Customer Reviews

Castration Celebration

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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...)

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.

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.

This book is pretty much as ridiculous as it sounds. Really, it's just weird. It's the good kind of weird, but it won't be that way to everyone. Definitely do not read this book if you are easily offended or easily grossed out. The book doesn't sugarcoat anything; it's pretty crude.

Even though this book is a little crude, it's hilarious. A lot of the jokes are of the gross, teenage-boyish variety, but I still laughed. Not only is there the plot about Olivia, Max, and their friends, but also the one in the musical- Castration Celebration- that Olivia is writing. Both of them are funny, but the musical even more so as it contains actual songs. I may be biased since I enjoy musicals quite a lot, but even if I didn't, I still would have been laughing at the musical. But the musical does serve a purpose other than to bring the laughs: it reflects what is going on between Olivia and Max, and shows what Olivia really feels about Max. It gave her, and Max, more depth.

The characters kind of blended in at times since more than one were experts at jokes of the vulgar variety. But once more of the book went on, they became more distinct and grew personalities of their own.

The book does seem kind of exaggerated since everything was funny, and everyone made funny jokes, and and stuff, but it didn't really bother me. I was too busy giggling at the inappropriateness of it all.

I strongly recommend you read this book if you aren't easily offended and enjoy crude jokes, and I strongly recommend you don't read it if you are easily offended and are immature.

I had to crack open my thesaurus to find enough words to describe Castration Celebration. Here is the long list of descriptive words I came up with, crude, funny, comical, hilarious, offensive, sardonic, and sarcastic. Drug use, casual sex, and castration jokes galore, Castration Celebration is not for the easily offended.

I am not easily offended and I enjoy books that have a weird sense of humor. I absolutely loved Castration Celebration! It was one of the funniest books that I have read in a while. My favorite parts of the book were the dialog between Olivia and Max. The two of them together and their witty conversations cracked me up. I love how Max goes out of his way to try and get a date with Olivia and she pretty much plays mind games with him. It was fun to see what kind of crazy things Max was willing to do for a change with Olivia. Max starts off as such a jerk so, it was nice to see him change.

Olivia was adorable and I really enjoyed her entire inner dialogue. Olivia was such a strong and intelligent female character. I was routing for her character the entire time. It was also really interesting to see Olivia developing her musical throughout the book.

Aside from Olivia and Max, I didn't find any of the other characters to be particularly engaging. They were just all kind of there. I enjoyed reading about Max and Olivia so much that it did not really bother me. Still, it would have been nice to see the other character be a bit more three dimensional.

I loved the idea that there were really two stories going on in Castration Celebration. There was the story of Olivia and her friend and the story of the characters in Olivia's play. Olivia's play had some of the funniest dialogue in the book. I loved all the songs that Olivia wrote and really wish that someone would turn her musical into a movie. The two stories also blended really well together with Olivia's play reflecting her own personal experiences. I guess there is something to the whole idea of truth being stranger than fiction.

I would recommend Castration Celebration to anyone who enjoys strange and crude humor. I would not recommend Castration Celebration to the easily offended or to less mature teens.

Olivia has had it with men!

After walking in on her dad fooling around with a grad student, Olivia decides that she must write a musical to express her outrage at the situation. Yale University's summer arts camp is the perfect place to craft her masterpiece. Olivia's musical is aptly titled Castration Celebration.

She tries to sequester herself in her dorm suite and finish the daunting task put before her, but Olivia's suite mates aren't going to let her hide out for long. Neither will the handsome Max, a fledgling actor who almost killed Olivia on the first day of camp.

Max is bound and determined to win Olivia's heart - come hell, high water, or castration!

Wizner has written an outrageously funny novel that focuses on the battle of the sexes. High school kids will appreciate how candid the author is with his use of language. Some may feel that it is a bit explicit, but I think that all who read this novel will find the humor in it.

This book would be best enjoyed lounging by the pool with a frosty beverage in hand. A perfect summer read!

