Castration Celebration [Hardcover]

Jake Wizner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 26, 2009

It’s High School Musical—rated R!

When the girl who’s foresworn men meets the boy who’s devoted himself to picking up women, there’s bound to be drama—perfect for a sixweek summer program devoted to the arts. Olivia’s summer goal: to write a musical that censures men with wandering eyes. Max’s summer goal: to hone his acting skills, along with his talent for attracting the ladies. Before camp is over, they’ll perform Olivia’s musical onstage and in real life—though the ending may turn out differently than either expects.

Jake Wizner’s story within a story takes the battle of the sexes to a whole new level in a bawdy, uproarious romp that’s laugh-out-loud fun.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Castration Celebration is a zany romantic romp through a summer theater program at Yale, and the follow-up to Jake Wizner's critically acclaimed debut Spanking Shakespeare. Max, an actor who likes women, has a crush on Olivia, a playwright who hates men. Olivia enjoys Max's attention, but she tells him in no uncertain terms that she came to camp to focus on her work. Olivia channels her romantic energy into writing "Castration Celebration," a musical with two teenagers, Amber and Dick, who fall in love after playing Benedick and Beatrice from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Much of the trouble in Olivia's musical is instigated by Dick's macho buddies, Biff and Sluggo, who get the best songs (such as "I Saw My Parents Having Sex" and "Horny"). Olivia has been obsessed with the seemingly inevitable infidelity of men ever since she walked in on her dad cheating with one of his grad students, and she works out her frustrations through her writing. But when Olivia tries to orchestrate a romantic situation in her own life as though it were a play, she learns the limits of her talents. Wizner cleverly embeds the scenes—and songs—of "Castration Celebration" (Olivia's musical) within the chapters, showing Olivia's development as a character as she's writing. Castration Celebration (the book) doesn't necessarily include any poignant epiphanies, and that's one of its strengths: for the most part, Wizner allows it to be a comedy and remain a comedy. It is a funny, realistic portrait of early adulthood relationships, one that doesn't steer away from topics that teens deal with every day—gender power struggles, sexual tension, and alcohol and drug use. Best for older teens who can relate to adult themes. (Ages 14 and up) -–Heidi Broadhead

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Jake Wizner on Castration Celebration

I wanted to write a musical, which is a little bit odd because I have only seen two or three musicals in my life and did not particularly enjoy them. But I’ve always loved writing irreverent songs, and I figured that I could write the kind of musical that people who don’t like musicals could also enjoy. I started with the lyrics, and then I built a script around the songs, and what emerged was something outrageous, over-the-top, and really, really funny, at least to me.

I had also been playing around for a long time with the idea of setting a young adult novel on a college campus, because I had spent the first ten years of my life living in a dormitory at Yale. I remembered clearly what kinds of adventures a young boy could have, and I imagined it could be even more fun for kids a little bit older. So that’s kind of how the book came together. Take a group of teenagers, plop them down on a college campus for a summer program where they can be working on a musical, and see what happens.

There’s a scene early in the book where Olivia’s playwriting teacher challenges her students to write not what they know, but what they want to find out. That’s sort of what writing this book was like for me. Whereas Spanking Shakespeare was rooted largely in my own experiences as a teenager, Castration Celebration was really a work of pure fiction. Now I’m at work on a third novel for young adults, a humorous coming of age story of a neurotic, love-starved high school senior who finds himself becoming entangled in the life of a young boy and the immigration politics of post 9-11 America. —Jake Wizner

From Booklist

Less creative and more crude than Wizner’s Spanking Shakespeare (2007), this envelope-pusher follows a raunchy group of teens through a summer at a Yale arts camp. Disappointed by the males in her life and fascinated by the concept of castration, Olivia creates the book’s titular musical as her project, drawing inspiration from her fellow campers’ over-the-top discussions and exploits. Most chapters end with a scene from Olivia’s work-in-progress, including the often quite clever (and graphic) lyrics to songs, such as “Horny” and “I’m in Love with Dick.” References to sex in all its forms and the lack of restraint on foul language will certainly shock some readers (particularly adults). Wizner skewers everything from classic children’s books (Pat the Bunny is reinterpreted from a very Freudian perspective) to High School Musical (clearly satirized on the book’s cover), and many older teens will appreciate the wild humor and the no-holds-barred look at what undoubtedly does happen at some summer camps. Grades 11-12. --Andrew Medlar

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (May 26, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375852158
• ISBN-13: 978-0375852152
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 1 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,437,436 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lewd and Crass but Humorous and Entertaining, December 6, 2009

By 

flamingo1325 "A Good Addiction" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Castration Celebration (Hardcover)

Okay, I admit- while reading this, I often gawked and tried to figure out exactly why it is a teen book. In many ways, I think Random House was ballsy on this one- no pun intended. It is lewd, crass, risque- but underneath all that, it actually does have a good plot and weaves a good story. While this isn't necessarily a book I would feel comfortable holding a giveaway for (though I did get it from a contest from Princess Bookie), I still wouldn't flat out say no, don't read it. This is one that could be controversial and I can see many parents not wanting their kids to read although really, despite how focused on sex it is- I think it is a good read and actually has a moral, etc, plus I also really enjoyed the humor despite the subject. Wizner had quite a few puns and double meanings going on.

