Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach

Book: Stupid Fast
Author: Geoff Herbach
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Year: 2011
Reason I read it: I need to read books from different genres and this is a sports book.
My grade: A

Fifteen-year-old Felton Reinstein has always been on the smallish side, but in his sophomore year he starts growing...and growing.

During gym one day he smokes the football jocks in a 600-yard race. Felton has never been interested in sports, but there's no doubt-he is "stupid fast." As he juggles his newfound athletic prowess, his mom's sudden depression, an annoying little brother, and his first love, he discovers a shocking secret about his past which explains why he's turning out the way he is.

My Review

“Stupid Fast” was seriously stupid awesome! I really, really liked this book. In fact, I’ve found this summer that I really like books narrated by guys. Especially when a guy wrote them. They’re funny, honest and have more than a smattering of bad language, but they really speak to the reader.

“Stupid Fast” is about 15 year old Felton Reinstein, who finds himself changing almost overnight during the summer of his sophomore year. He ate non-stop and started “sprouting hair everywhere”. When he suddenly runs faster than most of the football team, he attracts the attention of the jocks and the coaches. Before he knows it, he is suddenly a member of the football team!

But things are not so great for poor Felton. His best friend is gone and his mother is experiencing a nervous breakdown, brought on by Felton’s change in appearance. Also, Felton is experiencing his first girlfriend and has no idea how to handle that. While part of his life seems to be coming together, the most vital pieces are falling apart.

The characters in this book were phenomenal. They felt so real. I could feel the angst that Felton was experiencing. I could feel his rage and his inability to sit still. Most importantly, I sympathized with everything he was going through. When some of the jocks turn on him, I can understand his distrust of ALL of them, even though I figured he was wrong.

The other thing I liked about this book was the way it built the mystery around the father, his death and who he was. It kept me turning page after page to solve the mystery of the Reinstein dad, which of course, would be the key to solving the problems of Jerri, Felton and Andrew.

Felton’s mother was a trip! She was a granola-eating, hairy armpit hippie mom who insisted that the kids call her by her name, Jerri. Andrew was a typical annoying little brother. The kid that I liked the most though was Cody. Cody was a jock, but he was also a really nice guy. I’m glad that Felton gave him a chance and I know that he’ll be there for Felton in the future.

I had a hard time putting this book down. The story was totally engaging, the characters were realistic and the book pulled off humor, anger and sadness and made them all feel authentic.

My grade for this book is an A. It’s a great book about a teenage boy experiencing tons of changes in his life.