10th Grade

Rating:
Summary: 10th Grade...well, sort of...
Review: 10th Grade by Joseph Weisberg
Jeremy Reskin is the typical tenth grade boy: Insecure, awkward, and hormonally charged. This novel, 10th Grade, is a look at sophomore year through Jeremy's eyes. We join him in the boring town of Hutch Falls, New Jersey. With him, we experience everything from family bonding moments, to fantasies, to trying to be a part of the "in crowd". We go to soccer practice with him, we hang out at the mall (a.k.a. the vacuum cleaner for money) with his friends, and we go to prom with one of the popular girls. It's a very real, very candid look at what goes on in the mind of a tenth grader.
Joseph Weisberg has done a fairly good job in perfecting the character of Jeremy. He writes in such a way that brings Jeremy to life. With the creative use of grammatical flaws, this book is entirely believable. With every missed comma, every run-on sentence, every poor transition you get a feel for what it would be like to be this kid. At times, you'll find yourself wondering if this really was written by a sixteen-year-old boy.
As well-created as the characters were, the plot was a little lacking in the excitement department. It was very realistic, but that's not what is interesting to read. People don't want to read about real life, they want to read something different, something adventurous, something romantic. This book went nowhere, and took us all with it. We were constantly tortured by Jeremy's lack of romance, even though there were many directions Weisberg could have taken that part of the story in. His sexual frustration started to frustrate the reader in turn.
There is also a noticeably absent message in this story. Jeremy doesn't find love, he doesn't find himself, and he doesn't learn any life lessons. In the beginning he refuses to negotiate his morals for his friends, and isn't rewarded. Then later, he compromises his morals for popularity, but there are no repercussions. There is nothing to take away from this story when you finish it. It's simply the account of a very average high school boy.
With all that said, this book can be enjoyable from time to time, and is a good story for anyone who's gone through the tough sophomore year. But in the end, something's missing.


Rating:
Summary: A cult-classic waiting to happen
Review: 10th Grade is the more realistic and less pretentious twin brother to the cult-classic "The Perks of Being A Wallflower". While Charlie of "Perks" is crying in his room, Jeremy of "10th Grade" is out exploring the world and describing girl's breasts.

Anyone who says that this is an unrealistic portrayal of teenage boys, is sorely mistaken. While YOU may have been an asexual nerd, the vast majority of boys (and girls) will relate perfectly to the hormone driven innocence of Jeremy.

The writing style is very informal, sometimes hard to understand. And the plot IS rather aimless. But Weisberg is wonderful at turning what could have been another boring book about teenage angst into a hilarious memoir of an average kid.

If you like this book, I would also recommend "YOUTH IN REVOLT" BY C.D. PAYNE.

Rating:
Summary: 10th Grade
Review: 10th Grade is written so effectively that it is difficult to believe an adult, Joseph Weisberg, wrote it. As an actual sophomore in high school, I know that Jeremy Reskin truly portrays an average young teenager going through the hardships, relationships, and emotions that all teens can identify with. An adult reading this book will definitely find it hilarious and enjoyable to reminisce about the wild times they had in their high school years. A tenth grader reading this book will also find it amusing to read a passage and right away be able to say "Yeah, that's definitely how I think," or "I've done that before!" When Jeremy first meets a girls, he right away describes her breasts in great detail; As soon as he wrote about how big the girl's breasts were, I right away remembered that I do that all the time.
10th Grade provides a hilarious view into the life of a average teenager in high school and allow the reader to laugh and remember how much fun they had in 10th grade.

Rating:
Summary: The "Tenth Grade" that everyone forgets
Review: Before reading this book, it sounded interesting to me and something that I just might want to read. The intriguing part was the fact that it was all the thoughts of a tenth grader. This does relate to me because I was in tenth grade two years ago. This book is gorged with run-on sentences and a hugely annoying amount of grammatical errors. The book was funny because of some really embarassing moments. Some people seemed to really enjoy this book, but I found it quite boring at times. I found out that I am not at all interested with the perverted thoughts of a tenth grade male. I feel that this book would appeal more to guys by the ideas it shares. I do not recommend this book to anyone else.


Rating:
Summary: Brittany's Review
Review: I did not really enjoy this book all that much. I felt it took forever to get the point of the novel and then once i was finished, I realized that there was no point! I also did not like the grammatical errors and the fragmented sentences. The only thing I did like was how it related directly to what a teenage boy in tenth grade experiences.

Rating:
Summary: 10th Grade is wonderful
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed 10th Grade, a wonderful, funny novel. Other reviews have called it a "knowing glimpse" and "absolutely credible" account of high school life. As a high school teacher, I find the novel to even more compelling. It rings true for me, as I remember my own experiences and as I see life through the eyes of my current students. Unlike many recent books about teens, Mr. Weisberg captures the underlying truth of adolescence, that life is marked not by hyperbolic and surreal events (teen suicide, incest, drug overdoses) but rather that these years are ones of yearning, frustration, and of love, real or imagined. In the language and tone of his protagonist we experience sophomore year, from the opening of school to the Prom. Weisberg's characters are thoroughly developed and come to life in these pages. The novel is both hysterically funny and honest. As I read it, I laughed out loud and felt a strong sense of deja vu. While I would never wish to be back in high school, Weisberg's 10th Grade made it worth visiting.

Rating:
Summary: Hard to get through and dull
Review: I understand the reason why it is written in such short form, but I hated it. It was way too much. Way over the top. It makes for such a difficult read. The book was pretty dull anyway. Not much happens here.

Rating:
Summary: typical sophomore
Review: Jeremy was a charater that describe 10th graders exactaly how they are. This book showed him going through different stages and him maturing. But this is how it it. He talks about girl's bodies and is infactuated with boobs. He also handles the struggle though his soccer seasons.
Jeremy is a good kid and many of the girls thinks he is sweet and kind. But his mind isn't always in the best place. Buthe sees how girls have their different feelings though out the book and seems to mature a little more. This was an easy read book and i recomend it to anyone that likes a stories that dont take alot to think.

Rating:
Summary: boo it stinks
Review: this book was written by a tenth grader as he goes through the school year the errors in grammar such as no comas, and his lack of period make the book irritating. pretty much the only accurate thing is how much he thinks about women. Overall I found the book okay but nothing special.

Rating:
Summary: great coming of age story
Review: this is an awesome coming of age story. It is told exactly the way a tenth grader would write, bad grammar and all. I loved it! A very creative and interesting, true to life novel.