My Life, Take Two [Hardcover]

Paul Many (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2000

Sixteen-year-old Neal Thackery is trying really hard to follow the logical (but boring) path laid out for him by his mother, his longtime girlfriend, Emily, his guidance counselor, his boss. . . He punches the time clock and does his best to follow directions, but even those who want him to pursue a program of school, job, marriage, and home ownership seem to agree—he may just be too much of a klutz to pull it off. As if Neal doesn't have enough problems, he must turn something in for his documentary film class, and so far all he has are his wild imagination and some strange, dreamlike images of his dead father. But as Neal works on the film, and works through some tough breaks, his past and future begin to make more sense—to him and to everyone. Paul Many's rare combination of irreverent humor and razor-sharp insight into the daily ups and downs of teenage life gives My Life, Take Two a clarity and honesty that readers will recognize and connect with.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Many's (These Are the Rules) humorous and, at times, tender novel, 16-year-old narrator Neal Thackeray has the summer to make a documentary to pass his film class. His girlfriend, "Emily-No-Nonsense-Straight-Up-Front-Johnston," would rather he think about business school and condominiums, and his mother just hopes he can hold a summer job. But Neal finds film exciting, especially when it allows him to revisit murky memories of his late father. The only person he can really talk to is Claire, a free spirit whose family owned the estate where his father worked. When he learns that her family might be forced to put the estate up for sale, Neal decides to use the property as his documentary subject. By returning to the grounds, he hopes he may be able to figure out the man his father was. While readers will find Neal instantly likable, his narration is full of clunky sarcastic asides that distract from the plot (e.g., after Neal gives readers a random pop quiz, he says, "Did you choose 'd'? You win one of these fine plastic kazoos"). Other devices, however, such as Neal's flashbacks to times with his dadAand especially his description of the funeral parlorAor the film storyboards that open many of the chapters, are handled more skillfully. They work to demonstrate both the depth of Neal's longing for closure with his father and his changing perspective on the world as his interest in filmmaking grows. Ages 12-up. (May).
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9-Neal's life is unraveling the summer between his junior and senior years. He has negotiated an incomplete from his film teacher, providing he can produce an acceptable documentary video by the time school reopens. He is still recovering from the death of his father several years earlier, and his girlfriend spews endless criticism and advice about his "failures" to plan and be goal-oriented. Being fired from his summer job with a construction company is further "proof" of his inadequacy to Emily and to his mother. Then he is reacquainted with Claire, who works for the same company and who still lives on the estate where Neal spent his early childhood while his father was the caretaker. The ends tie up in a complex and rather spectacularly tidy denouement. Neal rediscovers the artist within himself, saves Claire and her painter mother from having to sell the now-rundown estate, makes the overdue documentary and earns rave reviews, and realizes that Claire is a better match for him than his reformer girlfriend. The narrative intercuts first-person reportage with video-sequence narration. The ideas and ideals are compelling. However, the pat resolution will frustrate readers who want more literary nuance in their plot lines. An interesting counterpoint to Walter Dean Myers's Monster (HarperCollins, 1999), in which more momentous-but no less emotional-events are also seen and told as though on film.
Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers (April 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802787088
• ISBN-13: 978-0802787088
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,216,436 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Coming to terms with death, February 6, 2007

By 

A. Luciano (Lowell, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Life, Take Two (Hardcover)

Neal's longtime girlfriend Emily is right. They are stuck in a rut. What she really means is that HE is stuck in a rut, which is also right. His father died years and years ago, but Neal still can't seem to get over it. Nothing really matters much to him, and he floats through his life, disconnected. He takes jobs and is soon fired from them, and his mother worries that he will be like his father, only doing what he feels like doing instead of taking responsibility for things that need to be done.

Emily has her entire life worked out. She and Neal were born in the same hospital on the same day and have practically been dating ever since. She is going to be an accountant and is pushing Neal to go to business school so when they finish they can get married. This summer after his junior year in high school, though, Neal is changing.

It started with a film class Neal took, in which he was supposed to create a documentary. He wanted to make a film about his father, but couldn't seem to get to the truth he needed. He received an incomplete in the class, with the requirement he finish the film over the summer. Neal decides to do the documentary at the old estate where his father was caretaker when Neal was young. This is the place where Neal has his fondest memories of his father, and he also has fond memories of a girl, Claire, whose mother owned the estate. Through this summer project, Neal begins to realize that maybe he doesn't want the well ordered life he is heading toward.

Neal's investigation of his memories was interesting, and his rediscovery of Claire was a good story, too. I thought Neal's relationship with Emily was unbelievable, and the filmmaking part of the book was a bit distracting.

5.0 out of 5 stars What to do with your life while you're waiting., October 4, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: My Life, Take Two (Hardcover)

This book is about finding your place in the world. When you look at adults, they all seem to have found somewhere that they fit. This book is about how Neal finds where he fits. It isn't where his mom or his girlfriend thinks, though. He finds it out for himself by making a film and finding out the secrets about his dad and meeting a new girlfriend who supports him instead of telling him stuff "for his own good." The film parts were good and it's a good story and I like the way it all came out.

3.0 out of 5 stars The Film Documentary..., March 10, 2003

By 

Jamie Duggins (Lancaster, KY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Life, Take Two (Hardcover)

Neal Thackery is a sixteen year old high school student that is required to re-do an assignment for his film class before he graduates. His teacher was nice enough to give him an incomplete for his grade instead of a failing grade because his film teacher knows that he can do a better job. Neal has to spend his summer working at a warehouse and also trying to re-do his documentary. Neal is a young boy that has a lot on his mind, especially since his father passed away from a massive heart attack. Neal's mother and long time girlfriend Emily seem to be really supportive, until they find out that Neal--once again--lost another job!! While working for a short time at the warehouse, he meets up with a girl he knew when he was younger. With her help he finds out some interesting things about his father and gets reacquainted with her.

This book has a very creative format...most of it is written as a novel, while other parts are like a script...kind of like the book, Monster by Walter Dean Myers. Honestly, I was expecting more at the end of the book.... I liked it, but wouldn't read it a second time.

This book is a good read for someone that has been real close to a loved one and lost them. The age range for this book would be ages 13-18 and even older....