Customer Reviews

Getting the Girl

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The title, front cover, and inside front jacket of this book led me to believe that it would be a shallow story about a boy who wanted to have sex with his brother's girlfriend. For some reason, I took it out anyway and read it. The first few pages seemed to confirm my theory, but I read on.

And changed my mind. Getting the Girl is not the shallow sex story I assumed. It is a moving account of a boy and his life, his relationships--with "the girl", but more importantly, with his family and with himself--and his longing for "okayness." Cameron is a believable character that you will grow to support, ache for, and feel attached to. The supporting characters have depth and truth, the plot is interesting, the setting is not stated but you get a feel for the where and the when.

Cameron grows as a person before your eyes as the author shaves off layer after layer to reveal him on the inside.

Markus Zusak's GETTING THE GIRL, the sequel to FIGHTING RUBEN WOLFE, is a five star effort of YA fiction. The story centers on the life of Cameron Wolfe and his hunger, his desire to get a girl, "the" girl, the one who lives in the house up in Glebe he waits outside of. This coming of age story feels so fresh that I swear my eyes started sweating.

Like so many younger brothers, Cameron is trying to grow in the shadow of his brothers, and it's not working for him. Rubes gets all the girls, accomplishes all the heroics, and stands on his own in the world. Cameron can only "want" that. It takes Octavia, not the girl he thought he was waiting for, but the real thing, to enter his life by surprise and plant the seed of strength in Cameron that he didn't know he had soil for.

At first, Cameron's secret journal writings feel too advanced for the kid we meet, but he grows into them, or they grow into him. Either way, they work well to add a deeper level to this already emotionally complex novel. They reveal a maturity in Cameron that feels right when the end of the story comes around.

If our lives truly are made up of moments, as Cameron says they are, that those moments are the pieces of us, then this story is a piece worth carrying with you, one you'll want to applaud with your noble clapping hands. When the last raindrop has fallen, the question it's asking us might be -- "What moments make up that life of yours?"

Reviewed by Jonathan Stephens

Cameron Wolfe is crushing hard. Her name is Octavia and, in his mind, she is just about perfect. She's beautiful and caring, and can make a harmonica "howl." Octavia doesn't mind having Cameron around, unlike most of the girls Cameron's brother Ruben brings home. That's the trouble: Ruben brought her home first and, unlike most of the other girls who have come and gone, Octavia is the one who dumps Ruben. Ruben acts as if it's no big deal but, in truth, Octavia is the source of Cameron and Ruben's first real conflict, in which Cameron bears the brunt of Ruben's anger. It is Cameron's sister, Sarah, who helps Cameron see that he can be more than just Ruben's shadow --- he is his own person, smart and sensitive with his own unique vision of the world.

Lyrical and evocative, GETTING THE GIRL is not so much about Cameron's crushes as it is about family, self-discovery through writing, and the reality of teen love. Cameron's voice is graceful with a perfect blend of wisdom and naivete, of learning the differences between lusting from afar and real-life dating. Readers will identify with him at the same time they want to strangle him for being so pigheaded, doing things like sitting outside the house of a girl who hates him. The change in Cameron and Ruben's relationship is satisfying and realistic. Those who are looking for a thoughtful yet strong male character will find a perfect match in this elegant sequel to FIGHTING RUBEN WOLFE.

--- Reviewed by Carlie Kraft

Friday, I read "Fighting Reuben Wolf"...couldn't put it down. Saturday, I read "Getting"...do I need to say more? All I can say, in all truthfulness is: "Write more, Markus and write fast!"

What makes up an individual into the person one hopes to be? What components to a person's life are most crucial to this formation of self? To which extent is an understanding or reconciliation of these personal elements required for one to achieve a satiated level of "okayness"?

These are the questions that auspiciously consume the pages of Markus Zusak's sweet and endearing novella. In my own chronology of Mr. Zusak's erudite adventures, following I Am The Messenger and The Book Thief, the third book in my path, Getting The Girl feels decidedly more deliberate and minimalist. With the protagonist, Cameron Wolfe, ever searching for a hunger and desire within, readers my find themselves, along with Cam, searching for what it is they also are hungry for. In a completely charming approach, Getting The Girl offers fun and amusing perspectives on the intimate value of words, stories and a sense of feeling. Most predominantly, Mr. Zusak frames a portrait of personal familial relationships and how the person that one perceives in themselves informs the perception others have in them; and vise-versa.

