Character, Driven

by David Lubar

“Call me Cliff. By an accident of birth, I am well named for this story. Think about it. Cliff. Precipice. Edge. There you have it. I’m Cliff. Cliff Sparks.”

With only one year left of high school, seventeen-year-old Cliff Sparks is desperate to “come of age”―and find a girlfriend. But he’s never had much luck with girls. So when he falls for Jillian, a new classmate, at first sight, all he can do is worship her from afar. At the same time, Cliff has to figure out what to do with the rest of his life, since he’s pretty sure his unemployed father plans to kick him out of the house the minute he turns eighteen.

Time is running out for Cliff. He’s at the edge, on the verge, dangling―and holding on for dear life.

Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Coming Of Age, Fiction, Contemporary, Humor, Teen

304 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2016

About the author

David Lubar created a sensation with his debut novel, Hidden Talents, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Thousands of kids and educators across the country have voted Hidden Talents onto over twenty state lists. David is also the author of True Talents, the sequel to Hidden Talents; Flip, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a VOYA Best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror selection; several short story collections: In the Land of the Lawn Weenies, Invasion of the Road Weenies, The Curse of the Campfire Weenies, The Battle of the Red Hot Pepper Weenies, and Attack of the Vampire Weenies; and the Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie series. Lubar grew up in Morristown, New Jersey, and he has also lived in New Brunswick, Edison and Piscataway, NJ, and Sacramento, CA. Besides writing, he has also worked as a video game programmer and designer. He now lives in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidl...

Reviews

[Andria · Rating 5 out of 5]

If the male protagonists of a certain best-selling contemporary YA author strike you as being too quirky and precocious for their own good and leave you asking, "who TALKS like that?" you need to meet Cliff Sparks. He's clever, but in that overly-fond-of-puns way that teenage boys can be, and he likes to read and paint, but *mostly* he's unabashedly obsessed with getting laid. There's a lot more to Cliff, and his story, than meets the eye, however.

This book hit all the right notes: an authentic voice, a narrator both believable and likable (no easy feat when writing about teenagers), characters that are diverse and original, important issues, unexpected gut punches (happening to characters and readers alike), and humor. And wordplay. So much wordplay. Did I mention the puns? I chuckled out loud a LOT while reading this, which just made the gut punches that much more unexpected and powerful.

Also: it has what may be the most awkwardly hilarious sex scene ever to appear in a YA novel. Which is good, because first-time sex in real life is much more likely to be awkward and hilarious than romantic and earth-shaking and teenagers may as well know the truth.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've enjoyed Lubar for MG. And this is pretty darn creative, real 'breath of fresh air' as the saying goes. Ok, maybe not fresh, as it smells of hormones, cafeteria, sweaty gym shoes, etc. But it's fun.

Um, blurb is interesting. So far we're looking at only two months, the end of senior year, not the whole year. (I don't expect Lubar to address this issue, but: I feel bad for new girl getting dropped here for that little bit of the whole HS experience - is her diploma going to be from this school, or the one she actually learned stuff from? Has she already been accepted to the college of her choice?) (And why is Cliff's dad such a prick? He of all ppl should know that getting a good education is important, but no, he takes his life experience and twists it into a negative learning experience just in order to spoil his son's chances at a productive life & satisfying career?)

Anyway, I love the references to other books, and to art. I have to look up Dali's crucifixion and pay attention to how he does roses, for example. And I've added Edisto to my to-read list.

I totally love how this would be a great book for a students' discussion group. Once they got going, they'd probably get pretty excited about things like my issues above, and whether they think Cliff is a pig or a normal pubescent youth, and how much fun Lubar had with the pseudonyms Cliff gave his teachers, etc.
---
Ok done.
Um, yeah.
Wow.
And there is a discussion guide in the back. But Lubar tells his readers to feel free to close the book without looking at it, to end at the ending. But....

Smart book, with lots of humor to leaven lots of intensity. Good for anyone is, was, knows, will know, or has known teen boys.

[ashley elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS. BOOK.

GOODNESS.

This is probably my favorite book I've read so far this year. It made me feel all the feelings. Anger, sadness, those warm fuzzies when you ship something so hard you feel like it'll kill you - everything. I don't even have any words to describe this book. It was powerful, it was emotional, it was relatable - everything a book should be, tbh. And the main character - oh goodness I've fallen in love with this adorable, incredibly real young man. Definitely will be buying this one and re-reading it sometime.

(Disclaimer: I was going to rate it 4 stars because of the smattering of language and a sexual scene towards the end, before the last few chapters changed my mind.)

