Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I can't remember exactly what it was that first drew my attention to this marvelous little book, whether it was the ambiguous title, the reviews on the back cover (all quotes from characters within the book itself) or the photograph of the torso of a scantily-clad female on the front. Whatever it was, it intrigued me enough that I opened up to a random page, only to find what seemed to me like some sort of stream-of-consciousness first person narrative with several brief, unannounced sexual fantasies seamlessly blended into the storyline.

Now even more perplexed and, I'll confess, titillated (in my defense, I am a 16 year-old male) I immediately ran to the computer in the bookstore where I work to see if the book was, in fact, what it appeared to be on first glance. Much to my astonishment, all the reviews I read indicated that it indeed was. It was at this point that I realized that the author listed on the cover was eponymous with the title character and that nowhere in either the book itself or in my bookstore's database was he/she identified any further.

Of course, at this point I simply had to sit down and read the whole thing. The book consists of only 236 pages of very quick-reading prose, so the time commitment on my part wasn't more than a couple of hours. It only took me a few pages to get used to the very ambitious conceit employed by the author so it was no time before I began to settle into the life of Mr. Jonah Black.

I won't worry about giving away any plot points because it doesn't take long before the book begins to hint at these anyway. As the book opens, the title character believes he is beginning his senior year at Don Shula High School in Florida after having been expelled from a Pennsylvania boarding school he had been attending in order to live closer to his father. Now he is living with his mother, a freakishly on-target portrayal of a best-selling self-help "sexpert" and perfectly unbearable to her two teenage children (her favorite expression seems to be, "are you being nice to yourself?"). Jonah's sister is one year younger than he and a veritable genius who has already skipped one grade at her selective magnet school. She also happens to be the most promiscuous girl in her ZIP code and yet manages to convince her clueless mother that, when she goes to visit the entire football team, it's just to help them all study.

Meanwhile, Jonah is in for a surprise on his first day back at school. Apparently, his expulsion from the Pennsylvania boarding school precluded his taking the final examination for his German class, resulting in him receiving a "D" grade for the semester. This does not sit well with the administration of Shula High, which specializes in languages, so he must now repeat the eleventh grade. This puts Jonah in the unenviable position of being one year behind his own "little" sister.

To make matters worse, Jonah is having severe difficulties with his relationships with the opposite sex. The extent of his experience seems to be a brief on-line correspondence with a Norwegian university student and an unhealthy obsession with Sophie, the object of the aforementioned sexual fantasies, who may or may not be imaginary. The only real female whom he finds the least bit appealing is his best friend, Posie, who is unfortunately all-but-married to an attractive but rather dense surfer named Wailer.

The book follows Jonah through the first few months of the school year as he attempts to re-establish something resembling a normal life. Jonah drops hints along the way about his sordid past which would serve as motivators for the reader to pay attention and keep up with the story. This proves unnecessary, however, due to the author's considerable skill at engaging the reader with interesting characters and hilarious plot turns. The reader's interest is also preserved by a prose style that is simultaneously down to earth without feeling dumbed down, a rarity among current teen fiction.

Though certain background details of Jonah's life might invite comparisons to Salinger's Holden Caulfield, the similarities between the two end there. Jonah is, in my mind, a far more believable and attractive character than Holden. He has very few of Holden's irritating self-pitying or self-destructive tendencies. Also, unlike Holden, Jonah does not constantly pass judgment on the entire world but respects the reader's intelligence by allowing him to recognize for himself the absurdities of teenage life without being incessantly hit over the head with them.

The Black Book avoids the common pitfall of young adult literature of taking itself too seriously and trying to confront specific "issues". The main character is both likable and realistic and his problems are neither of the superficial, Sweet Valley High variety, nor so exaggeratedly outlandish as to seem far removed from the experiences of most teenagers. And although he is quite introspective and engages in an overactive fantasy life, Jonah is not one of the moody, alienated types that has become such a trite staple of teen literature since Catcher in the Rye and The Outsiders.

Above all, though, readers will appreciate The Black Book for its sense of humor, which almost never sinks to the level of American Pie style antics. The author succeeds at a very delicate balancing act of taking the audience deep into the mind of Jonah Black while remaining removed enough to recognize just how funny his life is.

