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Anything You Want Geoff Herbach Books

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Anything You Want Geoff Herbach Books

I trust Geoff Herbach. Books like "Stupid Fast" demonstrate that he knows his audience and can write great teen characters.

So why is the hero of this book, Taco, such a hyper, clueless, child? I suspect what we're trying to do here is drive home, in an amusing and engaging fashion, a number of important life lessons. And we're doing it in a sneaky I'm-smarter-than-he-is way.

This is the story of an unexpected teen pregnancy. But, it's not a heavy message book, or an after school special, or a serious episode of "Blossom". And it certainly isn't a kitchen-sink drama or an attempt at something realistic. It's the story of a big-hearted, clueless knucklehead who has no practical grasp on reality and an almost childish engagement with the real world. It seems to me that at almost every stage of this book a younger reader will see what's coming, know more than Taco, and feel superior to and more informed and in charge than Taco. And maybe that's what we're going for.

Everything is exaggerated for effect. Taco's dead Mom, the absent Father, the alcoholic older brother, the hot girlfriend and the non-stop trysts. And Taco is the naive innocent who has to learn the way of the world. He learns about sex, pregnancy, girlfriends, friends, money, responsibility, and family. This book becomes a very entertaining variation on a book that could have been called "Sex and Pregnancy for (Teenage Male) Dummies", with some of the same jokes and examples.

That's not to say that the book isn't often funny and touching. It's hard not to like generous and optimistic Taco, immaturity and all. And the reader is often caught off guard by an insightful, edgy or especially perceptive observation or throwaway line. Because it's Herbach there is great energy, humor and life affirmation here. Hard lessons are learned fairly painlessly, and there are happy outcomes for all involved. So, it's entertaining, but it makes an impression and leaves behind a message. I wouldn't want this to be my kid's only sex education, but as a painless way to drive home a message on impressionable minds it's not a bad choice at all. I waffled on this as I read it, because sometimes it almost made everything seem too easy, but on balance I saw this as an ambitious, interesting and oddly helpful bit of early teen fiction.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)


Tags : Amazon.com: Anything You Want (9781402291449): Geoff Herbach: Books,Geoff Herbach,Anything You Want,Sourcebooks Fire,1402291442,Boys & Men,Humorous - General,Social Themes - General,Dating (Social customs);Fiction.,Dysfunctional families,Family problems,Family problems;Fiction.,High school students,Love,Pregnancy;Fiction.,Romance fiction,Teenage boys,Teenage pregnancy,Young adult fiction,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12),Family - General (see also headings under Social Themes),Social Themes - Pregnancy,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Boys & Men,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Humorous General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Social Themes Pregnancy,Young Adult Fiction Social Themes General (see also headings under Family),Young Adult FictionBoys & Men,Young Adult FictionFamily - General (see also headings under Social Themes),Young Adult FictionSocial Themes - Pregnancy,contemporary; young adult books; teen books; books for teens

Anything You Want Geoff Herbach Books Reviews

The cover for this book may be misleading if it leads you to believe it is a light romantic comedy. It is many amazing and wonderful things, but it is not that. If it had been that, I wouldn't have loved it nearly as much as I did. And I did. I loved this book -- and more importantly its memorable main character Taco Keller -- so hard. I admit I am a huge fan of Herbach's voice as a writer, and this is my favorite of all his YA books to date.

I laughed out loud continuously through the early raucous, exhilarating pages, and Herbach's quirky humor continues throughout, even as the story intensifies and the well-meaning-but-wildl-immature and ill-prepared Taco tries to make the best of a an untenable "grown up" situation he gets himself, and the girl he loves, into, one way too serious for him to handle on his own. But, left with the words his mother spoke to him before she died, Taco is determined to deal and overcome and do it with a dose of unbridled enthusiasm, even if that enthusiasm nearly does him in. In the end, he faces some tough life lessons, but grows and learns, and I rooted hard, as he plows forward, trying to do the right thing, and to handle his too-adult decisions with an impossibly cheerful and optimistic spirit for the sake of his brother and the memory of his mom.

An important book for teens. Really and funny and heartbreaking, and oh, so good.
Five stars*

Here's the thing. This is Geoff Herbach. I've only read one of Geoff's other YA book so far, but that was enough for me to know that Geoff has a distinct voice. He writes like a teenage guy who may not be the most intelligent thing in the world but has a humacious heart (and a whole lot of things going on that he has no control over). If you don't like Geoff's voice, you probably won't like AYW. (Check out his other books. Read a first chapter online. See if his thing is your sort of thing, too, before assuming he's not going to sound like a guy.)

