Move Over, Girl

by Brian Peterson

Tony Norris is a twenty-year-old college junior, a good-looking young man with a strong rap who puts as much time into studying women as he does into his courses. Freshman year, Tony was on top of his game-star athlete, steady girlfriend, living in the moment and loving every second. But when bottom falls out on his hoops career, Tony's playing field shifts from the hard wood of the basketball court to the soft, supple curves of the opposite sex. His relationships with women last as long as a Popsicle in the summer sun, and they're just as sticky. With each ensuing predicament, Tony's faced with more questions than satisfaction, and as the story unfolds, we find that Tony, and what he wants, is much more complex than his player image would lead us to believe.
        
Tony's amorous adventures play out against the free-flowing backdrop of college and his friendships with his boys-from Derrick, a football star who's figured out the whole relationship thing and doesn't understand why Tony hasn't, to Kwam, the loud-mouthed life of every party.
        
Tony's musings will have you laughing as author Brian Peterson takes you on an inner tour of a young man's mind in this fun debut novel by an exciting new voice in black male fiction. It's the next best thing to being in there.

288 pages, Hardcover

First published March 28, 2000

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, this book was of two minds for me. For one, I admit that it's the first "urban" literature book I've read though I'm not sure that tag is appropriate nor if it is reductive. I will say that I was pleasantly surprised with (and made nostalgic of) the use of slang in the novel. It was uniquely done; the characters' dialect fit with presumptions of urban slang but was written within the conventions of college-level English. Fitting, because the protagonist is in college. This last bit was very believable too; the oscillation between studying and "extra-curriculars" on a student's mind were, I think, fair.

What hurts this novel is that it is exceptionally, apologetically, and abhorrently misogynistic. It reaffirms all of the stereotypes of sexism in the African American community without seemingly being aware of it. I feel like there was an opportunity to break down that construct and challenge the norm; alas.