[Lyra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, apparently I'm in the minority here because most all of the reviewers love this book, but it just didn't do much for me.

The metafictive narration style, in which Cliff constantly talks about the construction of the narrative and calls out his own unreliability, was fun at first, but quickly became grating and old. The plot meandered and dragged, and I was just straight up bored through a good chunk of the middle. The twist ending felt cheap and unearned, though it did tie the story together and make it feel complete. It wasn't enough to redeem things in my opinion. Overall this just felt like a gimmick that went on too long.

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some great ideas and clever writing, and there were times I chuckled out loud, but to me nothing that compelling happens. This book is kind of like a movie on an airplane; in that situation it's something to do until you land.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating trip into the mind of Cliff, who is on the very cusp of legal adulthood. I read far fewer stories with male protagonists than female, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to find it pretty much equally relatable. The real charm of the story is that, while Cliff is writing his story, he is also writing about the intention behind specific things he includes in the book during the writing process. It makes for a very impressive novel, and a gripping one. Definitely a stay-awake-until-the-end book. Well worth the sleep deprivation.

[Mel Raschke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this character Cliff. Very quirky

[Clarabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cliff est en dernière année au lycée mais a déjà compris qu'il n'irait pas à l'université car son père au chômage n'a pas l'intention de dépenser un sou de plus pour son rejeton. Le gosse a pourtant de bonnes notes et un job à temps partiel. Malheureusement toute discussion est impossible. L'attitude du père est tyrannique, l'ambiance à la maison est désormais irrespirable.
Pour chasser ses idées noires, Cliff fantasme sur la nouvelle fille de sa classe d'arts plastiques. La belle et inaccessible Jillian. Lui si discret préfère rêver son idylle plutôt que de prendre des risques... sa première expérience est encore traumatisante. Il a depuis renoncé à sortir avec des filles et libère sa frustration en rédigeant rageusement son cahier.
Car Cliff est en colère et va péter un câble. Contre son père, contre les sportifs de l'école, contre la vie en général. Ce défouloir sur 400 pages est aussi le reflet du quotidien pas toujours drôle et loin d'être tendre des jeunes d'aujourd'hui. Ça cogne dans tous les sens du terme et ça laisse son empreinte - notamment auprès des plus concernés. On y parle des problèmes d'autorité, de sexe et aussi d'avenir. C'est sans filtre. Un style cash et sans complexe qui interpelle.
Si je n'ai pas aimé le narrateur (je suis trop vieille), j'ai néanmoins trouvé son discours pertinent. Il y a un brin de cynisme dans ce portrait et jamais d'auto-apitoiement qui élimine toute idée de taxer cette lecture de porte-drapeau.

[Cindy Dobrez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must get more requests for humor than any other fiction subgenre...perhaps because it is so hard to find. Lubar doesn't disappoint with his often over-the-top puns, intelligent but sophomoric word-play, comedic timing and his nerdy, geeky every-guy characters...but he's done something different with this novel that reaches another level. Cliff's lust and quest for sexual experience is as true and funny as that of Don Calame's fictional characters (Swim the Fly) but then he takes the coming of age scene and, ahem, finishes strong with a final twenty pages that may help other teens see their own worth and see that they don't deserve the situation in which they are mired. It's not all laughs here, but it is good stuff. High school boys will eagerly go along for the ride.

[Frezanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, I gave this book 5 stars. What other rate can this book deserve considering it's written by David Lubar. I am glad he wrote new books. He had this hilarious but intelligent style. I laughed myself throughout the book and cringed at the truth the narrator, Cliff, hid behind all the humor and witticisms.
My only misgiving is the graphic sex scene (well, a fantasy as it was) toward the end of the book. I would only recommend this book for older teens.

[Monica Caldicott · Rating 2 out of 5]

This felt like a book that could have been written by S. E. Hinton in the 1950s. He has a crush on the new girl. Let's grab a soda from the cafe on Main Street. His friends/sidekicks fall for each other. Dad's tough on him and wants him to be independent on your 18th birthday.

However, I acknowledge the plot twists that take the story out of the ordinary. I don't know if I really likes the narrator was aware that we were reading his book. This device sometimes felt like a put on.

[Michelle Stimpson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I appreciate what this experimental novel was trying to do, unfortunately it just didn't work for me. As a writer, it helped me see that some of the conventions of story are there for a reason. The clever wordplay wasn't lost on me. I kept skimming for that.

[Oona · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're looking for guy-friendly young adult writing that's high quality, read this! The language is masterfully crafted, punchy and fun, and while some of the allusions and puns are likely to go over some teen readers' heads, that would never prevent me from recommending this book to students. It's so important for students to see that writing and the revision process can be joyful and fun.

