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First Sentence
[Note to Ms. LaFontaine: I didn't mean to give you a hard time about the title of this assignment, but "My Totally Excellent Year" would have been like so 1995, we'd have been laughed out of Brookline if anybody found out. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
[Note to Ms. LaFontaine: I didn't mean to give you a hard time about the title of this assignment, but "My Totally Excellent Year" would have been like so 1995, we'd have been laughed out of Brookline if anybody found out. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Hardcover
T.C., originally Anthony Conigliaro Keller, was born into a family who loves baseball, and speaks with a very distinct accent. Like his family, T.C. loves the sport and practically knows all there is to know about baseball. It certainly helps him with his grades; if only it could help him get the girl of his dreams. With quite an odd family, a knack at frustrating those around him, making sure he only gets a B+ on everything (except for algebra, since he isn't a poser), and being a trendsetter, T.C.'s life completely changed when his mother passed away.
Augie, T.C.'s non-biological, Chinese brother, became his best friend after his mother died, helping him cope. With a love for theater, movies, and everything dramatic, Augie definitely hasn't found his true identity yet, even though everyone around him, especially the ones he loves, has. Besides theatrics, Augie is a pretty good soccer player, especially when he is playing with T.C. Of course, these distractions can't possibly pull his mind away from how his heart is pulling him in a very different direction.
Alejandra, a.k.a. T.C.'s dream girl, has never fit in, both at school or home. With a father who was the ambassador to Mexico, her dream was never with politics like her brother but more towards dance, which she must keep a secret. Because of her father, Alejandra has been able to meet some very famous politicians and celebrities. Of course, all of the famous people she met didn't help her status in school, since she was automatically considered stuck-up. But T.C. still loves her, except she doesn't love him back, or so she thinks. Not one to hide her opinions,
who wouldn't be scared of her?
Beginning in their late junior year, the three flash back to their freshmen year... their most excellent year.
The year where love, sexuality, identity, friendship, and strength were discovered. Each one writing in the diaries for
their English class, all addressed to an important person: T.C. to his mama, Augie to the diva of the week, and Alejandra to Jacqueline, the wife of her favorite president, JFK.
Laughter, tears, and relief will be felt by not only the characters but also the readers. MY MOST EXCELLENT YEAR takes three very distinct, honest teens who all have problems of their own, and who need each other
desperately in the end. Steve Kluger allows the reader to have a close interaction with the characters, who are all very well-developed and defined, making the story all the more enjoyable.
Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen
Augie, T.C.'s non-biological, Chinese brother, became his best friend after his mother died, helping him cope. With a love for theater, movies, and everything dramatic, Augie definitely hasn't found his true identity yet, even though everyone around him, especially the ones he loves, has. Besides theatrics, Augie is a pretty good soccer player, especially when he is playing with T.C. Of course, these distractions can't possibly pull his mind away from how his heart is pulling him in a very different direction.
Alejandra, a.k.a. T.C.'s dream girl, has never fit in, both at school or home. With a father who was the ambassador to Mexico, her dream was never with politics like her brother but more towards dance, which she must keep a secret. Because of her father, Alejandra has been able to meet some very famous politicians and celebrities. Of course, all of the famous people she met didn't help her status in school, since she was automatically considered stuck-up. But T.C. still loves her, except she doesn't love him back, or so she thinks. Not one to hide her opinions,
who wouldn't be scared of her?
Beginning in their late junior year, the three flash back to their freshmen year... their most excellent year.
The year where love, sexuality, identity, friendship, and strength were discovered. Each one writing in the diaries for
their English class, all addressed to an important person: T.C. to his mama, Augie to the diva of the week, and Alejandra to Jacqueline, the wife of her favorite president, JFK.
Laughter, tears, and relief will be felt by not only the characters but also the readers. MY MOST EXCELLENT YEAR takes three very distinct, honest teens who all have problems of their own, and who need each other
desperately in the end. Steve Kluger allows the reader to have a close interaction with the characters, who are all very well-developed and defined, making the story all the more enjoyable.
Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
44 reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
THREE GENERATIONS ARE LOVING IT
25 Oct 2008
Format:Hardcover
My father read it, my niece read it, and I read it--and it's all we've talked about at dinner for the last two weekends. My father loved all of the baseball references, my niece fell in love with both of the boys in the story, and I was amazed at how deeply moved I was by how much the parents cared for their kids. Not to mention the laughs and coming to remember that ANYthing's possible as long as your heart's behind it.
