What do you think?
Rate this book
Today, Oh Boy
Today, Oh Boy is the tale of one day in the life of Rusty Boykin and Ollie Wyborn, juniors at Summerville High School. The year is 1970, and as a counterculture emerges in their conservative South Carolina community, a cast of characters find themselves in the throes of social upheaval: preppies, jocks, hippies, and belligerent country boys who don’t believe in giving peace a chance.
230 pages, Paperback
Published March 31, 2023
4 people are currently reading
7 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 20, 2023
This colorful novel was one that was difficult to put down. It begins in a high school in the south. The author described the characters so well it was easy to visualize each of them. It will bring the reader a lot of laughs and excitement. I highly recommend it.
June 19, 2023
Dear goodreaders, it is with great pleasure that we at elite HQ enter into your midst, having saved our inaugural review for the debut novel of one Wesley Moore III. Having spent several hours sequestered in our room meticulously reading from cover to cover, we are now prepared to do what we do best: publicly pass judgment. Here it is. Today, Oh Boy. Elite, or not elite? That is the question.
Cultured and enlightened as we are, we approached this novel with some trepidation - set in an integrated high school in hicktown, SC, the risk of heavy handedness loomed large. Right off the bat, we're dealing with devout teachers foisting their religion on students in the classroom, dumb rednecks eager to commit assault, and wannabe hippie renegades getting punished unjustly. As we met this cast of characters during first period, we couldn't help but wonder, are we headed for a subelite tale of teenage resistance to idiotic small town status quo? Something along the lines of a literary Footloose? Very worrisome indeed. We elites like the moralizing left where it belongs, in our hands alone.
Thankfully, Moore proves remarkably adept at omniscient narration and what emerges (at breakneck speed no less) has much more in common with the classic film American Graffiti than the aforementioned cheesy Kevin Bacon flick. Above all else, Today, Oh Boy is a high definition look at late adolescence, that of our American society (particularly as it relates to small town South Carolina) and of the individual. Clearly, Moore's understanding of both is expert level. Bittersweet to a tee, and the ending is a masterstroke. Congratulations, Teach, on a beautiful novel. Five elite stars. Now, quit reading reviews, and get back to work. We're ready for the sequel. Do the boys go to Europe? What happens with Ollie and Jill? And most importantly, who will play Rusty Boykin in the movie?
Cultured and enlightened as we are, we approached this novel with some trepidation - set in an integrated high school in hicktown, SC, the risk of heavy handedness loomed large. Right off the bat, we're dealing with devout teachers foisting their religion on students in the classroom, dumb rednecks eager to commit assault, and wannabe hippie renegades getting punished unjustly. As we met this cast of characters during first period, we couldn't help but wonder, are we headed for a subelite tale of teenage resistance to idiotic small town status quo? Something along the lines of a literary Footloose? Very worrisome indeed. We elites like the moralizing left where it belongs, in our hands alone.
Thankfully, Moore proves remarkably adept at omniscient narration and what emerges (at breakneck speed no less) has much more in common with the classic film American Graffiti than the aforementioned cheesy Kevin Bacon flick. Above all else, Today, Oh Boy is a high definition look at late adolescence, that of our American society (particularly as it relates to small town South Carolina) and of the individual. Clearly, Moore's understanding of both is expert level. Bittersweet to a tee, and the ending is a masterstroke. Congratulations, Teach, on a beautiful novel. Five elite stars. Now, quit reading reviews, and get back to work. We're ready for the sequel. Do the boys go to Europe? What happens with Ollie and Jill? And most importantly, who will play Rusty Boykin in the movie?
May 21, 2023
In the spirit of the author's career, I will label my review as if writing a high school essay : "Carpe Diem! The Effects of Time and Coincidence in Today, O Boy."
Enough of that. I've already lost a letter grade for permitting the first person singular to encroach into my penmanship, but this book needs to be greeted on that personal level. I mean, I _know_ Rusty (the eponymous protagonist). I didn't go to SHS, I grew up in NC in the 1980s, and I felt personally transported through time to my own high school experience as if through a verbal funhouse mirror; I know Eddie and Alex and Sandy, by other names and in other places. There is an insider's wink to a wide variety of community folks, and each contributes a note to the southern daily anthem. Each caricature of teacher, administrator, parent, and student evoked something I recognize. Caught up in the mayhem of the titular Summerville Day (oh boy!), I lost myself in this book for a sort of nostalgic pleasure. Simply put, this book is a delightful romp, crisscrossed by a marbled vein of sardonic humor that faces some of young humanity's foibles and surprising triumphs.
A terrific book, I devoured it! Thank you, Rusty Boykin!
Enough of that. I've already lost a letter grade for permitting the first person singular to encroach into my penmanship, but this book needs to be greeted on that personal level. I mean, I _know_ Rusty (the eponymous protagonist). I didn't go to SHS, I grew up in NC in the 1980s, and I felt personally transported through time to my own high school experience as if through a verbal funhouse mirror; I know Eddie and Alex and Sandy, by other names and in other places. There is an insider's wink to a wide variety of community folks, and each contributes a note to the southern daily anthem. Each caricature of teacher, administrator, parent, and student evoked something I recognize. Caught up in the mayhem of the titular Summerville Day (oh boy!), I lost myself in this book for a sort of nostalgic pleasure. Simply put, this book is a delightful romp, crisscrossed by a marbled vein of sardonic humor that faces some of young humanity's foibles and surprising triumphs.
A terrific book, I devoured it! Thank you, Rusty Boykin!
Read
August 23, 2023Here's a link to Kirkus Review's take on the novel: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...
December 17, 2024
Wesley Moore is a gem of a writer. This is set in a small town close to where I live. I loved every minute of this story!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews