King of the Screwups

by K. L. Going

Overview

Liam Geller is Mr. Popularity. Everybody loves him. He excels at sports; he knows exactly what clothes to wear; he always ends up with the most beautiful girls in school. But he's got an uncanny ability to screw up in the very ways that tick off his father the most.
When Liam finally kicked out of the house, his father's brother takes him in. What could a teenage chick magnet possibly have in common with his gay, glam rocker, DJ uncle who lives in a trailer in upstate New York? A lot more than you'd think. And when Liam attempts to make himself over as a nerd in a desperate attempt to impress his father, it's his "aunt" Pete and the guys in his band who convince Liam there's much more to him than his father will ever see.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780152062583
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	04/06/2009
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.30(d)
Lexile:	HL690L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 Years

About the Author

K. L. GOING is the author of Fat Kid Rules the World, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book; Saint Iggy; and The Garden of Eve. She lives and writes full-time in Glen Spey, New York.
www.klgoing.com

Editorial Reviews

Going's writing is smooth and simple…What lasts when the story concludes, however, is Liam. By subverting expectations, Going not only reaches readers who might otherwise pass up a book like hers, she also shows them she understands: their view from the top of the social power structure is not easy, nor is it even all that powerful.
—The New York Times

Ned Vizzini

Liam Geller's mother is a retired supermodel, his father a high-powered CEO. Liam, 17, is a world-class ne'er-do-well. He breaks the camel's back when he's caught in flagrante delicto with a girl on his father's office desk and gets kicked out of the house. Liam's softhearted mother arranges for him to move in with her husband's estranged brother, Pete, a cross-dressing deejay who lives "in a broken-down trailer park in the middle of nowhere," per Liam's father. To regain his father's approval, Liam tries to lose his "Mr. Popularity" rep and reinvent himself as studious and nerdy (he even joins the audio-visual club), but he can't hide his charm. Darleen, a hostile classmate Liam tries to befriend, sees right through him. "You'll do what you do, which, if I'm guessing correctly, is to be wildly and naturally popular." Going's latest (after The Garden of Eve) is full of comic moments featuring "Aunt" Pete's glam-rock band buddies and Liam's relentless blunders, as well as his uncommon fashion expertise ("You're like a fashion Einstein," gushes one of Pete's friends). Readers-screwups or not-will empathize as Liam, utterly likable despite his faults, learns to be himself. Ages 12-up. (Apr.)

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Publishers Weekly

It seems Liam cannot do anything right. His entire life is a series of screw-ups. He can't even screw up right; somehow, Liam screws up the screw up! Liam's father does little to hide his disappointment in his son, and when Liam is caught drunk with a half-naked girl in his dad's office, the consequences are severe. Liam is kicked out of the house. He ends up living in a mobile home with his dad's cross-dressing brother. As a high school senior starting a new school in a small town, he tries hard to not be himself but to be like his dad. Of course, he screws that up. With the help of his "Aunt" Pete and his new friends, Liam slowly comes to realize that he will never be like his father. Neither will he ever be able to please his father. At the same time, Liam discovers that he has natural talents that he should not suppress because he does not screw things up when he allows himself to be himself. This exceptional coming-of-age story by Printz Honor winning author K. L. Going will have readers rooting for Liam as he struggles, initially, for his father's acceptance and ultimately learns to accept himself. Reviewer: Denise Daley

Children's Literature - Denise Daley

When cool, popular Liam Geller, a colossal disappointment to his no-nonsense executive father, screws up—again—he is kicked out of his home right before his high school senior year and finds himself living with his father's brother in an upstate New York trailer park. Liam has always thought of his DJ/glam-rock-band gay uncle who loves to cross-dress as "Aunt Pete." Pete's band members are also members of the small community that is now Liam's: Dino is a policeman, Orlando is Liam's English teacher, and Eddie runs a clothing shop. As Pete and his friends try to support Liam, Liam is so preoccupied with regaining his father's approval that he cannot see his own talents, similar to those of his former model mother. It takes another painful round of screw-ups before Liam can finally accept himself and realize that his neighbor Darleen is right when she says, "You can't create love, Liam. You just have to take it where you can find it." Going creates an engaging cast of characters in her latest novel, which is clearly the story of parental expectations completely at odds with the dreams of a child. Liam's story is interspersed with flashbacks of a young Liam and his mother bonding in the world of fashion and of his father's unending disdain for all of it. Liam is a complex character whose development into a sympathetic, real person is compelling. The author effectively illustrates the message that each person must accept and be true to his or her own strengths and weaknesses, a meaning that will appeal Going's teen fans. Reviewer: Mary Ann Darby