Our library has this one shelved in general fiction AND a second copy in teen fiction. Now I understand why.
Our library has this one shelved in general fiction AND a second copy in teen fiction. Now I understand why.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
One of my best of 2008 books
27 Jan 2009
Format:Hardcover
This was a book that definitely and swiftly made my list of favorites for 2008. It's full of warmth, heart and most of all laughs. After reading it (one-sitting), I knew it was one of those books that you've just got to share with someone, so I lent it out and sure enough, the friend had to keep it. Needless to say, I've bought about 10 more copies for friends and family. In Last Days of Summer and Almost Like Being in Love, I got hooked on Kluger's writing and his great characters; with My Most Excellent Year, I became a full-fledged fanatic. This is definitely one you won't be able to put down, and one you'll wish didn't have to end.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
A Spoonful of Sugar
4 Jan 2011
One of the best parts of any online literary forum is noting wildly diverse reactions to the same book.
Steve Kluger's My Most Excellent Year illustrates the point that we need as wide a variety of reading material on library shelves as there are readers, in order to please a whole spectrum of palates.
Those who gave negative reviews, citing characters who stretch the bounds of believability and a too-happy conclusion without much in the way of real adversity are right, in my opinion. T.C., Augie, Ale, even the parents seem like incredibly evolved and self-actualized human beings; sad little Mary Poppins-loving Hucky signs his way into everyone's hearts; wise guidance counselor Lori might as well have "Pop and T.C.'s future wonderful wife/stepmom" emblazoned across her forehead, and by the end, everyone is practically singing a Broadway finale in harmony with their arms around each other. Fair enough; it is indeed too good to be true.
That said, isn't there still a place for the unapologetically joyful, the perhaps overly hopeful and earnest,world-the-way-you-wish-it-was novel? YA literature is jam-packed with somber dystopian stories, all betrayals, sharp edges and shredded ideals. These are worthy explorations. Young adults need to be challenged, to have their beliefs and boundaries examined, pushed, cast in sinister shadow from time to time; many incredible contributions to YA literature have been written in the past several years, and I am not even attempting to place them in the same category as Kluger's comparatively light and frothy book. But there SHOULD be room for a FUN coming-of-age story, with baseball, show tunes and light romance. It is, frankly, nice to envision a world where someone like Augie is allowed to be entirely himself, open and without fear; where withdrawn little boys are mentored and then adopted by caring families; where love, intelligence, creativity, passion, art, all the things that make life extraordinary, are celebrated. Yes, it requires a suspension of disbelief, but why not go there? We all need a vacation from stark reality, a spot of levity like a purple balloon; a reason to believe.
Steve Kluger's My Most Excellent Year illustrates the point that we need as wide a variety of reading material on library shelves as there are readers, in order to please a whole spectrum of palates.
Those who gave negative reviews, citing characters who stretch the bounds of believability and a too-happy conclusion without much in the way of real adversity are right, in my opinion. T.C., Augie, Ale, even the parents seem like incredibly evolved and self-actualized human beings; sad little Mary Poppins-loving Hucky signs his way into everyone's hearts; wise guidance counselor Lori might as well have "Pop and T.C.'s future wonderful wife/stepmom" emblazoned across her forehead, and by the end, everyone is practically singing a Broadway finale in harmony with their arms around each other. Fair enough; it is indeed too good to be true.
That said, isn't there still a place for the unapologetically joyful, the perhaps overly hopeful and earnest,world-the-way-you-wish-it-was novel? YA literature is jam-packed with somber dystopian stories, all betrayals, sharp edges and shredded ideals. These are worthy explorations. Young adults need to be challenged, to have their beliefs and boundaries examined, pushed, cast in sinister shadow from time to time; many incredible contributions to YA literature have been written in the past several years, and I am not even attempting to place them in the same category as Kluger's comparatively light and frothy book. But there SHOULD be room for a FUN coming-of-age story, with baseball, show tunes and light romance. It is, frankly, nice to envision a world where someone like Augie is allowed to be entirely himself, open and without fear; where withdrawn little boys are mentored and then adopted by caring families; where love, intelligence, creativity, passion, art, all the things that make life extraordinary, are celebrated. Yes, it requires a suspension of disbelief, but why not go there? We all need a vacation from stark reality, a spot of levity like a purple balloon; a reason to believe.
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