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Sam Dorsey and Gay Popcorn #1
Turning 16
New Gay Series To Pay Tribute To Sixteen Candles Movie and Other Awesome John Hughes Movies (The Second Edition)
Sam never liked his birthdays because not a single one of them was happy... When he turned 1, he fell face-down into his birthday cake; when he turned 5, he broke his left arm and when he turned 7, he broke his right arm and his left leg; when he turned 12, his house caught fire. Now Sam is about to turn 16 and he is dreading the day. The only birthday wish he has is for Jake who is the Mr. Popular of Arcadia High to even acknowledge his existence, or better yet give him a happy-birthday kiss.
But Sam knows that it’s not gonna happen. Or is it?
Disclaimer: The plot of the books substantially varies from the John Hughes movies and all the references to the movies are made as a tribute to their awesomeness.
Sam never liked his birthdays because not a single one of them was happy... When he turned 1, he fell face-down into his birthday cake; when he turned 5, he broke his left arm and when he turned 7, he broke his right arm and his left leg; when he turned 12, his house caught fire. Now Sam is about to turn 16 and he is dreading the day. The only birthday wish he has is for Jake who is the Mr. Popular of Arcadia High to even acknowledge his existence, or better yet give him a happy-birthday kiss.
But Sam knows that it’s not gonna happen. Or is it?
Disclaimer: The plot of the books substantially varies from the John Hughes movies and all the references to the movies are made as a tribute to their awesomeness.
192 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 19, 2014
81 people are currently reading
1910 people want to read
About the author
Perie Wolford
28 books176 followersPerie Wolford is an optioned and produced screenwriter and published author. For more information visit periewolford.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews
March 3, 2020
This author is stealing audio book royalties from Narrator Joel Leslie, by taking down royalty share projects and putting them back up as narrated by "Joey Leslie" - ACX has now removed the unauthorized versions, but the author is still selling them on estories.
Post from narrator Joel Leslie Froomkin here - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...
I urge you to return the audio books to estories for a refund if you have bought them (or any ACX with "Joey" but NOT the "Joel" versions for which the narrator at least got something) and to not buy from this author. (He has also been sock-puppeting his books on Goodreads lists - I have screen shots if anyone wants to see them.)
Post from narrator Joel Leslie Froomkin here - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...
I urge you to return the audio books to estories for a refund if you have bought them (or any ACX with "Joey" but NOT the "Joel" versions for which the narrator at least got something) and to not buy from this author. (He has also been sock-puppeting his books on Goodreads lists - I have screen shots if anyone wants to see them.)
March 5, 2014
The teen years of my generation can be summed up by the collective works of John Hughes so when I saw a book was coming out loosely based on the classic, Sixteen Candles, I knew I’d be reading it. That is actually kind of a big deal because I’m not much of a YA reader. That being said, some of my favorite books have been classified as YA, so I’m not sure why some formulas work for me and some don’t, but this? This did. It read like I was watching a John Hughes movie for the first time, yet was still original. It paid homage to a classic, but didn’t get too lost in the nostalgia.
Sam is turning 16 and has a history of disastrous birthdays. Turning 16 is an awkward walk with Sam through his birthday week. The obnoxious younger brother is there, the extended family taking over his space is there, the supportive best friend forever is there, plus Jake. Jake is there. *sigh* Jake. Sam has had a crush on Jake forever and the teenage obsession he has with the rich, football hero golden boy is something everyone has felt at some point. Gender and orientation don’t matter, those all-encompassing feelings are the same and Sam had them in spades.
What I really liked about this story was it read like I was in the head of a 16 year old boy. It didn’t feel like a BH 90210 25 year-old actor playing a 16 year-old. This was a 16 year old kid in all his awkward, goofy and fumbling glory. The pieces that read a little awkwardly made sense and added to the feeling of the age and the generation. Hughes movies covered some serious moments and were able to do it without taking themselves too seriously and Turning 16 did that too.
There were some great secondary characters that I can’t wait to see again. I fell in love with Mitch, like really hard. You really have to meet Mitch. While Jake is swoon worthy, Mitch is who you want to spend all your free time with. He’s the guy, that if you end up in detention, you hope he’s there too. Sam and Mitch slowly develop a pretty special, and kind of surprising, friendship in detention . Mitch and Jake are both jocks and play on the football team. Sam is the team’s towel boy and that locker room was Sam’s way of being able to be around Jake more. Sam isn’t jock material, as he says,
“I have muscles! It’s just they are shy and don’t like to be seen in public.”
So, towel boy it was. The locker room was also fuel for his teenage libido and fantasies. Poor Sam and poor Sam’s skivvies. Let’s just say it’s a good thing that when the extended family invaded their house, Sam ended up having to sleep in the laundry room.
You remember the scene in Sixteen Candles where the dad is talking to Samantha after the dance when she can’t sleep and they have that great heart to heart and he say’s “That’s why they call them crushes. If they were easy, they’d call them something else.”? Turning 16 has the “dad talk” moment and it was just as good. Not only did Sam have crush drama, but he’s a 16 year old kid in high school, he’s not out, that wouldn’t be very realistic. So that scene was extra special and one of my favorites.
This was definitely a fun read and I loved all the bittersweet moments. It felt truly age appropriate without being patronizing and was nostalgic while still being relevant. Fun and poignant and I can’t wait to read the next in the series.
Sam is turning 16 and has a history of disastrous birthdays. Turning 16 is an awkward walk with Sam through his birthday week. The obnoxious younger brother is there, the extended family taking over his space is there, the supportive best friend forever is there, plus Jake. Jake is there. *sigh* Jake. Sam has had a crush on Jake forever and the teenage obsession he has with the rich, football hero golden boy is something everyone has felt at some point. Gender and orientation don’t matter, those all-encompassing feelings are the same and Sam had them in spades.
What I really liked about this story was it read like I was in the head of a 16 year old boy. It didn’t feel like a BH 90210 25 year-old actor playing a 16 year-old. This was a 16 year old kid in all his awkward, goofy and fumbling glory. The pieces that read a little awkwardly made sense and added to the feeling of the age and the generation. Hughes movies covered some serious moments and were able to do it without taking themselves too seriously and Turning 16 did that too.
There were some great secondary characters that I can’t wait to see again. I fell in love with Mitch, like really hard. You really have to meet Mitch. While Jake is swoon worthy, Mitch is who you want to spend all your free time with. He’s the guy, that if you end up in detention, you hope he’s there too. Sam and Mitch slowly develop a pretty special, and kind of surprising, friendship in detention . Mitch and Jake are both jocks and play on the football team. Sam is the team’s towel boy and that locker room was Sam’s way of being able to be around Jake more. Sam isn’t jock material, as he says,
“I have muscles! It’s just they are shy and don’t like to be seen in public.”
So, towel boy it was. The locker room was also fuel for his teenage libido and fantasies. Poor Sam and poor Sam’s skivvies. Let’s just say it’s a good thing that when the extended family invaded their house, Sam ended up having to sleep in the laundry room.
You remember the scene in Sixteen Candles where the dad is talking to Samantha after the dance when she can’t sleep and they have that great heart to heart and he say’s “That’s why they call them crushes. If they were easy, they’d call them something else.”? Turning 16 has the “dad talk” moment and it was just as good. Not only did Sam have crush drama, but he’s a 16 year old kid in high school, he’s not out, that wouldn’t be very realistic. So that scene was extra special and one of my favorites.
This was definitely a fun read and I loved all the bittersweet moments. It felt truly age appropriate without being patronizing and was nostalgic while still being relevant. Fun and poignant and I can’t wait to read the next in the series.
June 23, 2019
I loved this one, but the writing style and characters really did feel full-on YA compared to say Mia Kerick's YA works.
Sam is sweet, but insanely clueless for the most part, and the shit that his 'birthday curse' get him into is pretty funny. Plus, his wet dream scenes, which happened *every* morning, were both sexy and hilarious.
I also LOVED Mitch in this book, but we didn't really get to know Jake all that well first-hand, which is odd because he's such a central part of the love triangle.