Teen literature has always been a weak genre, so it's nice to find a new voice in it who knows how to relate to teenagers without being condescending. I heartily recommend this novel to any mature reader of high school age or above. And, though The Black Book ends on a note of unresolved climax, it more than makes up for it with the promise of a sequel to come.

When I heard about this book, I really was very interested in it. I read part of it and thought it would be very interesting. 4 days later when I recieved it in the mail, I read the entire thing at once. I was very impressed with this book even though it at all was not what I thought it was going to be... and the funny thing is that I have only read 2 other books from front to back, but this was great. I was just here at Amazon.com buying Volume 2 and getting the publish dates for Volumes 3 (Jan.9, 02) & 4 (March 19, 02). I have been thinking about this book ever since I put it down, and even though the website said that all characters are fictional, I have this want to meet Jonah Black. Reading what he wrote, has kinda given me a different outlook on boys. Not every boy is thinking about girls and sex all the time. And it is possible for a teenage boy to love one girl, who he hasn't slept with. That to me is reassuring. So, Jonah Black, if you are out there, good job.

This book is very down to earth. It was kinda weird reading it at first because I felt as if I was envading his privacy because all his thoughts and feelings were being spilled to me - a perfect stranger. It was very easy to get interested in. Im a guy and dont like to read too many things, but my girl friend Ashley made me read it and I found that I could actually enjoy sitting down for long periods of time to read. I found that I could relate to most of the problems he had and his friends were just like my friends, except a little weirder. I highly recommend this book. Its inspired me to start keeping a journal of my own so I can keep track of all the things that go on in my life. Thanks Jordan Black(...)

Diary of a teenage stud is one of the best books I've read in a long time, (along with the Alex Rider books by Anthony Horrowitz).

It features a typical teenage boy (Jonah) with a punk-rock/gothic genius sister, distant father and a mother who writes books about teenage sex problems.

He returns to Florida from boarding school in Pennsylvania and goes back to his old school, only to find out he must repeat the 11ht grade!

The book darts between his fantasies and reality, and it seems as though they are the same to Jonah. Through this diary we are taken to the mixed up world of a teenage boy, and we get a glimpse of what really goes on in their minds.

Imagine coming back to your old high school as a senior, after two years, and finding that your classmates say you haven't changed? Imagine finding out that because you got kicked out of boarding school, you have repeat junior year while your friends get promoted. The added humiliation is that your little sister is a genius (of course) and is now a senior as well. Worst of all, your mother is a sex therapist with her own radio talk show and best-selling book... P>All of these things and much, much more are recounted to us via the entries of the infamous BLACK BOOK: DIARY OF A TEENAGE STUD. We watch him navigate through his return to high school with gusto, his reinitiation into his Florida town's social scene, and sort out the mysterious world of relationships with girls, both real and ideal. Jonah's entries are short, witty, and straddle the line between reality and fantasy. Take for instance, the elusive Sophie, the dream girlfriend that Jonah left behind at his boarding school in Maine, yet seems to keep reappearing right before him. His friends Thorne and Posie try to bolster his spirits, yet also wish they could figure out the events surrounding Jonah's expulsion from his boarding school, and the love of his life who does not seem real. Honey, his younger sister kid-genius, offers wry cynicism in her critiques of Jonah's situation and attempts to help him, as well as scorning of their mother. At the end of the book, we still don't know why Jonah has been expelled, if he will rejoin his senor class, who Sophie is, and what will become of his relationship with Posie. On top of that, Jonah suffers a severe swimming accident, and the reader is left in anguished suspense.

This book is 240 pages long but I read it in two days! It is fast, witty, and engaging. It successfully reveals the inner-workings of the male teenager's psyche, showing both hormonal lust, visible in his excitement over having cyber-sex with an anonymous on-line admirer, and surprising sensitivity, as he struggles to understand his friendship/love for Posie and rages over her cheating boyfriend. The daydreams are hysterical, as are Jonah's reflections on those around (i.e. his principle "who may not exist" and his therapist--who looks like the muppet Grover always tortures on Sesame Street.) The characters are great, especially the females such as Posie and Honey, who come off as strong and assertive, without trying to force the point of female autonomy. The book is just plain, hysterical fun. I don't like to rely on cliches, but this book really does leave you thirsting for more. I read it two weeks ago, and can't stop thinking about it. I can't wait to read Volume II.

Let me just say that after reading the 1st of the series i was really shocked on how good this book would be! It really caught my attention! Jonah is portrayed as a real teenager (unlike some books). He seems so real. He thinks just like any other crazy teenager would. It felt like I made a connection with Jonah,Thorne,and most of all Posie. And let me just say that I think I have fallen in Love with Jonah he seems like a really cool guy that would do ANYTHING for love. I just finished reading the whole series and I'm really looking forward to seeing more "Black Books" in the future!!!

I had to see what the hype was about - we recently ordered all of Jonah Black's "black books" for our young adult section at the library and I was curious if I would recommend these books to the local teens who come to our library, or not. The answer is a resounding yes! Jonah writes in a very honest, appealing way that made him a deeper, more caring person than any average stud. :) Though there is a lot of mystery surrounding what happened to Jonah at Masthead (a school in Penn. where he was expelled), I didn't feel frustrated by it, because there's plenty of other things going on in Jonah's life as he tries to re-adjust to being a junior (again!) back in Pompano, FLA with friends he hasn't seen for two years, a mother who is becoming famous for her sex advice to teens but who knows nothing about her own children, and a younger, genius sister for whom he obviously has a soft spot. Jonah's daydreams, feelings, thoughts, frustrations and hopes are all cleverly and freshly written - a very satisfying read despite hanging from my toenails at the end!

I thought this was an outstanding book. Black captured my imagination with his wonderful use of words. I felt like I was watching a movie, the way the book put pictures in my head. I recommend this to any teen, boy or girl.

Jonah Black is a teenage boy, about 17 years old. He should be a senior, but is held back for reasons that remain foggy throughout the book. In fact, everything remains foggy throughout this book. There are so many secrets and fantasies floating around, that it's hard to know what is real and unreal, and what is the truth and fiction.
We get introduced to Jonah just as he is entering back into his old school, for reasons we know nothing about at this point. There is no backround info given on this guy, we just tumble right in with him and his life, learning as we go.
You get the impression that he believes himself to be different, pathetic, misunderstood, unpopular, and distant from the norm. There are many clues hinting to this. The thing is though, the more you read, the more you get that....Jonah is the most popular boy in school, the most creative, the best at....just about everything, is lusted after by any girl who lays eyes on him, and has this instinctive cart load of self assurance thrown in the bag as well. All of this he seems completely oblivious to. Your image of him will change throughout the story, and you will feel as if you are not just reading a book, but taking a trip inside the mind, body, soul, and heart of a very real, very special person. You will literally feel as if you are visiting a new best friend, dying to know what makes him tick. Secrets are kept, and vulnerabilities are revealed in a perfect blend of fantasy and reality. It's never clear what is real, and what is not, and you will find yourself doubting him about everything, but falling more and more in love with this new friend, to the point where it no longer matters what is fact and fantasy.
The book explores our self reflection, and how it differs from reality. The author teaches us that a friend is not a person who always has our best interests at heart, and helps us through the bad times, but can be, as Jonah discovers, or maybe just shows us, that a friend is someone we care for and who cares for us, though they constantly mess up, screw up, and make us furious. Jonah's many offbeat yet very real relationships differ so strongly from his imaginary ones. Yet all of them are flawed, vulnerable, and heartbreaking.
The book is about looking beyond your personal perception of self, and revealing the way you really are, through how others see you. It is about loving people though they too often only think of themselves. It is about the power of creativity and imagination, and how they set us free and help us grow and learn. It is about holding onto idealism and romanticism at all costs, no matter what anybody says.
This book is amazing, and I recommend it to anyone who knows what it's like to live inside their head.

I don't have enough adjectives in my vocabulary to describe how much I liked this book. I liked the writing, the characters, the story, the mystery, the way reality and fantasy were interwoven. I liked the way the story wasn't too typical but wasn't trying too hard to be weird.