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Summary: Growing up never sounded so funny..
Review: Green Grass Grace is a book with a unique feel and great personality. For Shawn McBride this was an excellent first novel and I look forward to reading more oh his book.
The story is set in Philadelphia and revolves around the lives of a group of 13 year olds. It takes you through their daily activities and the way they feel about growing up. The main character is Henry Toohey, who is a 13-year-old smart alec whose family life is crumbling around him. Although his father is having and affair, and his brother is a drunk he still keeps a positive attitude because of the one goal he has in mind, marrying his girlfriend Grace McClain. Even though the book's main character is at the center of many problems, this book is surprisingly upbeat and funny because the author's use of foul language and insight into the minds of teenage boys. Some may find the use of language and the detailed discussion of the female anatomy offensive, but they way it is used you can see that it is merely for humor. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to step back into his or her childhood and have a good laugh.
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Summary: Green Grass Grace -Great!
Review: A wonderful first novel by Shawn McBride. The Philly neighborhood comes to life with the tale of Henry Toohey and his plan to help his family and first love in the Summer of 1984. The dialogue and sense of humor in McBride's writing makes this book a delightful and entertaining read. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good First Novel With A Great Main Character
Review: About a year ago, every time I logged on to Amazon, it seemed as if the book GREEN GRASS GRACE was recommended for me to purchase. I am not sure why this title was constantly recommended to me, but it looked interesting to me and I ordered it.
This is McBride's first novel and it shows the promise of this young author. McBride creates a lovable main character in Hank Toohey, a thirteen year old growing up in an Irish-Catholic blue collar Philadelphia neighborhood in the 1980's. Readers see that life is not all that easy for the young man and we feel empathy for him, as well as for his family that has had its share of life's difficulties. Still we enjoy his antics, and genuinely want things to go well for him. His plans to propose to his girlfriend are meant to improve things for his family, and for a thirteen year old, something so outlandish could seem to work. McBride also creates other compelling characters that keep the reader involved. These people are flawed, as we all tend to be, but McBride crafts the characters in a way we like them, or at least understand them if they are less than likeable.
The book has many positive qualities: a compelling plot, lovable characters, and a clear writing style. This is not to say that the book is perfect. I did feel at times as if McBride relied on clichés and stereotypes. The Irish characters love to drink. The nuns in the book sound more like those that taught me, rather than nuns of the 1980's. I say this because I know that nuns were different in these decades. I attended Catholic schools like those mentioned in the book and know what Catholic school was like in the late 60's./early 70's. I taught in Catholic schools in the 1980's and schools were very different in these decades, at least in the New England area, but the school that Hank attends is out of an earlier time, and one that has been portrayed over and over again. Also, I have taught and/or worked with young people around Hank's age since 1985. While young teens can be somewhat oversexed and use words that begin with "f" frequently, puberty is not all they think about and the "f" word is not the only word in teenaged vocabularies, but it does play a major role in this book. I suppose we tend to remember ourselves somewhat differently from how we really were, and more than likely all readers will see a bit of themselves in the characters of this book, which may be what makes it so appealing overall.
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Summary: Hellfire hallelujah and halitosis.
Review: Although set in Philadelphia in the 1980's Shawn McBride has fostered an authentic feel for neighborhood life and politics in just about any city in the United States. While there are obvious details that make it Phila to those who know it, an outsider will not be in the dark if they haven't visited Tack Park or seen a 76ers game. The voice of 13-year-old Henry Toohey is brash and fresh and although female readers may have difficulty discerning if Henry's voice rings true (do 13-year-old boys really think about boobs THAT much?), Henry is a bright star in a world stuffed with books about young women "coming of age". Henry's constant fluctuations between immaturity and maturity, his desperate desire to make everything right for everyone, for his family to be happy and whole, and his naiveté in believing he can bring it about single-handedly (and at all) with a premature wedding proposal to his beloved, chain-smoking, young love, Grace, is heart wrenching. And while every character in Henry's world is dysfunctional (the rule, not the exception), they are all dynamic, eccentric, powerful, compelling, insightful, touching, and familiar. Wonder abounds that they can survive each other at all. Shawn McBride's prose is musical and wonderful. The first couple of paragraphs demand to be read out loud and they suck you into Henry's attitude for life, into his world, and really set the pace. McBride's writing hits a beat like Henry's beloved record albums, resonating with life, love and the desire to persevere.
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Summary: "Grace" Deserves to Reach Wide Audience
Review: For starters, this book is consistently funny. McBride's protaganist is blessed with a twisted, slightly sick mind. At the same time, he's obviously a well-meaning, likable kid - someone the reader is interested in and rooting for. The dialogue and situations ring true with no false notes. Best of all may be the character of Grace, a real tough girl, but alluring and worth the main character's adoration. A great heroine. Note to author: my brother brought this book on vacation. It made the rounds through most of our family and is now fanning out to friends.
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Summary: Holy cow - this book is FUNNY!
Review: Green Grass Grace has got to be one of most hilarious books I have picked up in years. I haven't been this blown away by an adolescent protagonist since CATCHER IN THE RYE. McBride tells the story of 13-year-old Henry Toohey and his childhood adventures in 1984 Philadelphia. The book is both sharp and soft, as Henry's expletive-filled mouth tells a rather beautiful story of the search for love and hope within his Irish-American family. His journey is entertaining enough but the wit with which the story is narrated makes it all worth while, maybe even more than the immortalized Holden Caufield (Holden would be unlikely to compose a sonnet to breasts--that should give you a flavor of what is going on here.) The story is filled with surprises and treats that will have you laughing to yourself long after you've put the book down. I hate it when I can't fine books this good in hardback; I've already read it three times. Buy this book and enjoy yourself!