As the blurb mentions, the books is a bit of an homage to old 80's John Hughes films, which I enjoyed, but the references were kept pretty much to a minimum.
I should also note that the book was in serious need of an editor, due to numerous words simply left out, which got distracting.
I do recommend reading *this* book, but now that I've also read book 2, I have to warn anyone who wants to start the series that the boyfriends at the end of this book in book 2, which pissed me the fuck off, so you've been warned.
And no, I'm *not* continuing the series with book 3 after what happened to my favorite MC's from this book in book 2.
March 22, 2014
My review of Turning 16 on GreedyBug Book Reviews.
This book was provided by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review
This book was provided by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review
April 22, 2014
I received this book via Goodreads' Don't Buy My Love program in exchange for an honest review.
I had such high hopes for this book. REALLY! I adore the work of John Hughes, and I grew up in the 80's so this was going to be a slam dunk winner if the book lived up to its billing. Sadly, no.
Sam is a 16y/o boy who has a crush on Jake, a senior and star football player. He loves to bask in the glow of Jake--and does so regularly as the "towel boy" on the team. Sam has regular fantasies/wet dreams over this stud--knowing his interest won't be reciprocated. Jake's straight, and dating a beauty queen who Sam despises.
Mitch is another boy on the team, and it seems he's got an interest in Sam's BFF--Melissa, at least that's what Sam suspects. Again, Sam can't possibly believe the hunky jock would be gay...
It seems also that Sam has had a bad time when it comes to his birthdays. Broken arms and house fires have been some of the lowlights--so he's not keen when his family continues to delay the celebration just so his grandparents can arrive later in the week. He's sure he'll face serious injuries by the time they light his candles...
In the meantime, Mitch and Jake both begin to star in Sam's dreams. Sam feels guilty about this--well about lusting after Mitch; they are becoming friends, after all. There are some scenes where it becomes clear that Mitch and Jake are diametrically opposed to each other, with Sam in the middle. Perhaps he wouldn't mind to be in the midst of such a delicious mansandwich, but Sam feels compelled to focus his interest on Jake.
Kinda not bad as he's rewarded with his first gay kiss one afternoon in the locker room. Of course here's a lot of friction with Mitch. For a gay boy, even a closeted one as Sam is, he has ABSOLUTELY NO GAYDAR. This I found unrealistic, and kinda frustrating as a reader. I get not wanting to "out" yourself in high school, but it seems the EVERYONE Sam knows already suspects his homosexuality.
There's a scene where a random football player invites Sam to shower with him. Um, gay much? Sam's bewildered, but willing. None of this made sense to me.
We wade through a love triangle with a MC who's not even aware that he's IN THE MIDDLE OF A LOVE TRIANGLE. It takes all the tension out of the story. The resolution is not entirely predictable, however, which was better than I had expected by that point.
From a story standpoint, I was turned off by the repetitious nature of the prose. I felt as if I was being told a story--not experiencing a character's story. So many times Sam addressed ME, the Reader, and it had the effect of pulling me out of the story each and every time. Sentence construction was not up-to YA standard; I felt I was reading a middle grade work, and this notion was further enhanced with the pictorial tif's placed throughout the narrative--like the campy Bam! and Splat! pics that one might remember from the Batman television series. No, not the cartoons--the live action TV series from the 1960's featuring Adam West.
The book needs a line edit. Too many typos, misplaced homonyms and plain-out wrong words to count. And, a solid editor should be able to nip the odd grammatical constructions, too. I felt like the author had no grasp of the use of contractions--as they were so rarely employed. It gave the whole book a stilted voice that did not appeal. I had the sense the author was not a native English speaker--or not familiar with American teen speech at the very least.
Other issues the author would do well to address:
Understand better the actual schedule of things in high school. Sports practice occurs after school, not mid-day. There are no towel boys in high school sports. Perhaps a team has managers, but they do not run after the athletes to collect their towels.... And, NO ONE believes that a TOWEL BOY could suddenly walk on to a football team on the Eve of the 'state championships'.
State football championship games occur on a weekend, not mid-week, unless it coincides with a school holiday. In truth this usually happens over Thanksgiving weekend. Also, state championships are held in big arenas--usually a university football stadium. When this game ends, so does the football season. No need to tell us more about how Sam may go out for the team.
This book could have been written as a contemporary romance, with not one single issue. The spartan use of "timekeepers" in the book did nothing to enhance the idea that this was taking place in the 1980's.
I truly wanted to love this book--because I loved the idea of it. Alas, I found myself slogging through just to finish with little enjoyment. All the smexytimes occur in Sam's dreams/fantasies, which is appropriate for YA. They were kinda steamy. And, the shower scene, as mentioned, was sorta steamy. Sam's denigration of Jake's girlfriend, however, I felt was ridiculous. No need to be so catty, Sam. Really.
I had such high hopes for this book. REALLY! I adore the work of John Hughes, and I grew up in the 80's so this was going to be a slam dunk winner if the book lived up to its billing. Sadly, no.
Sam is a 16y/o boy who has a crush on Jake, a senior and star football player. He loves to bask in the glow of Jake--and does so regularly as the "towel boy" on the team. Sam has regular fantasies/wet dreams over this stud--knowing his interest won't be reciprocated. Jake's straight, and dating a beauty queen who Sam despises.
Mitch is another boy on the team, and it seems he's got an interest in Sam's BFF--Melissa, at least that's what Sam suspects. Again, Sam can't possibly believe the hunky jock would be gay...
It seems also that Sam has had a bad time when it comes to his birthdays. Broken arms and house fires have been some of the lowlights--so he's not keen when his family continues to delay the celebration just so his grandparents can arrive later in the week. He's sure he'll face serious injuries by the time they light his candles...
In the meantime, Mitch and Jake both begin to star in Sam's dreams. Sam feels guilty about this--well about lusting after Mitch; they are becoming friends, after all. There are some scenes where it becomes clear that Mitch and Jake are diametrically opposed to each other, with Sam in the middle. Perhaps he wouldn't mind to be in the midst of such a delicious mansandwich, but Sam feels compelled to focus his interest on Jake.
Kinda not bad as he's rewarded with his first gay kiss one afternoon in the locker room. Of course here's a lot of friction with Mitch. For a gay boy, even a closeted one as Sam is, he has ABSOLUTELY NO GAYDAR. This I found unrealistic, and kinda frustrating as a reader. I get not wanting to "out" yourself in high school, but it seems the EVERYONE Sam knows already suspects his homosexuality.
There's a scene where a random football player invites Sam to shower with him. Um, gay much? Sam's bewildered, but willing. None of this made sense to me.
We wade through a love triangle with a MC who's not even aware that he's IN THE MIDDLE OF A LOVE TRIANGLE. It takes all the tension out of the story. The resolution is not entirely predictable, however, which was better than I had expected by that point.
From a story standpoint, I was turned off by the repetitious nature of the prose. I felt as if I was being told a story--not experiencing a character's story. So many times Sam addressed ME, the Reader, and it had the effect of pulling me out of the story each and every time. Sentence construction was not up-to YA standard; I felt I was reading a middle grade work, and this notion was further enhanced with the pictorial tif's placed throughout the narrative--like the campy Bam! and Splat! pics that one might remember from the Batman television series. No, not the cartoons--the live action TV series from the 1960's featuring Adam West.
The book needs a line edit. Too many typos, misplaced homonyms and plain-out wrong words to count. And, a solid editor should be able to nip the odd grammatical constructions, too. I felt like the author had no grasp of the use of contractions--as they were so rarely employed. It gave the whole book a stilted voice that did not appeal. I had the sense the author was not a native English speaker--or not familiar with American teen speech at the very least.
Other issues the author would do well to address:
Understand better the actual schedule of things in high school. Sports practice occurs after school, not mid-day. There are no towel boys in high school sports. Perhaps a team has managers, but they do not run after the athletes to collect their towels.... And, NO ONE believes that a TOWEL BOY could suddenly walk on to a football team on the Eve of the 'state championships'.
