The Big Crunch [Hardcover]

Pete Hautman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2011

A funny, clear-eyed view of the realities of teenage love from National Book Award winner Pete Hautman.

Jen and Wes do not "meet cute." They do not fall in love at first sight. They do not swoon with scorching desire. They do not believe that they are instant soul mates destined to be together forever.

This is not that kind of love story.

Instead, they just hang around in each other's orbits...until eventually they collide. And even after that happens, they're still not sure where it will go. Especially when Jen starts to pity-date one of Wes's friends, and Wes makes some choices that he immediately regrets.

From National Book Award winner Pete Hautman, this is a love story for people not particularly biased toward romance. But it is romantic, in the same way that truth can be romantic and uncertainty can be the biggest certainty of all.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up-June has attended six schools in the last four years and is once again the new kid, this time at a Minnesota high school. First on her agenda: find some friends and a boyfriend. Wes broke up with Izzy just before school started and he doesn't want another girlfriend, but after seeing June, he can't get her out of his mind. June meanwhile starts dating Wes's best friend. Wes is in a fog. A chance encounter with her sparks a romance between the two. But before it even has a chance to get started, it's time for June to move again. Told from June's and Wes's alternating points of view, this book follows their romance through the four seasons. With rapid-fire dialogue and plenty of sappy language, the author nails the confused, self-absorbed teen characters obsessed with first love. However, the plot falls flat by focusing too closely on what love feels like instead of building a story.-Shawna Sherman, Hayward Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* When June starts her junior year of high school in Minneapolis, she isn’t looking for love. Thanks to her management-consultant dad’s constantly shifting positions, this is June’s sixth new school in four years, and she’s learned to guard against getting attached. Then she literally crashes into classmate Wes at a convenience store, and what begins with a black eye for June and a head bump for Wes turns into a true, deep romance that the teens try to sustain after June’s dad moves the family once again. As in Lynne Rae Perkins’ novels, this story’s delight lies in the details. National Book Award–winning Hautman writes with wry humor and a comic’s sense of juxtaposed phrases and timing. From guys’ lunchroom conversations (“How come you didn’t just go online for your porn,” says Wes to a friend who excavates an old Penthouse from his neighbor’s recycling bin) to June’s father’s corporate mantras of self-control and forward thinking, the dialogue is refreshingly honest, particularly in the bewilderingly urgent, awkward exchanges that fuel the attraction between June and Wes. Hautman skillfully subverts clichés in this subtle, authentic, heart-tugging exploration of first love, but his sharp-eyed view of high-school social dynamics and the loving friction between parents and teens on the edge of independence is just as memorable. Grades 8-11. --Gillian Engberg

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press (January 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0545240751
• ISBN-13: 978-0545240758
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #724,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Okay, here's some miscellaneous personal info. I'll try to be as brief as possible. I was born in 1952 in Berkeley, California, or so I am told (I don't really remember). At age five I moved to St. Louis Park, Minnesota where I went to Cedar Manor Elementary School (also the alma mater of Al Franken and the Coen brothers, and no, they are not close personal friends of mine) and eventually graduated honor-free from St. Louis Park High School. This is so tedious. Why do you keep reading? For the next seven years I attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the University of Minnesota. Contrary to recent news reports, I did not graduate from either institution. After college I worked various jobs for which I was ill-suited, including sign painter, graphic artist, marketing executive, pineapple slicer, etc. Eventually, having exhausted other options, I decided to write. My first novel, Drawing Dead, was published in 1993. Today, I live with mystery writer and poet Mary Logue in Golden Valley, Minnesota and Stockholm, Wisconsin. We have two small dogs (are you still reading?) named Rene and Jacques. There you have it. Fifty-plus years compressed into a few short paragraphs. Feel free to copy and paste for your book report, but don't tell anybody I suggested it. Need to know more? Check out the FAQs page on my website at http://www.petehautman.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific teen romance suitable for guys or girls January 29, 2011

By M. Tanenbaum VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

A teen romance with no zombies, angels, vampires, or werewolves? If you're tired of paranormal and looking for a romantic comedy for teens, you'll love Pete Hautman's new release, The Big Crunch. Yes, it plays out a bit like a Hollywood movie--boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back, No, it's not love at first sight, but they literally crash into each other at a store after noticing each other at school. There's an attraction there, but Jen starts dating Wes' best friend. Things are complicated, and then Jen has to move away. But suddenly Wes can't live without her....
This is really funny and also heartwarming. Highly recommended, and a good read for guys as well as girls.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A simple, honest love story January 26, 2011

By Teen Reads

Format:Hardcover

FALL
June starts school with pretty much the same attitude as she starts all her other schools: try and find a small group of friends, potentially date an average-looking guy, and make it easy to withdraw fast when the next move comes. Her father's job requires him to relocate every six months or so, and she has gotten used to the rhythm of changing schools and not getting too comfortable in any one spot. But something is different about Wellstone High, and June can't put her finger on it.