There's so much that Lubar addresses in this story. There is, of course, Cliff's story, the financial stressors of his family life and his own struggles with the demons of self-doubt. This kid overthinks everything. Just like everyone in high school does! One convenient detail is that Cliff's financial situation prevents him from purchasing a smart phone or owning a car. This near Amish state offers teen readers a sense of what it's like to be alone with one's thoughts and aware of one's environment. The last novel I remember reading that was like this is Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell, which is set in the mid 1980's. Another obstacle this removes is the objectification on females that now bombards social media. Guys don't need to imagine anything about most girls, since they're flooded with images of them on the plastic rectangles in their pockets. With Cliff, not so much. He is tasked with lingering on the live females in front of him. The result of this is a longing not easily experienced or understood by teenagers. That's not to say that Cliff doesn't indulge in the same habits as his fellow male counterparts, but he has limited access, and he spends much of his time in his own mind.

The teachers and students in this novel are a microcosm of any high school culture. The social studies teacher is great, but I'm particularly fond of the badass English teacher who passes off books to Cliff each week in the hallway. The books are wrapped in brown paper and returned to a secret mailbox/locker. These are books that either wouldn't make the cut to study as full class novels because they're so controversial or ones that are selected specifically for Cliff, to challenge him. This type of "book badass" is what every high school English teacher should emulate, in my humble opinion.

I'm definitely going to recommend this for independent reading and request to purchase several copies for literature circles. One very nice addition at the end is a CCSS-aligned set of questions for pre-reading, discussion and assessment. This is helpful to generate instructional ideas and also great for literature circles.

[Jeffrey Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn't a revolutionary new experience in teenage coming-of age novels, but it wasn't a bad read either.

The back-of-the book blurb basically covers the major plot points. The story is told retroactively with Cliff, the main character, as the narrator. There is a lot of editorializing by the protagonist at the beginning of the story but that drops off by a lot after the initial burst.

The story nicely follows a fairly typical high school existence. There's nothing unusual about it as compared to stories of similar ilk, but it is populated with believable characters. Many of them verge on the stereotypical, but given the tone and target audience of the book I would argue that's appropriate. I would also say that such characters are easily found in most high schools; many people that age are intentionally trying to conform to stereotypes or rebel against them in predictable patterns, so I don't think this is a case of lazy writing. The teachers were perhaps a weak point; for adults they are very simplistic. However, given that the story is told through the lens of a student, this can also be forgiven; for most students, teachers are their job and they get boiled down to one or two character traits unless they become a significant mentor.

The story does have some interesting twists near the end but I found the presentation annoying, if accurate. Without spoiling details, it was a typical case of a teenager acting as though they'd pulled off a grand deception when all they'd really done is withhold information the reader could not possibly have known otherwise.

I liked the book enough that I read it in two days, though that may have also been due to the level of writing. That said, it had been portrayed in some promotional info I'd read as zany and humorous, which was an oversell. The book had humorous points and the initial editorializing by the main character was somewhat different, but it wasn't overly funny or unconventional.

[Julie Trapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cliff is a senior in HS and has no girl friend. He needs/wants one, but never has had any luck with girls. Then Jillian moves to his school. He wants to talk to her but is afraid to ask her out. He has an abusive father with no job and ready to kick him out at 18. Mom has a job (bakery) and Cliff has 2 jobs. He wants to go to college, but there is no money & he has no idea what to study there. He has a group of friends and a group of bullies at school. I liked his interaction with his next door neighbor, Jimby, who was probably a Special Ed student. It showed his compassion & caring for others and got him thinking about a major in college. They had nicknames for all the teachers, one teacher gave him books to read surreptitiously in the halls, they gave subs a hard time, he learned his way around the weight room with help from Nick, & he worshiped jillian all the while. When he did get the nerve to talk to her, his life was on the uptake. A cute, coming of age story.

[Marco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Character Driven is a humor/non-fiction which is about a kid(Cliff Sparks)going into his teen age year face some bumps in the way.This is happening around high school and he wants to come of age but he is very bad at talking to girls.He finds this one girl and wants to talk to her. At the same time he has to worry about what is going to happen when he turns 18 while that means to find a job or a new place to new.All of that his going threw his head while he is still in high school.


