Ah the College Months...

My dad used to say that all of the time.  He always started college but never finished.  He started many times.  Many, many times!  We went to Missouri Valley College, Point Park, CCAC and the University of Pittsburgh.  As for me I never lived away at college or seminary or graduate school, so I missed out on the whole college roommate experience, which I think I am just not brave enough to have handled.  I really don't.  I admire those who have done this.  Roomies comes out at the end of year.  I had to twist the arm of the guy at the Penguin Young Readers booth to get a copy of this.  Sara Zarr has written some awesome stuff.  Tara Altebrando wrote The Best Night of Your (Pathetic) Life and I really liked that, too, so it was great to see a book written by both!  Elizabeth, or EB as she is called, lives in New Jersey near the beach with her mom.  Her dad is a deadbeat.  He hasn't contacted EB since she was six or seven.  He is gay and has an art gallery in San Francisco.  Lauren lives in San Francisco and is one of six kids who are much younger than she.  EB and Lauren are pretty different.  When EB gets her email from UC Berkeley that tells her that Lauren will be her roomie, she sends Lauren and email and the two of them start to get to know each other.  Both girls have a lot in common though, both concerned about leaving their past behind, starting in a new place, both with many questions about relationships and the guys they start seeing that summer.  I really loved how the book didn't fall into any stereotypes.  Having the gay dad be a deadbeat jerk was really different.  Usually gay dads are super great.  So this was a different twist!  He was such a serious jerk.  I felt like that made the book more real.  It made gay guys more real, not every one is the same!  I really loved this book and I guess that it is good that comes out in January, more folks can get their hands on it and read it before they go off to school in the fall.  Great book!