Can't Hardly Wait

by Ray Garton, Deborah Kaplan, Harry Elfont

Aspiring writer Preston Meyers has been in love with Amanda Beckett since freshman year, and after graduation, he has one last chance to proclaim his love for her

Genres: Fiction

208 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Ray Garton is the author of several books, including horror novels such as LIVE GIRLS (which has a movie in the works), CRUCIFAX, E4 AUTUMN, and THE FOLKS; thrillers like TRADE SECRETS and SHACKLED; and numerous short stories and novellas. He's also written a number of movie and television tie-ins for young readers. He lives with his wife, Dawn, in California.

Reviews

[Negan88 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ray Garton was the author to pen this under 200 page piece of movie novelization history. There were a lot of aspects in the book that I really enjoyed. There were also a lot of harmless, but odd changes made. The dialogue played out very well, and definitely was an easy and entertaining read.

I felt that the book most definitely gave a bit more insight into characters in the movie with very small roles. Ray really built on even the small characters, and that was really interesting. I will definitely watch the movie differently when it comes to the small characters, and knowing a bit of their background stories. Whereas, in the movie they are just random partygoers.

The novelization did have much of the same lines as the movie, but a lot was changed or slightly twisted. Most of these changes I could have lived without, and some took the humor out of the way it plays out in the movie. Nonetheless, it didn’t suck the joy out of the read.

Overall, I felt that the novel was pretty darn good! It was a fantastic and nostalgic trip down memory lane! The writing definitely was on par for a teenager, but so is the movie’s tone. It interested me as a teen then, and it put me back in that headspace whilst reading.

All in all I give Can’t Hardly Wait (the novelization) 4 🌟’s out of 5 🌟’s. I pointed out the high and low points already, but the novel accomplished what it was written for. Yes, you do not have to read this novelization to know more about the movie, but I felt like it was a fun ride!

[Hali · Rating 1 out of 5]

You know this might be one of the rare books where I say the movie is better than the book. I may be a little biased since this movie was one of my favorites as a teen, one that my friend and I can quote almost word for word. However, I found the removal of certain words and lines from the book to be confusing, especially since they added a storyline about Kenny almost having sex with an unconscious female. So apparently date rape is acceptable in this novel but not “Denise Fleming is a tampon?”

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the movie so much I had to read the movie tie in. It's just as good.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

So ridiculously awesome. If you loved the movie, you HAVE to read the novelization. So much more insight plus every single background character has a name!