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Summary: Wonderful book!
Review: Green Grass Grace is fun, fast, and moving. I can pick it up, turn to any page, and become completely engrossed in whatever happens to be there. Shawn McBride's characters are warm and human. I'd love to sit on the porch and talk to Jim Clark, or take a dance lesson with Habib and Sasha. Don't miss this book!
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Summary: Philly Boy Makes Good
Review: Green Grass Grace is the funniest book I have read since A Confederacy of Dunces. Shawn McBride has captured the spirit and the attitude of Northeast Philadelphia. His hilarious book is like a tour through my neighborhood with sensitive teenaged guide--a sensitive teenaged guide with the lurid imagination of Hugh Hefner and the mouth of Lenny Bruce. Henry Toohey's world is coming apart at the seams, but he has a plan. His plan is one that could only be hatched by a pubescent altar boy in love on steaming St. Patrick St. in Philadelphia in the summer of 1984. Philadelphians will love the novel's familiar sense of place and McBride's adept rendering of the uniquely Philly attitude that permeate the novel. Those of you riding the R7, the 66, and the El (you know who you are) are advised to refrain from reading Green Grass Grace during you commute. The howls of laughter and incessant giggling will disturb the other passengers. Rush out and get this delightful and hilarious book, even if you are not from Philly.
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Summary: bouyant, irreverent sex-obsessed teen learns self-acceptance
Review: Hormone-saturated, breast-fixated Henry "Hank" Toohey has a problem. Exposed to the simmering daily-life tensions of an Irish Catholic blue-collar Philadelphia neighborhood, he struggles to find the magic to convince Grace McClain to marry him. Not only is this lovestruck fourteen-year-old consumed with the details of his imminent proposal, he fervently hopes that his public romantic proclamation will untie the knots of unhappiness constricting his family. Hank is witty, abrasive, intrepid and drop-dead funny; his creator, author Shawn McBride, not only captures Hank's voice, he faithfully recreates the malestrom of emotions prepubsecent boys encounter on their bumpy road to manhood. "Green Grass Grace" is an unqualified success. Hank's world view rotates around bra cup sizes, and his penchant for visually measuring every woman (including his own mother) comes in second place only to his compulsion to keep his hair perfectly coiffed. His sidekicks, the business-savvy but quintessentially nerdy Harry; schoolboy lethario Bobby and wheelchair-ridden Archie scour St. Patrick Street, observing and augmenting its subterranean and overt chaos. Hank's infectious love of life, however, is tempered by the fightening knowledge that things are terribly askew at home. His father, Frances Toohey Junior, diverts his rage at a squandered life by having a scarcely-concealed affair with a neighbor. Perceptive, sarcastic Cecilia, Hank's beleaguered mother, walks a tightrope of acceptance and rebellion; despair rivals laughter as she copes with a disintegrating family and her own blight. Tormented by the death of his intended, Stephen, Hank's older brother, drowns his sorrow and numbs his feelings with alcohol; he comes to symbolize every dashed hope and derailed dream young men experience en route to hapless, pointless adult lives in mid-1980s Philly. Depression never conquers Hank, as his focus steadies on Grace, a brazenly autonomous, astoundingly alluring young woman whose age belies her hard-won wisdom and steel-willed fearlessness. Grace's presence arouses Hank, and the literal manifestations of that arousal will remind every male reader of that painfully pleasureful introduction to sexual self-awareness. His romanticization of life's responsibilities lend a bittersweet quality to this fine debut novel. "Green Grass Grace" recognizes urban emotional corrosion; "it's all channel changing and nose blowing" in Philly's repetitive row houses. Nonetheless, Hank declares war on joylessness, on the people who "bury the best of their love," who "lose chances, waste time, miss life." He refuses to back down to sadness, instead vowing to "inflict the Toohey Chop Suey on the hard-hearted." In Shawn McBride's sure hands, Hank emerges as a modern Don Quixote, and our fondest hope is that he never stop tilting at his St. Patrick Street windmills.
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Summary: Huck Toohey?
Review: I am a reader quite familiar with the book's setting. I also grew up within the emotion-filled claustrophobic confines that the book describes so well. I breathe that atmosphere everyday. With all that said, I seriously challenge anyone who questions the reality of Green Grass Grace. You are just not thinking if you do not recognize the necessity of the book's hyperbolic nature. It may be somewhat dressed up; however, it serves its function in highlighting the main ideas and themes of the book. Henry Toohey is an absolute product of his surroundings--foulmouthed, quick-witted and tempered. He is a template taking shape at an age where everyone is so impressionable. Just like Huck Finn, Henry is fighting between maintaining his purity versus conforming to those around him. His transitions back into reality from the fresh air of nature and the peacefulness of music are just as painful as Huck's returns to land from his experiences on the river. Moreover, these transitions expose both the strengths and weaknesses of a society that functions as that of Green Grass Grace. This is as real as it gets for a youth and the reader's mood changes just as Henry's does at these moments. All these characteristics are exactly why I am in love with the book and Henry. You cannot help but see your weaknesses when you read the book and feel ashamed that such a young boy is capable of maintaining such a balance between conformity and purity.
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