You should read Character Driven is was a great good. This book had humor which is one part why this book was good. One part was when he tried to get one girl and attention but failed in a humorous way. One other reason why you should read this book because it keeps on getting your attention. For example in the first paragraph it keeps you entertained can’t say what happened but it makes you keep on reading. In conclusion you should read this book

[James Hanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novel Character Driven by David Lubar, was a realistic fiction story about a boy that has a lot to do before he finishes high school. His dad wants to kick Cliff Sparks, the protagonist out of the house as soon as he can. He also wants to lose his virginity, because he is now a senior. With high hopes, joking friends, and a rough home environment, will he beat the clock, and complete his goals before he 's all alone? I rated this book three stars, because although it had comedy throughout, some of it wasn't all that funny to me. The book was very relatable, and I would recommend it to highschoolers. I have read multiple books by this author and I have liked them all, because his writing style catches my attention.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I enjoyed this, and I think it might be a novel that teen boys could identify with. I enjoyed getting into the head of a teen boy (I am certainly not one). However, in my previous experiences with Lubar's work, the prose felt tighter. I felt there was more realism and less humor in this novel than in my favorites, Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie, and the Talents' books. I also had a feeling of an unreliable narrator. A solid book whose reception may depend on how much soul-baring explanation the reader is up for.

[Evan Voss · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book about Cliff and his journey through his last year of high school. He starts the book with a scene and then says it was made up. We learn in the end that thing did not happen but it was very close to what happened. In the beginning he is just trying to get through the year but then he sees Jillian the girl of his dreams. She is in some of his classes so he tries to talk to her but he accidently says stupid stuff every time. He eventually asked her out and she agreed. They quickly fall in love and become a couple that is strong together.

[hpboy13 · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 11%.

I have never met a narrator so carried away with his own cleverness. He writes fake scenes that aren’t happening, breaks the fourth wall to talk about genre clichés, and hops around in the story chronologically as if a few words about “returning to the present” make it okay. In contrast to that, he and his friends are gut-punching each other at every opportunity in some boys-being-boys crap that I wouldn’t have had the patience for even when I was a teenage boy.

I’m a huge fan of the author’s other books, but this one was a colossal misfire in my opinion.

[Rivka Jr. L · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book had many high points including a very relatable, well-fleshed out main character (he actually gets more relatable as the book goes on) and a well-done plot twist. Jimby was a great addition, both for his own character and the way he brought out Cliff's good side. The best friends were pretty flat and unmemorable. Would have given more stars but it is just graphically inappropriate and overly fixated on the fantasies of a teenage boy.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I thought he did an amazing job expressing the internal monologue of a teenage boy. But the twist at the end was honestly too much for me. Unreliable narrators can be interesting and obviously the book opens with a false scene so maybe we should learn early on not to trust what we're being told. But the reveal at the end completely changes so much about the characters (at least I think it did) that it really diminished how I perceived the book.

[Rossana Snee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing David Lubar book! This guy is an amazing writer. Character Driven was excellent. I hated it when I arrived at the last page. I look forward to reading more of his books.

This story has humor, romance, drama, and everything in between.

If you love YA, and even if you don't, you can't go wrong with this book.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy becomes man. #3wordbookreview

Funny, self aware and more literary devices than you could shake a stick at.

And some beautiful prose:

Butch let out a heavy sigh of mock frustration. She worked with sighs the way Van Gogh worked with swirls of raw sienna and Prussian blue.

[Donnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Book Club's selection for November.

The narrator is a pleasant fellow, a typical teen with a slightly higher sensibility, and a slightly better vocaubulary, than your average high school senior.

Addresses the important issue of abuse, from a variety of sources, and how that abuse can play out and ways it can be dealt with.

[Nadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great young adult novel. I really enjoyed it and will keep it on the shelf for when my kids are older (probably much older as there is a fairly racy scene). I loved how the main character had ups and many downs, but kept plugging along! It would give our young people hope that high school is not our end goal... life gets better!

[Jack Yang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Approximately 8.5/10

A very enjoyable read. About a teenager who is about to become an adult. A fun book, slightly leaning towards males so maybe that influences my enjoyment. Anywho, I enjoyed the main character and the passion he had, very cool. Also it is a very easy read.

Nice book, would recommend, fun read not much else to it.

[Loriann · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a good teen book, especially for boys. Even though I am not a male teen, I see these experiences unfolding in the hallways of the school every day. It speaks to our boys who just want to understood!

[L · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick read, but didn't grab me. Good writing can only go so far to save stock characters and overdone plots mixed with copious amounts of teen angst. The book had potential, but didn't quite get there.

[Lisa Muller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mature readers only. Teachers, read the book before putting it on your classroom shelves.

This book finally comes together-- after almost 200 pages of floundering. In the end, I liked it, but not enough to recommend it enthusiastically.