Sex, obviously, runs rampant in this book- the majority of it is sexual innuendos, references, banter, etc. But with songs like 'Castration Celebration,' 'I'm In Love With Dick,' and 'Horny,' you should expect nothing less. There is plenty of drug use- however, this book also does a great job of showing the bad side of both things and face it, in this day and age, both of these subjects ran rampant with teenagers.

The stereotypes of the horny teenage boys, the sluttish girls, and the girls who feel like losers because they don't want to go out and get drunk and hook up with random guys are stereotypes for a reason because they are common groups of teens. We all know its rough being a teen- you are getting hit in every direction and I think this book, while certainly crass, did a good of tying it all together.

While the characters were not particularly strong, I still enjoyed the story. It focuses mostly on two people but there are several other characters who play pretty big roles throughout the book. They all have different personalities and though none of them show any extreme growth, I actually didn't think it detracted too much from the over all story.

The layout is interested- Olivia is writing a musical called 'Castration Celebration' and that entire plot line is told within this book. It is essentially two plots in one and though she does find inspiration in real life, it still holds separate instances as well and I found myself wanting to know the ends of both plots.

My favorite part of this book was the banter. It was comical in many places and kept the story funny and light. There were only a few big areas of drama but the way Olivia's musical unfolded along with the summer for the students doing the summer program at Yale was a great cross over. In truth, I give Wizner quite a bit of credit for writing 2 stories in one, with different yet similar characters. I also give him immense points for keeping the two story lines separate and not confusing them.

This reminded me often of not necessarily my high school years, since I was the stay at home and read or hang out with just a few friends rather than party kind, but I heard my peers talking. I wasn't naive that this goes on and anyone who thinks otherwise needs to open their eyes, parents and students alike. Wizner actually found inspiration for parts of this book from his students- further proving that point.

The ending made me laugh- I honestly didn't see it coming, at all. The final act written in was hilarious, playing on a real gross but definitely amusing long standing joke within the musical that I thought was a perfect way to close this entire debauchery.

So, I give this one 4 stars- not the most profound work but still an entertaining read that kept me wanting to keep going. The characters are not strong but I get the feeling strong characters isn't really the point on this one. Caution should be used- know what you are getting into although really, the title should give it away- but if you aren't comfortable with a big emphasis on sex, then don't read this one and I know without a doubt that if I was reading this book at 14 or 15 and my parents saw, they would not have been happy (which means that I would have read it, if nothing else than to just be defiant...)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dirty but funny, July 23, 2009

By 

The Book Muncher (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Castration Celebration (Hardcover)

Olivia is seriously pissed at guys, and with good reason. She recently walked in on her dad fooling around with one of his grad students, but at least now she has a great topic for the musical she's writing at summer arts camp at Yale, a musical she's titled Castration Celebration. But Olivia's not prepared for when scenes from her play start to star her and a certain cute but cocky actor Max in real life. Even if Olivia is the least bit interested, she's not willing to trust Max since the only thing you can trust about a guy is that he'll be a guy--always looking for sex. While Olivia's not too sure of her feelings for Max, she does know she has to hang out with him once in a while for the raw material he provides for her musical; besides, he's just interesting. As the days heat up, so does this battle of the sexes. It's going to be one unforgettable summer for these teens.

Castration Celebration is a laugh-out-loud hilarious story somewhat reminiscent of Disney's High School Musical. The major difference between the two is that Castration Celebration is aimed at an older, more mature audience. The best thing about this novel is its somewhat raunchy and dirty humor; it's almost scary how the characters can find a sexual connotation in nearly everything. The plot of the novel is a seriously twisted romance made more interesting by being interspaced with scenes from Olivia's comedy and her original and very funny songs. The characters, I felt, could definitely have been working on. This novel is told from the third person perspective and offers insufficient insight into each character's mind. This made even the main characters less believable at times. I know Castration Celebration is mostly Olivia and Max's take, but I would've appreciated more from minor characters Zeke, Trish, Callie, and Mimi. Despite that, Castration Celebration is a sweet and seriously humorous tale that covers nearly everything in guy-girl interaction from the mysteries of the opposite gender's mind to good old-fashioned guy-gets-girl (or girl-gets-guy) romance.

Castration Celebration will be enjoyed not only by the drama crows but by anyone who's experienced confusion and/or frustration over the opposite sex. This novel will also be liked by fans of Love on Cue by Catherine Hapka.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sarah's Random Musing review, July 20, 2009

By 

Sarah Woodard (Bremerton, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Castration Celebration (Hardcover)

Olivia is going to Yale University for an art summer camp. After walking in on her dad with of his grad student, Olivia did her research and she has decided to write a musical called Castration Celebration. Olivia is influenced by her new friends, especially Max.

Max is a ladies man and wants to be together with Olivia. Max is totally not Olivia's type. Olivia and Max might just have something, but will Olivia let her emotions through? Will the play and real life end the same way?

I love Castration Celebration. I read it in about three hours. It was so funny and I could not stop laughing. This book didn't tip toe around sex. It jumped in to sex and it wasn't vulgar or trashy. It was the truth and I really respected Wizner for doing that. I also really like Olivia, I related to her at times and her development as a character was good. I really liked how the plot went between the main narrative and the script for the play. The play was hilarious and I loved the songs and dialogue in it. The writing was also good and I really like this book.