Book Descriptions
for Slam by Nick Hornby
From The United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY)
Sam is a fifteen-year-old skateboarder who becomes a teenage parent with his ex-girlfriend, Alicia. He learns to cope with the challenges of raising a baby with a young girl whose family is less than welcoming. He attempts to understand what the future holds for him, always feeling uncertain about how he will handle being a father while still growing up himself. He turns to his hero, Tony Hawk, for advice. Sam’s communication skills lack clarity, yet add humor to this serious novel. 2008 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults. The author’s awards include the E. M. Forster Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. dld, hc
From the Publisher
There’s only one person Sam can turn to—his hero, skating legend Tony Hawk. Sam believes the answers to life’s hurdles can be found in Hawk’s autobiography. But even Tony Hawk isn’t offering answers this time—or is he? In this wonderfully witty, poignant story about a teenage boy unexpectedly thrust into fatherhood, it’s up to Sam to make the right decisions so the bad things that couldhappen, well, don’t.