Stoner & Spaz [Review]

Stats:
#1 in Series
128 Pages [Paperback Edition]
Published 7 Oct 2002

Synopsis:
Colleen Minou is a hard-core stoner, a girl whose motto is, "I'll get high and do anything." Ben Bancroft is a movie-addicted preppie who suffers from cerebral palsy, "the resident spaz, invisible as the sign that says NO RUNNING, the one no one pays attention to." Together, they form the most unlikely couple since Dharma and Greg. He's Brooks Brothers, she's Salvation Army. He's never even smoked a cigarette, she's got 20 different chemicals running through her veins. But when these two lonely teens meet one night at Ben's favorite hang, the Rialto (a classic film theatre that "smells like butter from the Paleozoic"), sparks fly. At least for Ben they do. Maybe it's because Colleen's the first girl to ever really notice him, to have the nerve to tease him about his disability instead of pretend it's not there. For once, Ben is actually more interested in his real life than a movie. Colleen takes him clubbing, lights his first joint, even challenges him to direct his own movie. But when Ben, in turn, dares her to stay straight, Colleen admits that, despite his devotion, she still needs the drugs to "smooth out the edges." Is Ben capable of convincing her otherwise? If not, how will he ever be cured of his Colleen addiction?


My Thoughts:
When I first read the synopsis, I didn't think that I would like the book. I did a little prejudging. I figured it'd be a cliche. One of those really weak books with a plot that has been told a billion times.

I'm almost glad that I set myself up to not like this book...because I ended up loving it. The story is told in the boy with Cerebral Palsy, Ben's point-of-view. Koertge made it incredibly easy to get sucked into the story and I could easily see this turning into a movie at some point. It would definitely be something I'd watch. It was dark and honest. The "about author" actually says that Koertge's wife worked with a humorous boy with CP and one of Koertge's students had been in rehab for substance abuse. I'm going to start the 2nd book immediately. I want to know so much more about Ben's world and what happens with Colleen.


Previous Review:
Crossed by Ally Condie [here]


[Counts toward my TBR Pile challenge: here]

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