Rating: 
Summary: Green Grass Grace '66 or '84
Review: This book was recommended to me by an old neighborhood friend who got it from his mother! We were from NE Philly and near Tac Park, Father Judge, the railroad tressle..all brilliantly described and placed in McBride's book. I want to see it as a movie!!! The book has great visual images like the thin tire tracks in a white suit. It is hilarious! McBride's description of the neighborhood reminded me of my youth even after 35 year's away! His characters are deeply developed beyond the cup sizes. The emotions are high, low, and laugh over the tough parts. I am sending it to my girlfriends who raised boys. The description of Henry Toohey's pubescent mind will make anyone laugh. Yo, I saw Rocky I just to hear the accents! Great book!
Rating:
Summary: Don't miss this
Review: This is one of those books that, when finished, you want to tell everyone you know to read, right away.In his first novel, McBride brings vividly to life Henry Toohey; a quick witted, foul mouthed, wanna-be stand up comedian who also happens to be un-abashedly full of love. Love for his friends, neighborhood, his little sister, ..., and especially, his sligtly older sweetheart, Grace. 1984 find Toohey 13 years old in a family that between an adulterous father, a drunken older brother, and a heart-broken mother is falling apart. Henry has the solution though... he will propose to Grace, and in doing so will mend all the divides that have sprung up amongst the people he loves most. It is touching to see a wonderful 13-year-old optimism up against the harsh world of growing up. I was hooked from the very first line.
Rating:
Summary: The best there is and a whole lot more!!!
Review: This novel is, if not the very best, most certainly one of the best books I have ever read. Shawn McBride somehow travels back into his reader's past and retrieves so many memories, good and not so good, and brings them back to life in a beautiful, sensitive and wonderfully funny way. I was unable to put it down! It will find its way to the shelf in my library where my most treasured books reside. It is indeed a classic! GOOD JOB SHAWN....PLEASE DO NOT LET THIS BE YOUR LAST WORK!
Rating:
Summary: I didn't want to come to the end of this book!
Review: Though not from Philadelphia originally, I have lived here since 1991 and live a stone's throw from the mythical St. Patrick Street in the Holmesburg section of the city. Wow do I see my neighbors being echoed in this novel (and no, I do not know and have never met the author and do not have any connection to him).
When Green Grass Grace was first published, you couldn't turn the radio on without hearing something about the novel or an interview with the auther and you couldn't open up any local publications up without reading something about it - so of course I bought it. After all, I live in Holmesburg myself and can easily identify a multitude of the businesses, landmarks and places described in the novel.
Though I love to read and usually can zip through a book in a day or two - this one took me months - not because it was hard to read - on the contrary - it was easy to read. The problem was - I DIDN'T WANT IT TO END. I savored it by reading a few pages a night - not even entire chapters. I have never done that with a book before!
I don't think there was a character in the book that I didn't want to know more about. WONDERFUL!
I look forward to hearing more from Mr. McBride and hopefully someday - Mr. Toohey.
Rating: 
Summary: Cartoonish
Review: With all the hype this book got, I was surprised at how bad it was. I grew up in Northeast Philly and also went to Fr. Judge around the same time as the author, which is probably why I gave it 2 stars instead of 1. I remember those bucolic childhood days of riding my bike through Pennypack (aka Nickelback) Park and playing Freedom. Reading about it was kind of fun. But the thrill wore off pretty quickly. The characters are two-dimensional, the plot is contrived, and the attempts at humor mostly fall flat. There were a few funny moments, but nothing hilarious. Mostly slapstick. Despite his foul mouth and breast eulogies, the main character, Henry, is one sappy guy. He has a few minor flaws---one being his self-absorption---but is for the most part uninteresting. Much of the dialogue and action is unbelievable. And even though I still say "Yo" every now and then, reading it so many times made me roll my eyes: "Yo," he said.
"Yo."
"Yo."
"Yo." The writing could be better, to say the least. Comparing this to Catcher in the Rye is obscene. This book was nothing more than a bunch of gags strung together on a thin, cliche-driven plot. Don't waste your time.
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