Beautiful but troubled Colleen Minou is the only girl who ever looked at Ben Bancroft as more than a spaz- more than just that kid with cerebral palsy. Yet the more time Ben spends with her, the more glaring their differences appear. Is what Ben feels for Colleen actual affection, or more like gratitude? Then there's Amy (aka A.J.), who is everything Colleen isn't, and everything Ben's grandma wants for him: clean-cut and upper-class, academically driven, just as obsessed with filmmaking as Ben is. But what does A.J. see when she looks at Ben? CP? Or the person behind the twisted body? In Ron Koertge's sharp, darkly humorous follow-up to the award-winning Stoner & Spaz, Ben tries to come to terms with his confused feelings toward A.J. and his inimitable connection to Colleen, who is sometimes out of it, sometimes into him, and always exhilarating.
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- Now Playing: Stoner & Spaz II
Now Playing: Stoner & Spaz II
Author(s)
Publisher
Genre(s)
Age Range
16+
Release Date
August 09, 2011
ISBN
9780763650810
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Editor reviews
2 reviews
The Odd Couple
Overall rating
4.7
Plot
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Characters
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Now Playing: Stoner & Spaz II leaves off immediately after Stoner & Spaz ends, despite the 10 year hiatus between the writing of the books. Colleen, the stoner, has just ditched Ben, the spaz with cerebral palsy, to hook up with some guy she doesn’t know, Nick, to get high. Ben can’t believe she would do that. Despite it all, Ben still loves her and you know, in her way, Colleen loves him. Days later, she’s back asking Ben to write a school paper for her—up to her usual tricks.
Now Playing has the same characters as the original; Ben’s Grandmother and guardian, and their across the street neighbor, Marcie, who got Ben into film making. As such, it tracks Ben and Colleen’s relationship, her attempt at rehab, and her leaving home. But the book adds some new characters: AJ who Ben met at his film showing and who shows an interest in him. AJ’s the second ‘normal’ girl to not be repelled by Ben’s physical condition. She’s the complete opposite of Colleen. While Colleen dresses in short skirts and torn shirts and has tattoos, AJ is upper crust, clean and cute. We also meet Ben’s mother, Delia, who dropped Ben on his grandmother’s doorstep when he was quite young and disappeared from his life forever. It’s Colleen’s snooping and finding an address for her that forces Ben to meet her. So, readers are introduced to a character with emotional issues in addition to Ben’s physical ones and Colleen’s drug issues.
While the plot of Now Playing is interesting, it is the dialogue between Ben and Colleen, their relationship with all its ups and downs, and their commitment that are compelling. How often does one see someone love another unconditionally? Koertge introduces some new issues in Now Playing and plays out some of the old issues. While part of his ending is idealistic, part of it is realistic and hopeful, not necessarily pat and tied in a bow. Now Playing: Stoner & Spaz II is a must read for anyone who liked the original. However, it is a standalone book and people who aren’t familiar with the first book will still enjoy it.
Now Playing has the same characters as the original; Ben’s Grandmother and guardian, and their across the street neighbor, Marcie, who got Ben into film making. As such, it tracks Ben and Colleen’s relationship, her attempt at rehab, and her leaving home. But the book adds some new characters: AJ who Ben met at his film showing and who shows an interest in him. AJ’s the second ‘normal’ girl to not be repelled by Ben’s physical condition. She’s the complete opposite of Colleen. While Colleen dresses in short skirts and torn shirts and has tattoos, AJ is upper crust, clean and cute. We also meet Ben’s mother, Delia, who dropped Ben on his grandmother’s doorstep when he was quite young and disappeared from his life forever. It’s Colleen’s snooping and finding an address for her that forces Ben to meet her. So, readers are introduced to a character with emotional issues in addition to Ben’s physical ones and Colleen’s drug issues.
While the plot of Now Playing is interesting, it is the dialogue between Ben and Colleen, their relationship with all its ups and downs, and their commitment that are compelling. How often does one see someone love another unconditionally? Koertge introduces some new issues in Now Playing and plays out some of the old issues. While part of his ending is idealistic, part of it is realistic and hopeful, not necessarily pat and tied in a bow. Now Playing: Stoner & Spaz II is a must read for anyone who liked the original. However, it is a standalone book and people who aren’t familiar with the first book will still enjoy it.
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