State football championship games occur on a weekend, not mid-week, unless it coincides with a school holiday. In truth this usually happens over Thanksgiving weekend. Also, state championships are held in big arenas--usually a university football stadium. When this game ends, so does the football season. No need to tell us more about how Sam may go out for the team.
This book could have been written as a contemporary romance, with not one single issue. The spartan use of "timekeepers" in the book did nothing to enhance the idea that this was taking place in the 1980's.
I truly wanted to love this book--because I loved the idea of it. Alas, I found myself slogging through just to finish with little enjoyment. All the smexytimes occur in Sam's dreams/fantasies, which is appropriate for YA. They were kinda steamy. And, the shower scene, as mentioned, was sorta steamy. Sam's denigration of Jake's girlfriend, however, I felt was ridiculous. No need to be so catty, Sam. Really.
December 20, 2014
*** I have been chatting with the author since my review. This book is slated for editing and I have offered to re-evaluate the book and adjust my review accordingly at that time. I like the base of the story, and really want to encourage Perie Wolford continue writing.***
I am not sure if my copy was the same as what everyone else read... It was provided by the author for an honest review.
First off I actually went to Perie's goodreads page to make sure english was his first language before writing this review. He was born in NY, so, yes english is his first language.
This was a very cute idea for a story. I grew up in the 80's, I was in high school when this story took place. I watched every John Hughes film many, many times. Of course I was intrigued by this book immediately.
The grammer errors, missing commas, and sentence structure issues had me almost DNFing it before the end of Chapter one. This needs an editor desperately, or, at the very least, good beta readers.
The misuse of words was astounding. A house is not infected with termites, its infested. You do not get out of a table, you get up from the table. You do not go to the practice, the class (yes, the excessive misuse of THE drove me INSANE!), you go to practice. These are just a few of hundreds of instances I noted.
There are many tense slips also that took me right out of the story.
I felt I was reading 12 years olds throughout the book, rather than 16 year olds, and adults. But then the author threw in a word like callow, interjected, concur... there are more but those are the ones that stood out as not belonging in Sam's vocabulary considering the rest of his mundane personality.
I had a hard time finding Sam. Actually I never really did connect to him. He has a one track mind, period. And he tends to be a pretty self centered character, which put me off. There just wasn't any personality involved with him, or any other character. I like to feel for the characters I am reading about. Mitch was the only character I felt anything for.
The dialog was stilted at best. No one talks like they do in this book. A few suggestions to the author; read more, and read your own work aloud several times start to finish before publishing.
My fingers itched to edit this for grammer and sentence structure. Writing is a work in progress, and we are always learning, and improving our craft. However, this is not Mr. Wolford's first book, and he should already know how to write properly, and engage his readers through dialog and inner monologue. For me, this book failed on so many levels, and I wished it hadn't.
I am not sure if my copy was the same as what everyone else read... It was provided by the author for an honest review.
First off I actually went to Perie's goodreads page to make sure english was his first language before writing this review. He was born in NY, so, yes english is his first language.
This was a very cute idea for a story. I grew up in the 80's, I was in high school when this story took place. I watched every John Hughes film many, many times. Of course I was intrigued by this book immediately.
The grammer errors, missing commas, and sentence structure issues had me almost DNFing it before the end of Chapter one. This needs an editor desperately, or, at the very least, good beta readers.
The misuse of words was astounding. A house is not infected with termites, its infested. You do not get out of a table, you get up from the table. You do not go to the practice, the class (yes, the excessive misuse of THE drove me INSANE!), you go to practice. These are just a few of hundreds of instances I noted.
There are many tense slips also that took me right out of the story.
I felt I was reading 12 years olds throughout the book, rather than 16 year olds, and adults. But then the author threw in a word like callow, interjected, concur... there are more but those are the ones that stood out as not belonging in Sam's vocabulary considering the rest of his mundane personality.
I had a hard time finding Sam. Actually I never really did connect to him. He has a one track mind, period. And he tends to be a pretty self centered character, which put me off. There just wasn't any personality involved with him, or any other character. I like to feel for the characters I am reading about. Mitch was the only character I felt anything for.
The dialog was stilted at best. No one talks like they do in this book. A few suggestions to the author; read more, and read your own work aloud several times start to finish before publishing.
My fingers itched to edit this for grammer and sentence structure. Writing is a work in progress, and we are always learning, and improving our craft. However, this is not Mr. Wolford's first book, and he should already know how to write properly, and engage his readers through dialog and inner monologue. For me, this book failed on so many levels, and I wished it hadn't.
May 1, 2014
I got this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
We should all have Sam's problem of having two boys fighting over him, but we should not have his bad luck with birthdays. This is a cute and obviously YA book.I could have done with out the graphic balloons like from an old Batman episode. to me that was the main distraction. This book read as if the 16 year old who was the narrator wrote it. it was cute endeaering and he made these snarky and sarcastic remarks. I enjoyed it, but realize that it might not be everyone's cup of tea.
If you like sarcastic snarky spunky narration and angst you will love this book.
We should all have Sam's problem of having two boys fighting over him, but we should not have his bad luck with birthdays. This is a cute and obviously YA book.I could have done with out the graphic balloons like from an old Batman episode. to me that was the main distraction. This book read as if the 16 year old who was the narrator wrote it. it was cute endeaering and he made these snarky and sarcastic remarks. I enjoyed it, but realize that it might not be everyone's cup of tea.
If you like sarcastic snarky spunky narration and angst you will love this book.
March 4, 2020
This author is stealing audio royalty profits from Joel Leslie.
See Joel's Facebook post here:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...
Text also included for clarity:
He’s at it again. This author, Perie Wolford, continues to steal from me by pulling royalty share projects I did with him several years ago and reposting the exact same book with a new cover and narrated by “joey leslie”. He knows my name. He knows these were royalty share projects and he’s doing something reprehensible.
When I first discovered this, I alerted acx and they recently just pulled the book from sale, so not only will I not get the full seven years worth of royalties, there was no attempt to get me the royalties owed from the version with the fake narrator. There is no doubt he ows me hundreds of dollars at this point. Now that he has been shut out of audible, he is now selling the audiobooks, again narrated by “Joey Leslie” on estories
Please don’t buy his books. Please don’t buy the audio.
See Joel's Facebook post here:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...
Text also included for clarity:
He’s at it again. This author, Perie Wolford, continues to steal from me by pulling royalty share projects I did with him several years ago and reposting the exact same book with a new cover and narrated by “joey leslie”. He knows my name. He knows these were royalty share projects and he’s doing something reprehensible.
When I first discovered this, I alerted acx and they recently just pulled the book from sale, so not only will I not get the full seven years worth of royalties, there was no attempt to get me the royalties owed from the version with the fake narrator. There is no doubt he ows me hundreds of dollars at this point. Now that he has been shut out of audible, he is now selling the audiobooks, again narrated by “Joey Leslie” on estories
Please don’t buy his books. Please don’t buy the audio.
March 25, 2014
I am a HUGE John Hughes fan. Well, fan may be putting it lightly. I am the girl who wanted to move to Shermer, Illinois until I found out it was a fictional town and then I didn’t care and still wanted to move to it. I can recite lines from any of his movies verbatim and just happened to have named my youngest son after one of the movies he directed…no NOT Ferris but don’t think I didn’t try that one. So, being a John Hughes fan, when I saw this book I knew I had to try it. I mean, a boy named Sam is turning sixteen and has a crush on a boy named Jake and this takes place in the 80’s? It’s like it was meant for me.
Sam is turning sixteen and the poor boy has had a string of awful birthdays so naturally he wants this one to just be over and done with. But this birthday is turning out to be the longest, the strangest and maybe end up being the best birthday Sam has had yet.
Sam lusting after his crush Jake Timbers was fun to read. Of course, Jake being likened to the best movie crush ever, Jake Ryan did not hurt at all. I liked how Sam was so fixated on Jake that he didn’t see things that were happening around him. He saw them but he didn’t SEE what was right in front of him. It was interesting to be in the head of a sixteen year old boy, it felt real with how he interacted with his family and friends as I have my own teenager and though it’s not the 80’s not much with teenager’s has changed.
