Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film about The Grapes of Wrath [Hardcover]

Steven Goldman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 14, 2008

Mitchell Wells may not survive eleventh grade. He really only has one friend, his best friend, David. His normally decent grade point average is in limbo due to a slightly violent, somewhat inappropriate claymation film. And girls . . . well, does hanging out with his sister count?

When David tells Mitchell he’s gay, Mitchell’s okay with it—but it still seems to change things. Since David’s not out to anyone else, the guys agree to be set up with prom dates. Then, one of the most popular girls in school decides she must date Mitchell, and he’s gone from zero to two girlfriends in sixty seconds.

From his pending English grade, to his floundering friendship, to his love life—the one thing that’s taken a bizarre turn for the better—Mitchell is so confused, he’ll be lucky if he lasts another week in high school! And then there’s the prom . . .

With a wickedly funny voice and a colorful cast of characters, Steven Goldman has written a novel for every reader—even those who like high school! 

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 9 Up—A side-splitting slice of male adolescence, this novel turns the spotlight on the ridiculousness that is the average, contemporary American high school experience, much as Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower (MTV, 1999) did a decade ago, but with funnier results. Scrawny and slightly naive 17-year-old Mitchell's best friend comes out to him at lunch in the cafeteria, his younger sister railroads his not-so-social social life, he turns in a sort-of pornographic claymation film in lieu of an English paper, and somehow he finds popular Danielle encouraging him to go up her shirt. The plot takes a backseat to gems of dialogue ("virginity…. Keeps your wrist muscles supple") and inner voice ("I imagine every student in my English class. If I only have erections for the females, I'm straight. It's really the only way to tell"). Combined with gags about the school administration, it all adds up to a story that's so funny and yet so realistic. As in most high schools, there is a lot of talk about beer, butts, and banging, but in his blasé cluelessness, Mitchell analyzes rather than glorifies such things (e.g., the make-out scene where he can't figure out where to put his hands). Readers should be prepared to laugh a lot, and to say "aw" at the tender resolution. A must-have for fiction collections.—Rhona Campbell, Washington, DC Public Library
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About the Author

Steven Goldman lives in Boston, Massachusetts with his wife and two sons. Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film about The Grapes of Wrath is his first young adult novel. He has never read The Grapes of Wrath.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens (October 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599902710
• ISBN-13: 978-1599902715
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,994,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding new voice in young adult fiction, October 19, 2008

By 

D. E. Kramer - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film about The Grapes of Wrath (Hardcover)

This novel from a first time author has it all: an engaging original voice, a terrific sense of humor, perfect pitch for the realities of high school life, a wonderfully non-melodramatic take on finding out your best friend is gay (which isn't even exactly the main plot line, but is handled wonderfully), and a completely appealing main character. Two Parties, etc., is the kind of book that reminds you how it feels to find your life reflected in writing, only more thoughtful and better phrased than your own life. If more books has been like this when I was in high school, I'd have read a lot more young adult fiction.

There was an essay a couple of months back in the New York Times Book Review about how YA novels, and novelists, deserve more respect than they often get. What a pleasure to read a book that makes that case better than any essay could.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Male point of view of adolescence-- with laughs, March 3, 2009

By 

K. Fair "reader and writer" (Dartmouth, MA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film about The Grapes of Wrath (Hardcover)

I bought the book because I worked with the author twenty years ago. I then passed the book along to a Middle School English teacher for her students.

It was great fun to read--growing up is always painful to do, but can be hilarious to read about.

5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging, Enjoyable, Inspiring, July 12, 2010

By 

Nancy Madlin "Life is good and always expandi... (Warwick, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film about The Grapes of Wrath (Paperback)

I related to this book as my teenaged self, even though I'm now a grown-up, and also as the mom of a teenager. I laughed out loud many times, which is exactly what I wanted to do when I chose this book.

I found it refreshing in its honesty and straightforward style. I loved how so much happened in such a low-key way, not forced or even dramatic, more like life. I loved the characters and their voices.

I found it inspiring, because how life happens and how we love each other and care about the people in our lives comes through so strongly, even though a lot of what happens to the characters (like my life at times) is wierdly sucky.