VOYA - Mary Ann Darby

I enjoyed reading this book. It took me a long time to decide what I thought of Liam, and whether I liked him. It was something I liked about the book; each character was more developed and had more to him or her than at first glance. It is a great read with interesting and entertaining characters, and I didn't want to put it down. Reviewer: Amelia Evard, Teen Reviewer

VOYA - Amelia Evard

Gr 8 Up

Liam Geller's good looks and fashionista genes come from his mother, a former model who introduced him to the glamour of the runway when he was just a toddler. Popular with his fast-lane friends, Liam's live-to-party attitude ires his cold, controlling father, so it isn't surprising when yet another a streak of bad behavior gets him kicked out of the house. Angering his father even further, Liam seeks refuge with "Aunt Pete," his cross-dressing, deejay uncle who lives in an upstate New York trailer park. The setting is ready-made for the cast of quirky characters who make up Pete's glam-rock '70s band: Eddie, a boutique owner; Orlando, Pete's boyfriend (and Liam's new English teacher); and Dino, a local cop. The Gucci-clad teen awkwardly tries to adapt to his new surroundings, missing cues from Darleen, the arty girl next door, about what it means to be popular in Pineville. Liam's misadventures unfold alongside incidental memories (in italics) that subtly reveal the relationships between father and son and mother and son as they developed over the years. Liam is a multifaceted and resilient character who ultimately learns how to be comfortable in his own skin with the help of his new, makeshift family. Going's knack for defying stereotypes and creating memorable characters will not disappoint fans of Fat Kid Rules the World (Putnam, 2003) and Saint Iggy (Harcourt, 2006).-Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY

School Library Journal

Popular, beautiful slacker Liam spends the majority of his time partying and chasing girls instead of focusing on his studies. To keep him in check, his dad kicks him out of the house and ships him off to live with his gay glam-rocking uncle. Bad hair, tights, bitchy neighbors, reality checks and fashion shows ensue. Going's latest flows easily with smooth, realistic dialogue and reads like a coming-out story for straight guys. This innovative, out-of-the-box approach juxtaposes stereotypes, received values, parental roles and masculinity in a jarringly fun and approachable manner that marks a triumphant left-turn for the genre. Cloaked as a story of tough love, this is actually a psychological exploration of the impact of parental expectations versus the dreams of their children. Nothing earned comes easy, however, and Liam finds that he does need to switch some of the gears inside his head, but he's not as big of a screw-up as his parents make him out to be. Moreover, trouble does follow him wherever he goes, but avoiding it is easier when you've got the right kind of support. (Fiction. YA)

Kirkus Reviews

"Going's latest (after The Garden of Eve) is full of comic moments featuring "Aunt" Pete's glam-rock band buddies and Liam's relentless blunders, as well as his uncommon fashion expertise ("You're like a fashion Einstein," gushes one of Pete's friends). Readers—screwups or not—will empathize as Liam, utterly likable despite his faults, learns to be himself."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

Liam is a multifaceted and resilient character who ultimately learns how to be comfortable in his own skin with the help of his new, makeshift family. Going’s knack for defying stereotypes and creating memorable characters will not disappoint fans of Fat Kid Rules the World (Putnam, 2003) and Saint Iggy (Harcourt, 2006).--School Library Journal, starred review

"Going’s latest flows easily with smooth, realistic dialogue and reads like a coming-out story for straight guys. This innovative, out-of-the-box approach juxtaposes stereotypes, received values, parental roles and masculinity in a jarringly fun and approachable manner that marks a triumphant left-turn for the genre. Cloaked as a story of tough love, this is actually a psychological exploration of the impact of parental expectations versus the dreams of their children."--Kirkus

"Liam and Aunt Pete are true originals, and Going balances her strong messages of selfdiscovery and acceptance with compassionate, bittersweet scenes that highlight the soul-sapping futility of trying to please unappeasable adults."--Booklist

"Going creates an engaging cast of characters . . . Liam is a complex character whose development into a sympathetic, real person is compelling."--VOYA (4Q4P)

“After her darker, more enigmatic turn with Saint Iggy . . . Going delivers an involving coming-of-age character study likely to please fans of her Fat Kid Rules the World.”--The Bulletin

"Going's writing is smooth and simple."--New York Times Book Review

From the Publisher