3 Weeks ago I read The book Thief, loved it so much i ordered fighting ruben and getting the girl. Mr. Zusak is an amazing down to earth writer that I seem to keep craving more of. I'll be moving on to the messenger and waiting anxiously for whatever else he writes. Thanks for adding substance to my world.

Getting the girl is my first book by Markus Zusak. Though I've heard so many great things about "The Book Thief," I haven't read it yet (but I'm planning to do so pretty soon). Also I'm aware many people like Zusak's writing style and storytelling talent. Because of all those reasons, I was tempted to try Zusak's work.

So ... Cameron is a hopeless romantic. Considerate and smart. Reading this book from Cameron's perspective makes this book a lot interesting (since most of YA authors write from the female perspective), and it's kind of an eye opener to see there are boys like Cameron--who are thoughtful, sweet, romantic, and full of potential. Unlike his brother, who plays around, Cameron is not only feeling-driven, he craves the real thing: Love.

Cameron's relation with his family (especially with his brothers--more specifically Ruben) is sweet, though things aren't always that great. When his womanizing brother brought a girl (Octavia Ash) home, Cameron is attracted. Cameron has never been with a girl before, but now, he likes this girl and wants to get close to her. All in all, this book illustrate Cameron's struggle to become a better person and get what we wants even though his brothers think less of him.

Getting the Girl was not that great for me. I thought the setting makes it hard to make prediction, and that can be a good or bad thing--depends on how you see it. The story wasn't tedious, but it was dry, dull. There was no life to it... nothing grasped me to carry on. It was more of a settle, unpredictable read.

Zusak's writing makes imagination easy, and I look forward to read The Book Thief.

I bought this book for my teenage son because it was the sequel to Fighting Ruben Wolfe, which he had enjoyed very much. My son read both of these books as his monthly book report books for school. He enjoyed this book - Getting the Girl - as well, but not quite as much as he enjoyed Fighting Ruben Wolfe. He really likes the writing style of this author (Zusak), which apparently is very personal in nature, and pulls the reader into the character's mind-set. The book also arrived on time, which was great - my son was able to begin reading it fairly early in the month (though he still saved more than half of it for the last few days of the month, of course!). All in all, I give this book a very good rating.

Many of you have probably heard of Markus Zusak, and if you haven't you should have. His most famous books I Am the Messanger and The Book Thief have won countless awards including being named a Printz honor book and Publishers Weekly best book of the year. But of course this review isn't about either one of those books (which are both sensational books as well), this review is about another remarkable book that is quite a bit less known, Getting the Girl.

Getting the Girl is the sequel to Fighting Ruben Wolff, but it can easily be read as a stand alone. It begins with the protagonist Cameron feeling like he wants more out of life than being the underdog and second string, but not really knowing how to achieve it. He's in love with a girl who hates his guts, and he doesn't really connect with anyone outside his family. All in all he's not doing so well.

But then he starts to write and with the help of his sister and his brother's ex-girlfriend Cameron starts to turn things around for himself, and discover there's a lot more to Cameron Wolff than meets the eye.


Getting the Girl is a sensational coming of age story. It takes the lovable yet quiet brother and shows what's really going on in his head. Teenage readers will truly connect with Cameron's writing, and while some of it may seem unbelievable at parts, the love and attachment the reader will feel to the characters and the level of writing Zusak exhibits in this book make it a must read to any fan of young adult literature.

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Marcus Zusak creates another hit for teen readers here. I purchased this for my classroom shelf in eighth grade, and in spite of (or because of?) the "mature readers" tag I had to place on it, the boys have been wild for it. Cameron has the kind of weirdly stable home life lots of our real students live. He doesn't enjoy being in his brother's shadow any more than any other teen would. But Cameron doesn't leave his home, become shockingly muscular, or achieve any other traditional solution to this problem. He makes a new path, and that is a great message for most kids who understand that those other resolutions are seldon viable in the real world. Don't worry about neglecting the girls. I've had several show interest because the main character and his brother are exactly the sort of boyfriends they crave getting to rescue. The language is vividly authentic, and an advisory of some sort is probably in order if you plan to shelve this for students.