The Black Book: Diary of a Teenage Stud, Vol. I: Girls, Girls, Girls

The Black Book: Diary of a Teenage Stud, Vol. I: Girls, Girls, Girls Review

Jonah Black is a senior in high school who has been forced to move back to his mother's house in Florida when he is kicked out of private school in Pennsylvania. Jonah's mother is a middle-aged "sexpert" who has her own radio show, telling people to be "nice to themselves" through sex and believes that all of Jonah's problems come from a lack of sex in his life. Honey, Jonah's genius sister, is also a senior. On the first day of school, Joah finds out that he is being forced to go through his junior year again because he didn't finish his senior year "in good standing". He has two good friends; Thorne the smooth operator and Posie the surfer goddess. It was obvious that he is in love with Posie, but hides it from her.

Fantasy and reality are one to Jonah and he switches between them quickly and easily. Most of his fantasies were easy to detect as fake and stereotypical of teenage boys, but left me wondering what is actually wrong with Jonah Black. Every few pages, he slips into fantasies about a girl named Sophie. Every time he is in therapy, he sees her come in and tell him not to tell the psychologist what happened in Pennsylvania. He answers her (imaginary) questions outloud.

But through all of his fantasies and all that is happening in his reality, he never explains what happened in private school to get him kicked out, or even who Sophie is. For a lot of the book, I wondered if Sophie was even real. I don't think this book is as light and happy as many critics have made it up to be; I think it is a dark and intimate look into a incredibly imaginative, if not slightly disturbed, teenage boy's mind.

This book was so good, I finished it in a few hours. The end of this book is a total cliffhanger. (Who is Northgirl999? What did Sophie do to Jonah? Will Jonah call Sophie? Will Jonah tell Posie how he feels about her? Will Jonah talk to the Cheese Girl again?) I can't wait to read the rest of them.

The Black Book: Diary of a Teenage Stud, Vol. I: Girls, Girls, Girls Overview

"Not since American Pie has there been a more honest portrayal of the American teenage boy and his desires."

-- Honor Elspeth "Honey" Black

"Fantasy and reality are all the same to Jonah Black. Freud would have had a field day."

-- Dr. Leonard Larue, Ph.D.

"And all this time I thought Honah didn't even like girls. The man's a Casanova!"

-- Thorne Wood

"Jonah Black has no idea what a stud he really is."

-- Posie Hoff

Volume I details Jonah's crash-and-burn reentry into the high school society and family he left behind two years before.

The Black Book: Diary of a Teenage Stud, Vol. I: Girls, Girls, Girls Specifications

Traditionally, series fiction for teens is light, fluffy, and more likely to be found in a beach bag than on a required summer reading list. But lately, series fiction is starting to take itself a bit more, well, seriously, a good example being The Black Book: Diary of a Teenage Stud by the mysterious Jonah Black. A projected trilogy, the true author of Jonah's fictitious journal is hiding behind the Black name, apparently not yet willing to take credit for this Twin Peak-ish, literary sex tale. In the first volume, "Girls, Girls, Girls," Jonah reveals his difficulty in separating his rich imaginary life with the real world. Between writing about his steamy, disturbing encounters with the beautiful and possibly made-up Sophie, Jonah also documents some cold, hard facts about himself: he was expelled from his Pennsylvania boarding school, his former Florida high school is forcing him to repeat 11th grade, and his mom is a scary New Age sex therapist who writes books like Hello Penis! Hello, Vagina! Who wouldn't retreat into a fantasy world? But as Jonah's writing progresses, he begins to drop hints about his sordid Pennsylvania past, and savvy readers will be able to start to put together the clues of his unexplained expulsion. It isn't likely that Jonah's quirkily complex diary will entice the usual Sweet Valley High series reader, but it is sure to intrigue teen fans of oddball writers such as Daniel Pinkwater and Douglas Adams. It's weird, but this darkly humorous mystery is definitely worth it. (Ages 14 and older) --Jennifer Hubert

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