Personally, I LOVE Geoff's voice. I love how real his books are. I love how you think the narrator is just telling you all of this random stuff (and sometimes you're like, "Okay, TMI...") but the storyline slowly unravels and you begin to understand WHY the characters are doing the dumb stuff they are. I love how even if you think some of them are crazy, or you don't trust them, you suddenly find yourself starting to ROOT for them because they're not just two-dimensional, obnoxious characters, they're REAL. They're the kind of characters you'd want to get to know in real life because they'd bring a smile to your face. They're your friend's brother. Your neighbor across the street. That kid your daughter hangs out with once in a while who seems sweet (but secretly, you feel sorry for them and wish you could just give 'em a big 'ol hug).

Anything You Want is a book about a guy who has lost a lot and has to keep on keeping on, regardless; then does something dumb and has to figure out how to solve a problem that is quite unsolvable. He has had no choice but to grow up, and grow up he does. BUT. His mother has died, his dad is a jerk, his brother's out of control, he's still in high school--and he ACTS LIKE A TEENAGE BOY. (Not some perfect AP student, let's not get all hipster/perfect student/stereotypical here--Taco is just a kid trying to get by the best he knows how with what he's got.) How many teen pregnancies are there? (A lot.) How many times did one or both sexes end up assuming it somehow just wouldn't happen to them? (A lot.) This is not new. This is not surprising. This is, a lot of times, life.

Is Taco naive? YES. Is he probably a little too into Maggie and her sensuous ways? YES. But the kid is young and doing what he can figure out what to do. He's not mature. (He wants to be, of course.) He's flailing around trying to make something of everything and he's doing a dang good job of it, if you ask me. It's his personality; it's the way Geoff wrote him.

And I love him for it. This book isn't just a random character who is a bit naive and ends up a dad way before he planned to. It's a book about love, and growing up, and learning to let go of the things holding you back and being willing to say, "Yeah, this seems like a s***ty decision at the moment, and boy have I made a lot of those, but in the big, grand scheme of things, this is the mature way to go." It's about being considerate of others. It's about family.

Like I said, I love Geoff's voice. I love who Taco refers to throughout the entire book. I will read anything Herbach because he is honest and writes real people and brings a whole different voice to the YA table. He writes what people think all the time, and are often too afraid to voice. And honestly, in the world of YA, I think it's pertinent that characters like his come alive. There's a target of readers not often hit (nor necessarily huge in their overall demographic) who would likely read much more often if they were exposed to Geoff's handiwork. YAY for Anything You Want.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I trust Geoff Herbach. Books like "Stupid Fast" demonstrate that he knows his audience and can write great teen characters.

So why is the hero of this book, Taco, such a hyper, clueless, child? I suspect what we're trying to do here is drive home, in an amusing and engaging fashion, a number of important life lessons. And we're doing it in a sneaky I'm-smarter-than-he-is way.

This is the story of an unexpected teen pregnancy. But, it's not a heavy message book, or an after school special, or a serious episode of "Blossom". And it certainly isn't a kitchen-sink drama or an attempt at something realistic. It's the story of a big-hearted, clueless knucklehead who has no practical grasp on reality and an almost childish engagement with the real world. It seems to me that at almost every stage of this book a younger reader will see what's coming, know more than Taco, and feel superior to and more informed and in charge than Taco. And maybe that's what we're going for.

Everything is exaggerated for effect. Taco's dead Mom, the absent Father, the alcoholic older brother, the hot girlfriend and the non-stop trysts. And Taco is the naive innocent who has to learn the way of the world. He learns about sex, pregnancy, girlfriends, friends, money, responsibility, and family. This book becomes a very entertaining variation on a book that could have been called "Sex and Pregnancy for (Teenage Male) Dummies", with some of the same jokes and examples.

That's not to say that the book isn't often funny and touching. It's hard not to like generous and optimistic Taco, immaturity and all. And the reader is often caught off guard by an insightful, edgy or especially perceptive observation or throwaway line. Because it's Herbach there is great energy, humor and life affirmation here. Hard lessons are learned fairly painlessly, and there are happy outcomes for all involved. So, it's entertaining, but it makes an impression and leaves behind a message. I wouldn't want this to be my kid's only sex education, but as a painless way to drive home a message on impressionable minds it's not a bad choice at all. I waffled on this as I read it, because sometimes it almost made everything seem too easy, but on balance I saw this as an ambitious, interesting and oddly helpful bit of early teen fiction.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)