Move Over Girl [Paperback]

Brian Peterson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1998

Move Over Girl is the story of college junior, Tony Norris, a self-admitted borderline "player" still aching from deciding to walk away from his first love, basketball. Journey through Tony's world as he attempts to come into his own concerning the various relationship issues in his midst, as well as the unsuspecting drama that campus life and personal responsibilities can bring. Along the way, meet Tony's crew and the women in his life, painted so well through rich dialogues and reflections that you'd swear you knew them (or someone just like them!)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

College junior Tony Norris kicks it with his crew, shoots hoop and gets it on with the ladies more often than he goes to class, but through all his carousing, he eventually gets around to learning the difference between sex and intimacy in this breezy coming-of-age story by first-time novelist Peterson. Like his buddies, Tony thinks he has it made: he's tall, good-looking and a member of the African-American elite: "we are young black men in demandAthe chosen few, college educated, heterosexual." Tony decides to make the most of his gifts, by bedding every fly girl he encounters. The problem is that once the sex is over, Tony can hardly stand the sight of his conquests. Tony's three best friends are cool Derrick, organized Jay and live wire Kwam. Through this macho quartet Peterson captures the lingo, energy and bravado of young African-American men grappling with critical issues of manhood and maturity. This ambitious effort only occasionally bursts free from its dependence on limp clich?s and repetitive, vague language, however. Peterson's writing at its best shows Tony talking himself through his emotions and negotiating the complex relationship between his Casanova image and his heart. Eventually, he begins to question his wham-bam version of the mating ritual, and this quandary is far more palatable than are his petty, endless complaints about the hopelessly imperfect women he seduces. If readers can wade through the meandering, mostly dull shallows of Tony's mind, they will find that the protagonist's voice occasionally rises to the surface with astute observations of African-American college life. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Peterson captures the urban street vernacular and young black male culture in this novel about self-discovery. Tony Norris is a self-absorbed college junior, more intent on studying the physical attributes of women on and off campus than settling into his major. But he's growing bored with the sexual bragging of his buddies and his own series of loveless encounters. Tony laments the casual sex of the hip-hop generation versus the romance of the Marvin Gaye generation. He's feeling the loss of the only meaningful relationship he's ever had and feeling unaccustomed jealousy for the suitor of a young lady who's supposed to be only a friend. Could he be growing up? A family crisis, when Tony is called home to help straighten out his younger brother, who's dabbling in drugs, precipitates some soul searching. Peterson's debut novel is an amusing and insightful look at the sexual aspect of the maturity process. (See "After Terry McMillan," p.1082.) Vanessa Bush --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 316 pages
• Publisher: Chancetwenty Two Pub; 1 edition (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966458702
• ISBN-13: 978-0966458701
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,329,784 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This book is tired and unoriginal., June 11, 2000

By 

Anne (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Move Over Girl (Paperback)

I read the cover of this book and just laughed and laughed. Finally! I thought. Some good fiction to sink my teeth into. Well, in the end, I had to force myself to complete this novel.

The beginning was very slow and the story line lacked depth and sophistication. There's really nothing to it. At the end when I took a step back to re-examine the messages and insights Peterson had delivered, I discovered that he hadn't really said jack. His book is just a pathetic replay of the same old uninspired "collegiate" African-American characters that contemporary, Black male fiction authors seem to be limited to writing about. Lots of fantasy and very little substance.

The story in Move Over, Girl is so done, I wondered why Peterson would bother to re-write it. I read on Peterson's website that the impetus behind the book was his desire to write a novel that "he" could relate to. Many African-American readers will probably recognize some if not all of the characters and situations in the book and that's good in a sense. What's bad is that those same characters and situations are unimaginative and shallow. The book is more "Been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt and burned it. Surely, you have a NEW story to tell! "

Not that I believe that all books have to have some educational value. After all this is fiction. I just think that if a person is going to create a story then the story should be worthwhile. A book should either teach and/or entertain. Peterson does a poor job of both.

I am impressed by the fact that the book was orginally self-published. The author claims he sold out of the first printing and most of the second. That's awesome; however, I wouldn't recommend buying this book. If you want to read it, borrow a copy the library.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hello....were the "one-star" people reading the same book?, June 15, 2000

By 

V. Booker "vonbook" (Connecticut, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Move Over, Girl: A Novel (Hardcover)

Okay...I know everyone's entitled to their opinions, but what's up with the unnecessarily harsh putdowns of "Move Over, Girl?" I enjoyed the book immensely. First of all, are we even reading the same book? (CareerGirl in particular seems like she tried to get a bit, um, personal with her barbs) Personally, I think Peterson can write his behind off--and I read on the average two books per week and don't say that about just anybody.

I first heard the buzz about the book on his site and from the customer reviews. I must admit that I was a bit skeptical, in a "yeah--but how good can it really be?" sort of way. But after reading "Move Over," I had to give it props. As a woman, I appreciated Tony's story--although I didn't agree with everything he did (and thought some of his actions were downright messed-up and doggish), I appreciated the insight into the mind of a young man, and why they sometimes do the stupid things they do when it comes to relationships. I was also feeling the humorous voice in which Peterson wrote--not slapstick, mile-a-minute jokes or anything, but Tony had a lot of wry, funny and sometimes sarcastic insights that kept me chuckling--perhaps because that's the way I often think, myself.

The only reason I gave it four stars and not five is because I would have liked Peterson to have developed the thing between Tony and Kim more. But as far as the main character's flaws and unresolved issues--hey, isn't that how life is, people? I mean, this isn't a half-hour sitcom--perhaps it isn't MEANT for things to be solved by the end of the book. Actually, I would have been turned off if Tony had been all pseudo-righteous and without flaw.

One star? Whatever. For me, tack on three more of those.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lots of talking... not saying much, June 20, 2000

By 

NYBRUH - See all my reviews

This review is from: Move Over, Girl: A Novel (Hardcover)

I wanted so much not to say something negative about this book, but once I finally got to read it...

Basically this book spent too much time with this guy's introspective babbling. I kept waiting for a plot to take place, but every time you felt the book was going somewhere, once again, Tony goes off on a tangent back into another state of introspection, reminiscing, giving his musings on a certain person or topic... Which would be cool in smaller doses...

I realize this is the author's first book... Next time round, more plot/action, less intropection... Practically 3/4 of the book depicted what was on Tony's mind, 1/4 depicting actions...

Perhaps this *should* have been presented as a "diary"... Or titled "Thoughts" or something like that... We would at least know what to expect, and approach it as such.