Wes starts school with the realization that he has to figure out who he is. He just ended a long-term relationship with Izzy, and after being known as Wes-and-Iz or Iz-and-Wes for so long, he needs something new. He has his established group of friends and classifies himself as a semi-cool semi-geek with perhaps low ambition but big dreams. Wes isn't necessarily looking to meet a new girl, but he can't help but listen when his friend Jerry tells him about June.

WINTER
Like so many love stories go, June and Wes are kept apart until their worlds collide --- literally. A chance encounter at the local convenience store finds Wes knocking into June and giving her a black eye. After profuse apologies, he also feels the need to give her a kiss, and they suddenly find themselves connected. They laugh at the silliest things, talk for hours, and feel the bells and whistles surrounding them at all times. Neither can remember a time when he or she has felt so comfortable with another person. The only thing that can ruin it is if June's father forces them to move --- which is exactly what happens.

SPRING
Thousands of miles apart from each other, Wes and June struggle to return to normalcy.... At first they attempt a clean break, but soon give up and repeatedly use up monthly cell phone minutes within days. June finds a new group of friends, and Wes drifts from different part-time jobs to try and fill his time. When he can no longer stand it, he "borrows" his friend's car and drives overnight to her house, which only leads to more frustration --- and ultimately trouble with the police. After such a drastic action, both Wes and June's parents realize the seriousness of their relationship and attempt to come to a compromise.

SUMMER
June's father manages to find a temporary summer job close to Wes's family, and soon June and Wes settle back into their familiar routine. Uncertainty and doubt, though, enter into their relationship. Will they always be able to be together? Are they really perfect for each other? Are they meant to be together? Will there even be a happily-ever-after?

What I appreciate most about THE BIG CRUNCH is that it's not a typical love story. There is no love at first sight, no gushiness that often accompanies new relationships, and no dramatic moment when the boy and girl realize they are meant to be together forever and ever, the end. Many times people assume that epic romance is found in boxes of chocolates, sappy love poems, and long walks on beaches. Instead, Pete Hautman creates a simple and decidedly romantic love story of two regular teenagers who just happen to find each other. It's not sappy, but it may just have you longing for your own love story.

--- Reviewed by Benjamin Boche Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A small, untainted romance - 4.5 March 8, 2011

By Biblibio VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Pete Hautman is one of my favorite young adult authors for a reason. He writes very diverse, very thought-provoking books, with extremely strong central characters and situations that seem entirely plausible to his audiences (even when they might not be the most original). "The Big Crunch" is just like that - the oldest story imaginable looked at not from a fresh, exciting perspective, but rather the dullest and simplest. Or, at least, what would appear to be the dullest and simplest. In truth, it's nothing of the kind.

Hautman takes this simple - simplest - story of love between two teenagers and nails it. Wes and June are realistically annoying, fun and interesting teens, playing out a story that makes a lot of sense. It's not a giant, dramatic story. It's quiet. It's simple. It's almost anonymously plain. And there lies the appeal. June and Wes aren't wishful fantasies of what love stories are, they aren't the ideal but rather the proof that ordinary love does exist. It's a wistful, lovely story that doesn't bog down on too many issues or too much drama.

There are flaws, as there are in any other book. It's not a riveting story, obviously, and it's rather predictable (obviously). More frustrating, though, is the fact that the side characters all fade from memory very easily. Hautman writes remarkably strong central characters, but his supporting cast tends to float with little to distinguish them and don't get fleshed out beyond mere sketches and names.

"The Big Crunch" is a wonderful book, though - well written, quiet and heartwarming - and will draw in teen boys and girls alike, as well as adults looking for a sweet story. It's an untainted love story, a romance without explosions but one that shows the true meaning of young love. Warmly recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great quick read January 13, 2011

By A Customer

Format:Kindle Edition

This book was really fun. It didnt drag at any point , it was a page turner. The characters were so real and easy to relate to. The story line was good too! I'd really recommend this book

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, but I wish they didn't market it as an 'ordinary story' August 13, 2012

By Joseph Dewey VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Overall, I ended up liking this story a lot. But, this book took me a long time to get into. I think because of how it's marketed as a non-fantastic story.

This book is about June and Wes's super slow romance over a one year period. The book is broken up into four seasons. It's about June's and Wes's high school experiences, about moving to a new school, about falling in love with a few people, about friendship, and about realizing that a friend is the person that you love.

What's the Big Crunch? It's the opposite of the Big Bang, where the universe implodes back in on itself. I know there's an allegory for the story with this, but I didn't really get it. I still liked the book though.

I'm amazed at how accurately Pete Hautman portrays teenagers. He does it in a genuinely edgy way that accurately portrays the choices that kids have and explores those choices out to the outcomes.

Pros:
+Great Pete Hautman writing style. I dig his style.
+Gives a realistic look at high school
+Teaches morals without being moralistic

Cons:
-Needs better marketing than, 'just a plain, ordinary story.'