Where the Kissing Never Stops

by Ron Koertge

Overview

Propelled by Ron Koertge's rapid-fire repartee, this is the funny and touching tale of a winningly honest protagonist discovering the perils and rewards of family, friendship, and romance.

"Anyway," Sully said, "I've got just what you need to take your mind off your troubles."
"Thirty pounds of chocolate decadence?"
"A girl."
"I don't need a girl."
"You do. Now more than ever."
"And what would I tell her my mother did for a living?"
"Lie."

Life has not been easy lately for sixteen-year-old Walker. His father has died, his girlfriend has moved away, and the family finances are in a shambles. Finally it seems as if things are looking up: Walker has a date with Rachel, the beautiful new girl in his class, and his mother has announced she's gotten a job. Only not your average, run-of-the-mill mom's job. Walker's mother is going to work as a stripper. What if his friends find out? What if Rachel finds out? Coincidentally, Walker's dad has left him a piece of land on which Rachel's father is scheming to build a mall, and after seeing the land, Walker goes about the hard work of farming it — and the hard work of being in love for the first time. Propelled by Ron Koertge's rapid-fire repartee, this is the funny and touching tale of a winningly honest protagonist discovering the perils and rewards of family, friendship, and romance.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763626969
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	09/13/2005
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	4.75(w) x 7.13(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	610L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

RON KOERTGE is the author of many prize-winning novels for teens, including STONER & SPAZ, winner of the PEN Literary Award, as well as THE ARIZONA KID, MARGAUX WITH AN X, SHAKESPEARE BATS CLEANUP, and THE BRIMSTONE JOURNALS. He teaches in the MFA in Writing for Children Program at Vermont College.

Editorial Reviews

Walker's dad is dead, his girlfriend has moved away, and he's gained weight. In other words, this is not the time for him to find out his mother has taken a job as a stripper at a nightclub. Then he meets Rachel, whose father wants to build a new mall in the area. Coincidentally, Walker's father left him a piece of land on which the mall is to be built. After farming the land, Walker decides not to sell and gets up the courage to tell Rachel about his mother. She's known all along and doesn't care. It adds up to a lot of male adolescent angst wrapped not-too-discreetly around a thin plot. Walker has some capacity for humor regarding his plights, but it doesn't sustain this one. (14-up)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 11-12 A marvelously funny, poignant novel about a 16 - year - old boy at odds with his hunger for junk food and sexual experience, and yearning to be somewhere ``where the kissing never stops.'' When Walker's father dies, family finances fall apart and his mother goes to work as a stripper in a local roadhouse. Mortified and angry, Walker finds solace in Sully, a boy suffering from an overbearing father. When Sully meets free and easy Peggy and Walker meets Rachel, they become a foursome. Now the sexual fantasies with which the boys have been preoccupied are finally within their grasp, and when Walter and Rachel finally consummate their affair, her wisdom and their regard for each other is both touching and humorous. Walker's attempts to keep his mother's occupation a secret and make his romance with Rachel a rich, fulfilling one is believable and engrossing, and told with a wry wit that underscores Walker's struggle. The discussions and wise cracks between the boys about sex and masturbation will have readers laughing out loud while they empathize with two very real, very confused guys. There is a kindness and consideration among the young people toward each other that is endearing and rare. The frankness of the language and the situations, common to older high-school students, makes this appropriate for just that age.Marjorie Lewis, Scarsdale Junior High School , N.Y.

School Library Journal