The Loser's Guide to Life and Love: A Novel [Hardcover]

A. E. Cannon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 24, 2008

Ordinary, boring Ed works a loser summer job at Reel Life Movies, where he doesn't even have his own name tag. He's stuck with "Sergio." Ed's only consolations are his two best friends. Shelving DVDs isn't so mind-numbingly dull with Scout cracking jokes, and after hours Ed hangs out with the superbrain, Quark. Life starts to look up when the girl of his dreams saunters into Reel Life. Ed knows he doesn't stand a chance . . . but maybe, just maybe Sergio does. All he has to do is pretend to be a smoldering Brazilian stud for the rest of his life. Simple, right? But . . . Ed's new dream girl has her own secrets, Scout wants to be more than Ed's best friend, and his buddy Quark wants Scout for himself.

Star-crossed crushes make for hilarious misunderstandings as Ed guides his life toward disaster in this fresh, contemporary twist on Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6–9—Summertime in Salt Lake City finds four friends falling in and out of love and lust. Ed, the goofball, works in a local DVD rental store with no-nonsense, regency-romance-loving Scout, who happens to harbor a major crush on him. Enter gorgeous, vivacious Ellie, who sweeps Ed off his feet with one toss of her hair, and for whom he devises a sexy, Brazilian alter ego named Sergio, as in Mendez, to impress. Meanwhile, Ed's computer geek BFF, Quark, pines for Scout. Crushes, confusions, mistaken identities, and lighthearted humor run amok in this well-written, clean, simple romance. The characters aren't exactly memorable, but they're cleverly drawn in broad strokes of jokingly concise dialogue, most of which will sound familiar to teen readers. They are bright, intelligent, and mature beyond their years. In the teen book world, unfortunately, this doesn't necessarily add up to attention-grabbing plot tension. What results is a solid, safe book that doesn't push any buttons, which may put off readers looking for something more dynamic.—Hillias J. Martin, New York Public Library
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Review

“Crushes, confusions, mistaken identities, and lighthearted humor run amok in this well-written romance.” (School Library Journal )

“A sweet, almost mystical sensibility pervades the story. Young readers who are looking for romance will warm to this.” (Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books )

“The plot will rivet readers’ attention, and the exciting climax is satisfying. Buy this quick and exciting novel for the fans.” (Kirkus Reviews )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (June 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061128465
• ISBN-13: 978-0061128462
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,386,013 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Light and Fun Read, June 27, 2008

By 

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

This review is from: The Loser's Guide to Life and Love: A Novel (Hardcover)

At Ed's summer job at a Reel Life Movies, he is required to wear a very odd-looking uniform and a name tag displaying an incorrect name, Sergio. But things aren't as bad as they could be. He gets to hand out with his two best friends, Scout and Quark, and a very beautiful girl named Ellie might be interested in him. The only problems are that Ellie thinks Ed is a Brazilian guy named Sergio, Scout likes Ed, and Quark likes Scout. It's a complicated love tangle that will test friendships and loyalties.

The Loser's Guide to Life and Love was quite a hilarious novel that I truly enjoyed. It was really funny watching Ed get caught in his lies and Quarks social ineptness. All the characters are lovable, even the intimidating Ali who owns Reel Life Movies. But what I liked best about the characters, especially Ed/Sergio was how they knew they had to work things out and do the right thing. In a way, it made the story unrealistic, but it provided for a much happier ending.

The Loser's Guide to Life and Love is based on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, which I appreciated because I love Shakespeare. I also liked the abundance of allusions to various movies as well as novels. I thought it was funny how certain characters started out liking the wrong person only to then start liking the right one, but it made the ending fun and happy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great summer read, July 4, 2008

By 

annie - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Loser's Guide to Life and Love: A Novel (Hardcover)

Ed, alias Sergio, creates a problem when he lets the beautiful Ellie believe that he is indeed the Sergio on his name tag that his strangely powerful boss, Ali, has given him at Reel Life Movies. With the new name, and a ten-word Portuguese vocabulary, he becomes Brazilian and taller! Or so it seems. His intensely awkward friend, Quark, meanwhile, falls for his best female friend, Scout. There is a light magic at work as in Shakespeare's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, only here the fairies are dragonflies that flit lightly through the story. The resolution takes place not at a court in Athens, but at a party in a house covered in colorful tiles across the street from the Salt Lake Cemetary. It's the stuff dreams are made of, a book about summer love for summer.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars loved it, August 18, 2008

By 

Karen F. Ripley "book lover" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Loser's Guide to Life and Love: A Novel (Hardcover)

I bought this book then had a wonderful two days of
neglecting every thing I could to read it. After finishing, I couldn't stop thinking about it. What a smart book with great characters.