The references to the movie Sixteen Candles was evident but it doesn’t overwhelm the story and I liked that. It gave it just of that classic John Hughes vibe to bring me into the story. But other than that, I was lost a bit. I loved Sam’s journey to find the love that he wanted but there was something missing for me. His friendship with Mitch was endearing and I liked how it all played out. The talk with Sam’s dad toward the end was SO Samantha Baker and her dad with that extra bit that made me grin along with referring to his grandparents and THE grandparents like it was done in the movie.
No, I wasn’t looking for this to be an m/m version of Sixteen Candles at all. I can’t quite pin down what didn’t work for me with this. There was a lot of telling me how to feel and not much allowing me to feel it for myself. The bubble actions ala Batman were a bit much and I could have done without them and the end was a bit over the top but other than that, I did like the story.
Knowing there is more to come from Sam and his birthdays has me intrigued and I look forward to reading more from the author.
Sam is turning sixteen and the poor boy has had a string of awful birthdays so naturally he wants this one to just be over and done with. But this birthday is turning out to be the longest, the strangest and maybe end up being the best birthday Sam has had yet.
Sam lusting after his crush Jake Timbers was fun to read. Of course, Jake being likened to the best movie crush ever, Jake Ryan did not hurt at all. I liked how Sam was so fixated on Jake that he didn’t see things that were happening around him. He saw them but he didn’t SEE what was right in front of him. It was interesting to be in the head of a sixteen year old boy, it felt real with how he interacted with his family and friends as I have my own teenager and though it’s not the 80’s not much with teenager’s has changed.
The references to the movie Sixteen Candles was evident but it doesn’t overwhelm the story and I liked that. It gave it just of that classic John Hughes vibe to bring me into the story. But other than that, I was lost a bit. I loved Sam’s journey to find the love that he wanted but there was something missing for me. His friendship with Mitch was endearing and I liked how it all played out. The talk with Sam’s dad toward the end was SO Samantha Baker and her dad with that extra bit that made me grin along with referring to his grandparents and THE grandparents like it was done in the movie.
No, I wasn’t looking for this to be an m/m version of Sixteen Candles at all. I can’t quite pin down what didn’t work for me with this. There was a lot of telling me how to feel and not much allowing me to feel it for myself. The bubble actions ala Batman were a bit much and I could have done without them and the end was a bit over the top but other than that, I did like the story.
Knowing there is more to come from Sam and his birthdays has me intrigued and I look forward to reading more from the author.
April 12, 2014
Perie Wolford captured 16 year old MC, Sam's voice perfectly. The caring, but somewhat naive lead in this story was completely adorable and I was on his side from page one. Sam was great - but I loved Mitch the most, I'm not sure why, there was something endearingly vulnerable about him, despite his obvious cool/jock factor. The iconic film the author drew inspiration from I watched so long ago I can barely remember it - yet now I have a hankering to watch some of those John Hughes classics. This book was sweet and enjoyable and I look forward to the next in the series due out later this year.
Want to read
March 13, 2014Price drop to $0.99 at Amazon US, 3/13/14 :)
April 25, 2014
(This book was provided free in return for an honest review)
2.5 stars:
If there is one thing I've learned recently, it's that a little editing goes a long way. And this book needed A LOT of editing. Sam, the main character, is a just-turned sixteen year old in 1985. However, it might as well have been written by a 13 year old for the lack of structure and errors in text. And 1985 - the author (I'm assuming by his picture) was born about 20 years too late. Showing my age here, but that was me - 1985, sophomore in high school. Jocks and nerds, punks and theatre kids. At sixteen I could write a decent essay, WHY can't this author?
So Mr. Wolford loves John Hughes and this is his homage to Sixteen Candles. Of course, having lived it, I also loved the movie. This was a cute concept - kind of like fanfic. Sam is in love with football star, Jake, meanwhile Sam's friend Mitch is falling for him. Sort of like the movie, but missing the funny bits. The saving grace of the story was the wet dreams and when I connected the little jerky brother to the one in the movie. Missed the exchange student...what was it? Long Duck Wong? and the meddling grandparents.
I wonder if this would have been better done as diary entries - like the new Wimpy Kid books - cartoons and all.
Oh! and what really sucked this book down - a description of the school including years of sections being built. Please Mr. Wolford, revise and re-release.
2.5 stars:
If there is one thing I've learned recently, it's that a little editing goes a long way. And this book needed A LOT of editing. Sam, the main character, is a just-turned sixteen year old in 1985. However, it might as well have been written by a 13 year old for the lack of structure and errors in text. And 1985 - the author (I'm assuming by his picture) was born about 20 years too late. Showing my age here, but that was me - 1985, sophomore in high school. Jocks and nerds, punks and theatre kids. At sixteen I could write a decent essay, WHY can't this author?
So Mr. Wolford loves John Hughes and this is his homage to Sixteen Candles. Of course, having lived it, I also loved the movie. This was a cute concept - kind of like fanfic. Sam is in love with football star, Jake, meanwhile Sam's friend Mitch is falling for him. Sort of like the movie, but missing the funny bits. The saving grace of the story was the wet dreams and when I connected the little jerky brother to the one in the movie. Missed the exchange student...what was it? Long Duck Wong? and the meddling grandparents.
I wonder if this would have been better done as diary entries - like the new Wimpy Kid books - cartoons and all.
Oh! and what really sucked this book down - a description of the school including years of sections being built. Please Mr. Wolford, revise and re-release.
March 17, 2014
Cute coming-of-age story told in an "after school special" kind of way. The lack of editing was a distraction for me.
Will definitely check out the next book in this series.
3.5 stars.
Will definitely check out the next book in this series.
3.5 stars.
September 20, 2019
One Of My Favorite Book Of All Time Really Really Loved Everything Sooooooo Cute
May 13, 2017
In general I'm not a huge YA but this was adorbs. The fantasy, the family torture, the two boys. Cute!
February 26, 2014
Original Blog Post: (50%Off coupon code included in post) http://headouttheoven.blogspot.com/20...
Maybe it is because I fell in love with Jake of Sixteen Candles, way back when I was around 14 or so, that I fell in love with Turning 16.
It is Sam's birthday. He does not have good memories of his past birthdays. As he struggles to get through this one day, he connects with Mitch in detention. Mitch is a jock he found cute, but not as cute as Jake (not the movie Jake, Sam's Jake). To make his day even more confusing, he meets eyes with Jake. Yes, his crush Jake, the quarterback with that dreamy smile. His body is not bad either.
Thinking his day is finally over, more problems meet him when he gets home. His aunt, uncle and their five kids have moved into their house, temporarily. His room is now, temporarily, the laundry room. Worse, his birthday is delayed.
And so starts the comedy of a birthday that does not just last one day, or two days. It lasts for one whole week. What could be worse than that especially as this is the one day (or week) he now has to deal with all of the bad luck? The only glimmer of hope is that Jake is finally interested in him. Then again, so is Mitch. What to do? What to do?
My wishes came true while I was reading this book. The story is just the perfect coming of age comedy to read after reading quite a few dramatic filled ones throughout the week. So I do see this as a saviour for my sanity of sorts. Instead of crying, or getting frustrated, I found myself snorting with laughter and giggling in between. It did not help me at all every time a well placed image popped out from the page for it made the whole feel of the book just far more visual than it already was.
Turning 16 by Perie Wolford is probably one of the best reads about a young man and his finding love at 16. It is funny, engaging, and a very light read. I never was able to put this down last night so I did manage to read this through just before going off to sleep. It was simply a blast and I loved every minute of it.
Did I mention this was super romantic? If I did not, I will.
It was super romantic and made me smile huge! So huge!
Maybe it is because I fell in love with Jake of Sixteen Candles, way back when I was around 14 or so, that I fell in love with Turning 16.
It is Sam's birthday. He does not have good memories of his past birthdays. As he struggles to get through this one day, he connects with Mitch in detention. Mitch is a jock he found cute, but not as cute as Jake (not the movie Jake, Sam's Jake). To make his day even more confusing, he meets eyes with Jake. Yes, his crush Jake, the quarterback with that dreamy smile. His body is not bad either.
