiginous mix of anger, confusion, insight, humor, and love.--Ott, Bill Copyright 2007 Booklist

School Library Journal
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Gr 9 Up-Sam has slammed many times while skateboarding, but he slams in a different way when he learns that he is going to be a father. He is nearly 16 when he meets Alicia, and the relationship moves quickly, ending just as fast. Then, on his birthday, he gets an "urgent" text message from her, and what she has to tell him when they meet doesn't surprise him. Alicia is pregnant. Sam turns to the poster of the person he can always trust to give him the answers, Tony Hawk. TH whizzes him into the future and shows him exactly what kind of father he will become to his child, Roof. These moments are the most touching and hilarious in the novel. Sam's adventures are artfully done and move the plot forward without revealing too much. The characters are given the opportunity to grow with charm and wit while facing the challenges of young adulthood. Without making light of it, Hornby broaches the subject of teen pregnancy with humor and warmth.-Julianna M. Helt, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Like the movie Knocked Up, this is a story about an accidental pregnancy that nudges the male protagonist into adulthood. The difference is that the male in question is not an immature man pitifully hanging onto his boyhood, but a skateboard-loving 15-year-old youngster named Sam—ironically the fruit of a teen pregnancy himself—who is in no way, shape or form ready for the responsibility of parenthood. But ready or not, the baby is coming and Sam, who had already broken up with his girlfriend by the time she realized she was pregnant, has no choice—a real message for boys here—but to cope. This tale, which is deeply cautionary—Use condoms! Properly!—is ultimately hopeful and has something to say about the flexible nature of family. It's also full of pleasures that readers familiar with Hornby should recognize, such as the kooky subsidiary characters and clever off-center dialogue, though his idea of occasionally fast-forwarding the protagonist into the future is initially confusing. Still, it's funny, strong and disturbing, a must read for older boys. (Fiction. YA) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Publishers Weekly
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Hoult, who played the part of Marcus Brewer in the screen adaptation of Hornby's About a Boy, does a credible job-perhaps too credible-as Sam, the 16-year-old hero of Hornby's first YA novel. His tone is conversational, and he relates Sam's story about inadvertently getting his girlfriend pregnant, with little variation in emphasis: he's the epitome of the cool, unfazed teen even in the face of impending doom. But the combination of Hornby's authentic dialogue and Hoult's convincing reading produces some passages of teenspeak, especially between Sam and girlfriend Alicia-"Dunno/ Me neither"-type repartee-that is hard-going as entertainment. Hoult adopts a slightly deeper inflection for the part of Tony Hawk, whose poster Sam uses as a sounding board, but, comically, the quintessential California skateboarder speaks his lines (quotes from his autobiography, which Sam has memorized) with a British inflection. Overall, the audio showcases Hornby's skill at getting deeply inside the mind of his character. Sam, the most talkative teen ever to grind a skateboard, says, "Listen, I know you don't want to hear about every single little moment" and proceeds to recount every single little moment anyway. Ages 12-up. Simultaneous release with the Putnam hardcover (Reviews, Oct. 8). (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Library Journal
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Hornby, the author of High Fidelity and About a Boy, specializes in memorable characters; in his first novel for young adults, he's created a dozy. On his 16th birthday, Sam gets an urgent text message from his ex-girlfriend. He is about to be a father, just as his own parents were teens when they had him. Seeking advice from the poster of skateboarding pro Tony Hawk in his room, Sam learns all the ways his life will change with the birth of his son. Why It Is for Us: Who knew that Tony Hawk had superpowers? As Tony whizzes Sam forward and back in time to show him what his life will hold, we experience a full range of emotions from this baffled but likable young teen. Hornby is able to evoke equal sympathy for Sam and for his parents, who know how difficult it will be to rise above this situation and build a future. [Originally published in 2007.] (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.