Grab On to Me Tightly as if I Knew the Way: A Novel

ISBN: 0060882980

Title: Grab On to Me Tightly as if I Knew the Way: A Novel

Author: Bryan Charles

KDL Description:

In 1992 Kalamazoo, Michigan, teenager Vim Sweeney confronts the rapid approach of adulthood as he deals with the end of high school, the repercussions of the first Gulf War, a long-absent father, Kurt Cobain, and local hero Derek Jeter.

Amazon Description:

A wise, bighearted, and hilarious look at one teenager’s life by a remarkable new voice in contemporary fiction.

It’s 1992, and as Vim Sweeney deals with the recent end of his high school career and the uncertainty of his future, America shares his angst. In Seattle, Kurt Cobain reeks of teen spirit. In Washington, George Bush (the first one) has just finished rattling his saber at Saddam Hussein. And in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Vim is trying to put off adulthood and all that comes with it, whatever that is, for as long as he can. He’s already juggling guitars, girls, and a long-absent biological father who’s suddenly making noise about Wanting to Be Involved. And he still can’t convince his friends why local schoolboy hero Derek Jeter is bound for obscurity.

Grab On to Me Tightly as if I Knew the Way traces Vim’s stumble toward adulthood as he comes to terms with his parents, balances friendships and infatuation with varying levels of success, and accepts that the things he thought would last forever probably won’t. Generous in spirit and laugh-out-loud funny, here is a novel that introduces a tremendous new talent and deftly captures the alternately amusing and harrowing process of holding on until you find your way.