Thinking his day is finally over, more problems meet him when he gets home. His aunt, uncle and their five kids have moved into their house, temporarily. His room is now, temporarily, the laundry room. Worse, his birthday is delayed.
And so starts the comedy of a birthday that does not just last one day, or two days. It lasts for one whole week. What could be worse than that especially as this is the one day (or week) he now has to deal with all of the bad luck? The only glimmer of hope is that Jake is finally interested in him. Then again, so is Mitch. What to do? What to do?
My wishes came true while I was reading this book. The story is just the perfect coming of age comedy to read after reading quite a few dramatic filled ones throughout the week. So I do see this as a saviour for my sanity of sorts. Instead of crying, or getting frustrated, I found myself snorting with laughter and giggling in between. It did not help me at all every time a well placed image popped out from the page for it made the whole feel of the book just far more visual than it already was.
Turning 16 by Perie Wolford is probably one of the best reads about a young man and his finding love at 16. It is funny, engaging, and a very light read. I never was able to put this down last night so I did manage to read this through just before going off to sleep. It was simply a blast and I loved every minute of it.
Did I mention this was super romantic? If I did not, I will.
It was super romantic and made me smile huge! So huge!
May 31, 2016
3.5-4 stars
I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Let me start out by saying, that I do not normally read YA. But this one I had to read. The moment I read the words: tribute to John Hughes, I knew I had to have it. I mean, the mans movies defined my teenage years and those of my entire generation.
Going in I was slightly worried, could the author pull it off, with out it being a rip off? But he did wonderfully! This was truly a John Hughes movie in book form - except that Molly Ringwald was relegated to sidekick and confidante, and her slightly dorky but sweet best friend took center stage - as well as a wonderfully sweet coming of age story in its own right.
Sam is suffering from a lot of thing, a birthday curse being at the forefront of this story. Due to an unfortunate series of events Sam's birthday turns into a birthday week, which is not really what you want when the day is cursed and everything is bound to go wrong.
As all 16 year olds Sam is in love with the most handsome and popular guy in school, Jake. A guy who doesn't know Sam even exist. So, like any other 16 year old would, Sam turns to stalking just to be near him.
His stalking is made difficult however by his best friend Melanie and Mitch, the guy Sam believes is after her, and also by the ever omnipresent birthday curse, which means that unfortunate incidents will be happening constantly to poor Sam.
This is a very sweet, albeit predictable story of not seeing what is right in front of you. The story itself didn't do that much for me, but the mood and setting, the "John Hughes - feel" made me love it all the same...
A recommendable story - especially to those who grew up with John Hughes classic movies.
I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Let me start out by saying, that I do not normally read YA. But this one I had to read. The moment I read the words: tribute to John Hughes, I knew I had to have it. I mean, the mans movies defined my teenage years and those of my entire generation.
Going in I was slightly worried, could the author pull it off, with out it being a rip off? But he did wonderfully! This was truly a John Hughes movie in book form - except that Molly Ringwald was relegated to sidekick and confidante, and her slightly dorky but sweet best friend took center stage - as well as a wonderfully sweet coming of age story in its own right.
Sam is suffering from a lot of thing, a birthday curse being at the forefront of this story. Due to an unfortunate series of events Sam's birthday turns into a birthday week, which is not really what you want when the day is cursed and everything is bound to go wrong.
As all 16 year olds Sam is in love with the most handsome and popular guy in school, Jake. A guy who doesn't know Sam even exist. So, like any other 16 year old would, Sam turns to stalking just to be near him.
His stalking is made difficult however by his best friend Melanie and Mitch, the guy Sam believes is after her, and also by the ever omnipresent birthday curse, which means that unfortunate incidents will be happening constantly to poor Sam.
This is a very sweet, albeit predictable story of not seeing what is right in front of you. The story itself didn't do that much for me, but the mood and setting, the "John Hughes - feel" made me love it all the same...
A recommendable story - especially to those who grew up with John Hughes classic movies.
May 7, 2014
3.75 stars
I was given a copy of this book to provide an honest review for the GR mm group's DBML program.
A book that is a m/m version of Sixteen Candles/John Hughes movies? Yes, please!
Sam has a birthday curse--bad things happen on his birthday. This year, he turns sixteen and expects the same birthday problems. He's got a crush on the #1 jock football player, Jake, but of course he isn't going to act on it...or is he?
Meanwhile, his bff Melissa is being hit on by another jock, Mitch. Or so Sam thinks.
Suddenly, the whole world is turned upside down--and I certainly didn't see it coming.
I adored the way the book read like I was being told a story--like Sam was telling me or I was reading his diary. I also loved the little "stickers" in the book. Especially "sploosh" LOL.
Did the book need more editing? yes. Normally, that would bother me a lot--but somehow I got more caught up in the story and took the repetition and grammatical issues as the character's voice. In the end, it worked.
I would have loved for the end to have been drawn out a little--it felt rushed. I finished the book and was thinking "huh"? I had to go back and re-read the last chapter to figure out what had happened.
Because of those issues, plus some believability issues, it's a 3.75 star read for me.
If you like first person "tell-alls" in YA (I don't read a lot of YA), and you are a John Hughes fan, you will most likely adore this book as much as I do. I will definitely read Sam's next book--turning 17 is bound to be pretty exciting.
I was given a copy of this book to provide an honest review for the GR mm group's DBML program.
A book that is a m/m version of Sixteen Candles/John Hughes movies? Yes, please!
Sam has a birthday curse--bad things happen on his birthday. This year, he turns sixteen and expects the same birthday problems. He's got a crush on the #1 jock football player, Jake, but of course he isn't going to act on it...or is he?
Meanwhile, his bff Melissa is being hit on by another jock, Mitch. Or so Sam thinks.
Suddenly, the whole world is turned upside down--and I certainly didn't see it coming.
I adored the way the book read like I was being told a story--like Sam was telling me or I was reading his diary. I also loved the little "stickers" in the book. Especially "sploosh" LOL.
Did the book need more editing? yes. Normally, that would bother me a lot--but somehow I got more caught up in the story and took the repetition and grammatical issues as the character's voice. In the end, it worked.
I would have loved for the end to have been drawn out a little--it felt rushed. I finished the book and was thinking "huh"? I had to go back and re-read the last chapter to figure out what had happened.
Because of those issues, plus some believability issues, it's a 3.75 star read for me.
If you like first person "tell-alls" in YA (I don't read a lot of YA), and you are a John Hughes fan, you will most likely adore this book as much as I do. I will definitely read Sam's next book--turning 17 is bound to be pretty exciting.
August 17, 2014
It's been a while since I read a YA novel and I'm glad I came across this one because it was a very entertaining read indeed.
First off, let me just say that being an 80's baby, I haven't seen Sixteen Candles yet so I'm basing my review solely on the plot. Fortunately, it turned out to be a decent read.
It pretty much covers the life of 16 year old closeted-gay Sam and his ongoing dislike towards his birthday which seems to be a beacon for constant bad luck. The setting only covers almost a week yet it held a lot of significant events for our main character. Of course, it wouldn't be complete without a love interest for our young Sam, which he chases after for most part of the story.
Although it held some stereotypes like the evil cheerleader girlfriend and a predictable story line which you could pretty much guess from the first chapter , I found myself gobbling up the pages until it was finished.
The story held some pretty hilarious moments that made me laugh out loud more than once so all in all I'm pretty satisfied with this book. Now if only I could be so lucky to have two hot guys fighting over me like Sam *sigh* Oh well it's free to dream right? ^_^
August 28, 2014
Adorable. I'm not completely sure where I heard about this book, because when I decided to look it up I noticed I already owned it. Maybe I read something about it on Goodreads, IDK, but most recently is was on Scott Burkett's list: http://www.ggr-review.com/misfits/
I found it already on my laptop and decided to read it today. I WAS GLUED TO EVERY WORD. This is an adorable YA story and I really enjoyed reading it. Being a 16 Candles fan from way back I could see the parallels. The writing is wonderful, the relationships believably developed, and the love gradually built. A very sweet romance. I highly recommend it.