Reviewed by: LadyJay

The forumla itself is simple - boy meets girl, both overcome obstacles in order to be with each other, and get to enjoy their happy ending, after learning a few life-lessons.

Simple in concept, enjoyably complex in execution - the story of Max's pursuit of Olivia is reflected over the course of the book in Olivia's own literary work-in-progress, the eponymous 'Castration Celebration' play, where the two main characters Dick and Jane echo their real-life counterparts. An additional echo is expressed in liberal doses of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing (Folger Shakespeare Library)," as Benedick and Beatrice's verbose flirtation refers right back up to the drama of the male and female protagonists both in Olivia's play and Olivia's life. There are layers to this story.

Jake Wizner manages to portray characters which are just stereotypical enough to be believable, without becoming boring or static. Although the situations aren't necessarily typical, they're easily recognizable and almost feel comfortable, easily digestible, and never tiresome. Although I've only read this book and Spanking Shakespeare, Shapiro's other recent work of fiction, it's easy to see that he's got real talent for setting the stage and developing his characters.

Also, there are a few details that feel almost like cameo appearances - the main character is named Max, a name which the author reportedly nearly ended up being given at birth. Also, this book, like his previous one, features a character named Shakespeare.

Finally, MAJOR SPOILER: no one gets castrated in this novel, despite the fact that in Imperial China, eunuchs had their testicles, penis, and scrotum removed, then preserved in alcohol.

I am not quite certain what to make of this book.

First off, the title is a little misleading or maybe its perfect for this story, it depends on how you view this storyline. The storyline is triggered by Olivia who walks in on some very "undad" like behavior on the part of her dad - this sends Olivia into a tizz - which inspires her to write a play while she is in the arts program for the summer. She enlists the help of her somewhat dysfunctional and odd friends and as time and events develop between these teens, a musical is born.

This book is written for YA and is meant to be funny in a raunchy kind of way. I have no problem with this, but I just could not connect with any of the characters - they all felt somewhat self-serving to me and using the summer as a excuse to basically get raunchy.

I just could not get into this one at all, although it seems to have been highly appreciated by many other readers.

This is one of the FUNNIEST books I have EVER read! I laughed so hard I was wiping tears out of my eyes.

Olivia, a high school student with a gift for language and art has more or less sworn off of guys. After she walked in on her dad and a graduate student, catching them in flagrante delicto, she decided that guys were rats and she was going to make her statement heard! Her dad was the catalyst that inspired her to promote her Castration Celebration musical.

Olivia takes her bullhorn and soapbox to the Yale Summer Arts Camp and creates...a musical entitled "Castration Celebration" replete with songs like "I'm in Love With Dick" and other risque puns aimed at male genitalia and her anger at the male population in general. Puns such as "cocky guys" are abound. How can you not love the name of the musical?

Max might be one such "cocky guy" who can change Olivia's anti-male posture. Olivia has no choice but to spend time with Max as he IS a part of the musical and...he's not so bad. He's not on the make and he does have some good ideas about how to get the ball...er, the play rolling.

This book is just plain HILARIOUS! The play, which is included in the story is just as funny as the characters who created it. This author is a genius and a brilliant comedian. Between this and Gordon Korman's No More Dead Dogs and Chris Lawford's Symptoms of Withdrawal: A Memoir of Snapshots and Redemption, which are some of the funniest books under the sun, I don't think I stopped laughing as I read this book.

The risque humor and double entendres work well in this story. Instead of a cliche cast of characters and trite cut ups (oops, another pun), you get richly drawn, rounded characters and a vehicle for comedy! I love it!

This was an interesting book... Pretty much the entire thing was hilarious. Though this book may not be the book for everyone.
It was well-written, and I liked the format it was written. The main character, Olivia, is writing a play and you switch between reading about what's actually going on at the summer arts program at Yale, and her play.
Though, the whole part about Olivia playing hard to get and that Max keeps going for it. All the stuff she does is just rididulous and to me was annoying to read. The other characters were great though, Trish and Zeke were my 2 favorites.