My Life As a Body

I read this book for the first time when I was seventeen. I'm 31 and I still read it from time to time. During the era of cheesy Sweet Valley High, this book was a refreshing alternative. I could relate to Augie, the intellectual teen who didn't fit in with the fashion conscious Barbie dolls at her school. I like the way the book dealt with teenage sexuality and showed that things like mastrubation and homosexuality (Augustine's best friend, Claudia was a lesbian)were perfectly normal. Augie's boyfriend, Sam was also portrayed as a normal teen, who happened to be disabled in an unfortunate accident. His body was impaired, but his mind was still strong and he felt love, lust, and anger just like any able-bodied teen. The characters were multidimentional and that's what keeps me coming back to it. I'd give it a few more stars if I could.

The text on the back of the book:I'm Augie Lloyd and I feel like I'm eighteen going on ninety. I've always been impatient with people who aren't as smart as me. But the truth is that's just for show. In actuality, I'm scared to death. With two professor parents, it's no wonder I've exercised my mind a lot. But my body? Forget it. None of the guys from school came near me--and I'd never even had a date.Enter Sam Feldman. He's a gorgeous former athlete from California. His parents are incredibly rich and he used to have everything--even an equally gorgeous girlfriend. But an awful car accident put him in a wheelchair. Now he's at my school in New York City and I'm tutoring him...So here we are, the unlikeliest duo in the history of the world. Al of a sudden I don't know who I am or what I want. No one ever told me love would be like this...

Norma Klein Brings out the truth about first romances, the troubles of growing up, the fears of going off to college, exercising your mind more than your body, and taking in the truth about something you have to live with for the rest of your life. The book is about a young lady named Augie Lloyed who falls in love with Sam Feldman, a rich, gorgeous former athlete from California, who has been put into a wheelchair because of a car accident in California.I personally love this book because a lot of subjects like sex, or leaving home, and friends being gay are talked about openly and freely. These subjects are hard for some people to talk about openly because some of your peers will think differently of you since now they know you're gay or you had sex with this one person. Also Norma Klein shows true meaning in teenage life. I would give this more than five stars!

This was great...I'd recommend it for anyone aged 12+. Well written, with a sensitive approach to disability and sexuality. Not a normal teen sort of book. 6 stars!