I found it already on my laptop and decided to read it today. I WAS GLUED TO EVERY WORD. This is an adorable YA story and I really enjoyed reading it. Being a 16 Candles fan from way back I could see the parallels. The writing is wonderful, the relationships believably developed, and the love gradually built. A very sweet romance. I highly recommend it.
February 28, 2014
This was cute and romantic. I liked how we were only privvy to Sam's extremely tunnel-visioned view of events and people in his life. The author cleverly let his audience see more when we needed to, and held back when we didn't.
It was also fun. The whole debacle with the birthday curse was used effectively to up the stakes in Sam's anxiety and angst levels.
Even though I could flag where this was going, I enjoyed the ride.
It was also fun. The whole debacle with the birthday curse was used effectively to up the stakes in Sam's anxiety and angst levels.
Even though I could flag where this was going, I enjoyed the ride.
March 10, 2014
well..that was a quick and fun read, but probably the author is new in this genre or he watch too much John Hughes' movie...
March 18, 2014
Turning 16 is the first in Perie Wolford’s series of YA MM books based loosely on the John Hughes films from the 1980s. Some of his titless are Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club, which is still one of my favorite movies and is popular with today’s teenagers too. The message that we are all different and feel insecure at times is a timeless one. This first book is all about Sam and his hellish sixteenth birthday. Molly Ringwald he isn’t!
I don’t personally believe in curses, but Sam does. Whether it is a self-fulfilling prophecy or not is up to the reader to decide. Every year on Sam’s birthday, something terrible happens. So much so that his family has stopped saying the words “Happy Birthday” to him. His evil little brother taunts him on the morning of his birthday and comes very close to saying those dreaded words. But stops just shy of it. In Sam’s mind that doesn’t negate the curse, though. Calamity will strike regardless of someone else’s birthday wishes.
Sam has had a crush on Mr. Popularity, Jake, since forever. Jake is your quintessential high school fantasy. He is smart, rich, gorgeous, popular and the captain of the football team. Sam has taken a position as the towel boy for the football team just so he can be closer to Jake, who up until Sam’s sixteenth birthday has not seemed to realize that Sam existed. Oh, and I can’t forget to mention that Jake has a girlfriend. All Sam wants for his birthday is a kiss from Jake.
A series of family crises forces the celebration of Sam’s birthday to be pushed back. First for a couple of days, then eventually for a week. Now Sam doesn’t just have to survive his birthDAY, he has to survive a birthday WEEK! Let the catastrophes begin. First, he has to sleep in the laundry room for an undetermined amount of time while his house is full to the rafters with displaced family members. Then, he notices, or thinks he does, that Jake seems to be looking at him a lot. And Mitch, who is friendly enough and cute but straight, is trying to get in between Jake and Sam whenever he can.
Sam and Mitch become more friendly and Mitch starts giving Sam rides to school and sitting near him in the classes they share. With the looks Sam is noticing, he thinks Mitch may not be straight. But wait, Jake is looking at him! Sam confides in Mitch about his “birthday curse” and they grow closer. Mitch is determined to help Sam get through the week without serious damage being incurred.
Perie Wolford has done an amazing job of capturing that feeling of teenage sexual awakening. The time when anything can trigger a fantasy and just a glance from (or a dream about) the right person causes, um, messiness. The agonizing feeling of not knowing if that someone you like likes you back. Is he straight or is he gay and looking at me like I am a steak he wants to eat? That soul-deep longing for someone to love you. We feel like we are deep inside Sam’s head.
Turning 16 is a great read. It’s light and funny while also having a couple of seriously deep and painful moments. And it has cartoon splats! Like “Sploosh!” and “Wham!” in those little Batman-like bubbles. Mr. Wolford makes it easy to believe that the book was written by a sixteen year old. I can’t wait until May when Sam turns 17! I wholeheartedly recommend this book!
I don’t personally believe in curses, but Sam does. Whether it is a self-fulfilling prophecy or not is up to the reader to decide. Every year on Sam’s birthday, something terrible happens. So much so that his family has stopped saying the words “Happy Birthday” to him. His evil little brother taunts him on the morning of his birthday and comes very close to saying those dreaded words. But stops just shy of it. In Sam’s mind that doesn’t negate the curse, though. Calamity will strike regardless of someone else’s birthday wishes.
Sam has had a crush on Mr. Popularity, Jake, since forever. Jake is your quintessential high school fantasy. He is smart, rich, gorgeous, popular and the captain of the football team. Sam has taken a position as the towel boy for the football team just so he can be closer to Jake, who up until Sam’s sixteenth birthday has not seemed to realize that Sam existed. Oh, and I can’t forget to mention that Jake has a girlfriend. All Sam wants for his birthday is a kiss from Jake.
A series of family crises forces the celebration of Sam’s birthday to be pushed back. First for a couple of days, then eventually for a week. Now Sam doesn’t just have to survive his birthDAY, he has to survive a birthday WEEK! Let the catastrophes begin. First, he has to sleep in the laundry room for an undetermined amount of time while his house is full to the rafters with displaced family members. Then, he notices, or thinks he does, that Jake seems to be looking at him a lot. And Mitch, who is friendly enough and cute but straight, is trying to get in between Jake and Sam whenever he can.
Sam and Mitch become more friendly and Mitch starts giving Sam rides to school and sitting near him in the classes they share. With the looks Sam is noticing, he thinks Mitch may not be straight. But wait, Jake is looking at him! Sam confides in Mitch about his “birthday curse” and they grow closer. Mitch is determined to help Sam get through the week without serious damage being incurred.
Perie Wolford has done an amazing job of capturing that feeling of teenage sexual awakening. The time when anything can trigger a fantasy and just a glance from (or a dream about) the right person causes, um, messiness. The agonizing feeling of not knowing if that someone you like likes you back. Is he straight or is he gay and looking at me like I am a steak he wants to eat? That soul-deep longing for someone to love you. We feel like we are deep inside Sam’s head.
Turning 16 is a great read. It’s light and funny while also having a couple of seriously deep and painful moments. And it has cartoon splats! Like “Sploosh!” and “Wham!” in those little Batman-like bubbles. Mr. Wolford makes it easy to believe that the book was written by a sixteen year old. I can’t wait until May when Sam turns 17! I wholeheartedly recommend this book!
May 14, 2014
I received Turning 16 from the author through the Goodreads M/M Romance Group’s Don’t Buy My Love review program for an honest opinion.
This story is YA and is told in first person through the eyes of Sam, a high school student, who has a huge crush on Jake, the quarterback of the school’s football team.
This story is YA and is told in first person through the eyes of Sam, a high school student, who has a huge crush on Jake, the quarterback of the school’s football team.
August 31, 2016
First off, at the risk of alienating fans, I am not a fan of Sixteen Candles! Or Molly Ringwald, for that matter, so the idea that this is a homage to that movie was neither here nor there for me. What this was, however, was an awesome look at the 16th birthday time of Sam. Sam of the birthday curse. Everything bad happens on his birthday or his birthday week.
Told in first person by Sam, the story chronicles the development of Sam as a teenager, working on his first real crush, a jock named Jake. Sam isn’t out or anything, he just fantasizes about Jake. It’s 1985 and Sam goes to a huge high school - 155 classrooms and a 700-seat performing arts theater, to name just a few of the perks (sorry, but as a teacher in a school with 20 classrooms, this made me drool). I digress.
Sam’s best friend, Melissa, has an admirer in the form of Mitch, yet another jock. Well, that’s what Sam thinks anyway, because he is so single-mindedly focused on his jock he really can’t see anything else. As we listen to the inner mumblings of Sam’s thoughts, it really comes across that this is a teenager, confused, funny and totally caught up in his own vision of things. Sam and Mitch become good friends and Sam is just so oblivious you want to shake him.
As an aside, there are graphics within the story and at first, I saw the cute chapter heading graphic and thought, how adorable, window dressing. Then as the story progressed and the graphics matched with the story they added so much because they made me laugh. “Sploosh”. Yes, sir.
We get kind of a triangle going, between Sam and Jake and Mitch. A lot of the story with Jake and Sam is told via Sam’s dreams (yes, sploosh), with interaction occurring a little at a time. More time is spent with Melissa (pining over Jake) and Mitch, being buddies.
The 1980’s references brought back good memories. Creepshow? I hadn’t thought of that movie in ages and after reading this I had to watch it. Cheesy and creepy and perfect. Most of the dialogue is funny and appropriate, with the notable exception that I wondered if a teenage boy would actually say undies. And Sam calling his aunt and family by their surname was so odd to me.
There were times I felt so bad for Mitch I wanted him to go find someone lovely for himself. When he takes out his anger at Jake on Mitch, it was so sad. And when Sam finally gets a clue, ding ding ding, about time.
Secondary characters here are wonderful. I love, love, love Sam’s dad. Melissa is a realistic, loyal female friend and Kenan, laid back and chill, was just the balance Sam needed. I know the next installment is Turning 17 and I can say now that if Sam and his man break up I think I will cry.
Reviewed for Hearts On Fire Reviews
Told in first person by Sam, the story chronicles the development of Sam as a teenager, working on his first real crush, a jock named Jake. Sam isn’t out or anything, he just fantasizes about Jake. It’s 1985 and Sam goes to a huge high school - 155 classrooms and a 700-seat performing arts theater, to name just a few of the perks (sorry, but as a teacher in a school with 20 classrooms, this made me drool). I digress.
Sam’s best friend, Melissa, has an admirer in the form of Mitch, yet another jock. Well, that’s what Sam thinks anyway, because he is so single-mindedly focused on his jock he really can’t see anything else. As we listen to the inner mumblings of Sam’s thoughts, it really comes across that this is a teenager, confused, funny and totally caught up in his own vision of things. Sam and Mitch become good friends and Sam is just so oblivious you want to shake him.
As an aside, there are graphics within the story and at first, I saw the cute chapter heading graphic and thought, how adorable, window dressing. Then as the story progressed and the graphics matched with the story they added so much because they made me laugh. “Sploosh”. Yes, sir.
We get kind of a triangle going, between Sam and Jake and Mitch. A lot of the story with Jake and Sam is told via Sam’s dreams (yes, sploosh), with interaction occurring a little at a time. More time is spent with Melissa (pining over Jake) and Mitch, being buddies.
The 1980’s references brought back good memories. Creepshow? I hadn’t thought of that movie in ages and after reading this I had to watch it. Cheesy and creepy and perfect. Most of the dialogue is funny and appropriate, with the notable exception that I wondered if a teenage boy would actually say undies. And Sam calling his aunt and family by their surname was so odd to me.
There were times I felt so bad for Mitch I wanted him to go find someone lovely for himself. When he takes out his anger at Jake on Mitch, it was so sad. And when Sam finally gets a clue, ding ding ding, about time.
Secondary characters here are wonderful. I love, love, love Sam’s dad. Melissa is a realistic, loyal female friend and Kenan, laid back and chill, was just the balance Sam needed. I know the next installment is Turning 17 and I can say now that if Sam and his man break up I think I will cry.
Reviewed for Hearts On Fire Reviews
February 24, 2016
This was really like a 3.5 for me. I’m going to start off by saying that I loved the birthday curse element of the story. It worked really well. I would think I was cursed if I was Sam. The guy had some real bad luck on birthdays.
The main thing I didn't like was how oblivious Sam was. He just did not understand what was going on around him while I wasn't surprised by any of it. I knew what everyone else felt about him and what their intentions were just from his dialogue with them and what he witnesses of them, yet he is so lost. I don’t know if it is just kind of the self centered attitude of a teen boy. His mind is pretty zoned in on one thing for a lot of the text, but I've just never been that bad at inference.
I couldn't find qualities about Sam that were really redeemable. That’s a problem when he’s the main character and the story is from his perspective. I almost didn't think he deserved a great romance at the end.
Melissa wasis also great.She is completely not oblivious to what is going on. She’s a good friend for playing along with Sam even if part of me wants her to just lay out what the situation actually is for him. She lets him figure out things on his terms even when it’s extremely obvious.
Mitch is a fantastic character. I fell in love with him pretty quick and felt bad that he had to fall for Sam considering how Indecisive Sam was.Mitch puts up with a lot from Sam. Plus, Sam doesn't really treat him like a friend at first. Sam’s shallowness made me like Mitch a lot more too. I feel like Mitch is an honestly good guy.
I’m not a fan of Jake.Nothing he did made me want to get on the Jake bandwagon.He was a part of the story, but not on my radar like he was always on Sam’s. Plus there is a Jake scene that literally made me want to gag a little.
I really liked Keenan even with minimal amount of him that was in the story. He was there less than most characters and I liked him more than Jake honestly. Wish we could have seen a little more of him. Not totally sure how he felt about some things he did and have too many thoughts about his possible motivations in my head.
Overall it was a likable story.I loved the John Hughes vibe. Not sure if I’m excited about the sequel because I love Mitch way more than I do the main character or Jake.I just want to read more Mitch. So the description for the next book isn't making me want to dive into the rest of the series at all. I still sort of want a physical copy of this one, though.
The main thing I didn't like was how oblivious Sam was. He just did not understand what was going on around him while I wasn't surprised by any of it. I knew what everyone else felt about him and what their intentions were just from his dialogue with them and what he witnesses of them, yet he is so lost. I don’t know if it is just kind of the self centered attitude of a teen boy. His mind is pretty zoned in on one thing for a lot of the text, but I've just never been that bad at inference.
I couldn't find qualities about Sam that were really redeemable. That’s a problem when he’s the main character and the story is from his perspective. I almost didn't think he deserved a great romance at the end.
Melissa wasis also great.She is completely not oblivious to what is going on. She’s a good friend for playing along with Sam even if part of me wants her to just lay out what the situation actually is for him. She lets him figure out things on his terms even when it’s extremely obvious.
Mitch is a fantastic character. I fell in love with him pretty quick and felt bad that he had to fall for Sam considering how Indecisive Sam was.Mitch puts up with a lot from Sam. Plus, Sam doesn't really treat him like a friend at first. Sam’s shallowness made me like Mitch a lot more too. I feel like Mitch is an honestly good guy.
I’m not a fan of Jake.Nothing he did made me want to get on the Jake bandwagon.He was a part of the story, but not on my radar like he was always on Sam’s. Plus there is a Jake scene that literally made me want to gag a little.
I really liked Keenan even with minimal amount of him that was in the story. He was there less than most characters and I liked him more than Jake honestly. Wish we could have seen a little more of him. Not totally sure how he felt about some things he did and have too many thoughts about his possible motivations in my head.
Overall it was a likable story.I loved the John Hughes vibe. Not sure if I’m excited about the sequel because I love Mitch way more than I do the main character or Jake.I just want to read more Mitch. So the description for the next book isn't making me want to dive into the rest of the series at all. I still sort of want a physical copy of this one, though.
July 23, 2016
A free copy of the book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.
I was looking forward to reading this book. The blurb was enticing since I grew up on John Hughes movies and loved them. And I thought the cover art was adorable.
There were aspects of Turning 16 that I enjoyed. The voice of the narrator was fun and seemed age-appropriate to me for a 16-year-old. I liked the convention of opening each chapter with one of his dreams (most of them wet, although also age-appropriate). Parts of the story were quite funny and the conversation bubbles/graphics were cute and made me laugh - like something a kid would draw in his journal. The ending of the story was sweet, as was the narrator's relationship with his parents.
Alas, the issues I had with the book outweighed the positive aspects/promise the story held. The issues fell into two main categories. The first was lack of editing/high volume of grammatical errors. It seemed like every screen on my Kindle had a least one error - most of them had multiple errors. Examples include: incorrect verb usage ("have" instead of "had"), incorrect pronoun usage ("we" instead of "he"), using articles ("the" or "a") when they shouldn't be used, missing words, using the wrong preposition ("to" instead of "at," "of" rather than "from") poor sentence construction (a few times I could not even parse out the meaning of a sentence). The grammar/editing issues were so prevalent that they pulled me out of the story and grabbed my focus.
The second category was lack of believability/continuity. For instance, Mitch's brother is mentioned as being in attendance at the high school on at least two occasions, and he is also referenced as being 10-years-old! The book opens with Mitch riding the bus with Sam, but for the latter half of the story, he drives his own car to school - no reason why the switch. Sam plays catch a couple times (during one of which he gets pegged in the face) and suddenly he is unofficially part of the football team, huh? There is an odd shower scene between Sam and a football player that does not add to the story at all and that character never resurfaces in the story. Another reviewer does a great job detailing problems regarding the portrayal of high school football in the book.
I think with some strong editing, Turning 16 could be a good YA read. But in its current form it seems like a beta version.
I was looking forward to reading this book. The blurb was enticing since I grew up on John Hughes movies and loved them. And I thought the cover art was adorable.
There were aspects of Turning 16 that I enjoyed. The voice of the narrator was fun and seemed age-appropriate to me for a 16-year-old. I liked the convention of opening each chapter with one of his dreams (most of them wet, although also age-appropriate). Parts of the story were quite funny and the conversation bubbles/graphics were cute and made me laugh - like something a kid would draw in his journal. The ending of the story was sweet, as was the narrator's relationship with his parents.
Alas, the issues I had with the book outweighed the positive aspects/promise the story held. The issues fell into two main categories. The first was lack of editing/high volume of grammatical errors. It seemed like every screen on my Kindle had a least one error - most of them had multiple errors. Examples include: incorrect verb usage ("have" instead of "had"), incorrect pronoun usage ("we" instead of "he"), using articles ("the" or "a") when they shouldn't be used, missing words, using the wrong preposition ("to" instead of "at," "of" rather than "from") poor sentence construction (a few times I could not even parse out the meaning of a sentence). The grammar/editing issues were so prevalent that they pulled me out of the story and grabbed my focus.
The second category was lack of believability/continuity. For instance, Mitch's brother is mentioned as being in attendance at the high school on at least two occasions, and he is also referenced as being 10-years-old! The book opens with Mitch riding the bus with Sam, but for the latter half of the story, he drives his own car to school - no reason why the switch. Sam plays catch a couple times (during one of which he gets pegged in the face) and suddenly he is unofficially part of the football team, huh? There is an odd shower scene between Sam and a football player that does not add to the story at all and that character never resurfaces in the story. Another reviewer does a great job detailing problems regarding the portrayal of high school football in the book.
I think with some strong editing, Turning 16 could be a good YA read. But in its current form it seems like a beta version.
March 29, 2016
Look for this review and more at my blog, Feminist Fairy Tale Reviews.
Turning 16 caught my eye because of the eighties theme and the fact that it is set in high school which is not the most common setting for m/m romance. I am a huge fan of John Hughes movies especially Sixteen Candles so I found this to be a sweet and entertaining homage to that film genre.
The entire story was told from the point of view of Sam, a sixteen year old boy who suffers from a 'birthday curse.' He strongly believes that his birthday will never be happy and, if something can go wrong on that, it will. For example, he broke his arm at age 5 and then his house tried to burn down on his 12th birthday. So, it stands to reason that he is not exactly looking forward to his sixteenth birthday. At first it seems like this one will follow this pattern with unexpected visits from his annoying relatives and the fact that he can't seem to get close to the boy he has had a crush on for years, Jake Ryan. But, then, things start to take a turn for the better and Sam learns some pretty unexpected things.
I really liked Sam and how interesting his insights into high school were. He is a very sensitive boy who is very aware of pop culture, but is hopelessly oblivious when it comes to personal issues like love. The depiction of a sixteen year old gay teenager in the 1980s is not the easiest thing to write and I thought Wolford did an admirable job. The voice did have some juvenile moments though I though it worked well for this particular story. The descriptions (especially of the school and its social structure) were a little long-winded, but that can easily be fixed with a bit more editing.
The premise of the birthday curse was really creative and I liked how it moved the story line along. I also liked the love triangle that seemed to matriculate with Jake Ryan, Sam, and someone I won't name in order to avoid spoilers. I'm not usually a fan of love triangles, but I thought it worked for this type of story and the high school setting. Overall, while this book was not perfect, I did enjoy myself and am excited to see how Wolford develops Sam's character in the sequel, Turning 17.
I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Turning 16 caught my eye because of the eighties theme and the fact that it is set in high school which is not the most common setting for m/m romance. I am a huge fan of John Hughes movies especially Sixteen Candles so I found this to be a sweet and entertaining homage to that film genre.
The entire story was told from the point of view of Sam, a sixteen year old boy who suffers from a 'birthday curse.' He strongly believes that his birthday will never be happy and, if something can go wrong on that, it will. For example, he broke his arm at age 5 and then his house tried to burn down on his 12th birthday. So, it stands to reason that he is not exactly looking forward to his sixteenth birthday. At first it seems like this one will follow this pattern with unexpected visits from his annoying relatives and the fact that he can't seem to get close to the boy he has had a crush on for years, Jake Ryan. But, then, things start to take a turn for the better and Sam learns some pretty unexpected things.
I really liked Sam and how interesting his insights into high school were. He is a very sensitive boy who is very aware of pop culture, but is hopelessly oblivious when it comes to personal issues like love. The depiction of a sixteen year old gay teenager in the 1980s is not the easiest thing to write and I thought Wolford did an admirable job. The voice did have some juvenile moments though I though it worked well for this particular story. The descriptions (especially of the school and its social structure) were a little long-winded, but that can easily be fixed with a bit more editing.
The premise of the birthday curse was really creative and I liked how it moved the story line along. I also liked the love triangle that seemed to matriculate with Jake Ryan, Sam, and someone I won't name in order to avoid spoilers. I'm not usually a fan of love triangles, but I thought it worked for this type of story and the high school setting. Overall, while this book was not perfect, I did enjoy myself and am excited to see how Wolford develops Sam's character in the sequel, Turning 17.
I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
August 13, 2016
I received a free copy of Turning 16 for free from the Don’t Buy My Love event in exchange for an honest review. I read the kindle version.
I really wanted to love this book. I’m a John Hughes junkie and the premise sounded great. Unfortunately, the reality didn’t quite live up to the premise. There were good and bad points to this story. The plot was good. The characters were sound and the story development was well done. The entire thing just needed a little more polish and editing.
The good… The main character, Sam, was lovable and quirky in true John Hughes fashion. The little cartoon additions were a nice touch as well. I liked that the premise was based on “16 Candles” but the plot was changed enough that you didn’t feel like you were reliving a male/male version of the story. I found the Jake character to be a little flat, but I think that fit with the storyline well.
Now the not so good… If you’re someone that is taken out of a story by continuity errors and clunky grammar, you’ll have issues. The story felt like it was written by someone that is not a native English speaker. Awkward syntax throughout the story kept pulling me from the plot and making me want to grab my red pen. There were a couple of instances where I went “Huh?” and found myself flipping back to see if I had missed something.
Overall, this is a cute read that has a lot of potential. With some polishing and a little bit of work with an editor and I think this author has something that could be great.
I really wanted to love this book. I’m a John Hughes junkie and the premise sounded great. Unfortunately, the reality didn’t quite live up to the premise. There were good and bad points to this story. The plot was good. The characters were sound and the story development was well done. The entire thing just needed a little more polish and editing.
The good… The main character, Sam, was lovable and quirky in true John Hughes fashion. The little cartoon additions were a nice touch as well. I liked that the premise was based on “16 Candles” but the plot was changed enough that you didn’t feel like you were reliving a male/male version of the story. I found the Jake character to be a little flat, but I think that fit with the storyline well.
Now the not so good… If you’re someone that is taken out of a story by continuity errors and clunky grammar, you’ll have issues. The story felt like it was written by someone that is not a native English speaker. Awkward syntax throughout the story kept pulling me from the plot and making me want to grab my red pen. There were a couple of instances where I went “Huh?” and found myself flipping back to see if I had missed something.
Overall, this is a cute read that has a lot of potential. With some polishing and a little bit of work with an editor and I think this author has something that could be great.
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