This was a really hard book for me to rate, it's more three and half stars rather than three but not quite four. For the most part I enjoyed the read even if the characters acted a bit odd, but the ending really left me with some major questions that weren't answered and some of the questions wrapped up a bit too tidy from the rest of the book. The subject matter didn't bother me, but really might disturb others. It took me a bit to get through the first twenty percent of the book, but then it picked up.

If you like dysfunctional stories on a comical scale, this one is for you. No physical abuse or meanness, just a jaw dropping family life. I was glued to this book, too embarrassed to share this one. A young pretty mother's wealthy daddy sends her and her kids to live in a small midwestern town in to keep her out of embarrassing trouble (for his own sake). He pays her an allowance as long as she stays out of trouble and does as he says. The mother has zero parenting skills but her pre-teen son has a good head for thinking things through. This book has is part of a series, which has surprisingly successful endings that I never would have expected. I think of this book as one of entertainment.

Skipped Parts by Tim Sandlin was by far a very interesting read.
Basic Plot:
This is the story of Sam, a 13 year old boy with no father and a very dysfunctional mother. He washes Valiums down with Dr. Pepper and wants to be the next greatest writer. Then he goes and accidently knocks up a 13 year old girl.
What I liked:
It was funny, and it's meant to be funny, it's just more of a satire funny than a comedy funny.
I loved Sam and Lydia (his mother) they had such a weird/great/unconventional relationship
Les the moose head was a great prop
All the characters where pretty fun, the plot moved and the ending was actually pretty touching
What I didn't like:
Reading about 13 year olds having sex was pretty weird
I really enjoyed this book and then when I went to BN.com to check out the other books, I actually had no desire to read them...they all kind of destroy the "Happily Ever After" that actually occurs at the end of this book, and while that probably is the point, I really don't want that destroyed.
Happy Readings!

GroVent Series Book 1

In 1963. thirteen year old Sam Callaghan and his tart-tongued, divorced, misbehaving mother, Lydia, must cope as beat they can after they are banished to the hick town of GroVent, Wyoming, by Lydia's Southern gentleman father.

This book is funny, sad and inspiring. The story starts off with a slow pace and nothing was making any sense. This is a story about a dysfunctional family. Lydia and her son are banished to the middle of nowhere by her father. It covers: alcoholism and teenage pregnancy which was frowned upon in the sixties. The book is worth sticking with as it turns into a great read.

#FreeKindleBook

This has been sitting on my phone for years. It was a free Kindle book that I'm not even sure how or why I got it, but it was there. I'm only sorry that it took me so long to glance at it. Boredom in a waiting room is what finally had me opening it, for lack of interest in any of the other free novels I have on there (loads of classics that I never had any intention of reading on my phone, hehe). That was enough though. I read the first couple chapters before I was called away with the full intent to read this book as soon as I could.

I'm a nut for physical books though, so I ordered a copy and suffered the week it took to get here, and have been trying my hardest not to just blow through the book. I really wanted to savor it, because it's such a good read. It's the kind of thing that sucks me into it's world, makes me feel welcome and generally just does it's best to make sure that I really struggle to put the book down (I took some slightly extended breaks at work because I wanted to at least get to the next good stopping point or chapter end).

So what captivated me so much about this book? The cast, of course. Sam is basically how I remember myself as a boy of 13. Maurey is more than a few girls I had crushes on at that age. Lydia is the dysfunctional parent that I can't help but love and the rest of the citizens of GroVont fit the small town roles they are meant to represent so well I can think of people I've known growing up that could play these characters in a movie just by being themselves. Everyone just feels so real to me based on experience.

Being set in the early 60's is a nice touch too, giving Sam and Maurey a parallel with the country, all losing their innocence at the same time. It just works so well without feeling forced.

Sandlin has a real knack for writing a story that is so messed up and depressing at times and yet so heartfelt and ultimately enjoyable when you realize that you're pulling for these characters to get what they want when they clearly can't all have that in the end. It also represents growing up really well, making this the coming of age story that I didn't know I needed to read, and that I will forever be suggesting to others.

The only problem now is that I want to read the next 3 books in the series and they haven't arrived yet. Hurry up, USPS. I need my GroVont fix!

I purchased Skipped Parts on December 17, 2011. I know this because Amazon told me so. It also told me that I shipped it to my mom's house, which probably means that I first attempted to read it over winter break. Four years ago.

Then it moved with me twice (from Wisconsin to New Jersey, and then again within the state of New Jersey), and I really forgot about it until I had to find a book I'd started and never finished for my 2015 reading challenge. I don't abandon many books (as you can see by my "abandoned" shelf on Goodreads), so this was a tough one.

I vaguely remembered reading this book. Or trying to, I guess. I didn't even abandon it because I hated it. I don't really recall, but I probably had to go back to school in the middle of the book. And I probably forgot it at my mom's house. I hate leaving books unfinished, so I'm glad it's done now. Almost four years later.

Skipped Parts is the story of Sam Callahan, a thirteen-year-old boy who, along with his mother, is exiled to middle-of-nowhere Wyoming by his wealthy grandfather. Sam and his mother, Lydia, are fully disappointed with their new home. The weather's awful, the people are worse, and they can only get one station on their television. The one shining light for Sam is his classmate Maurey, a beautiful and actually intelligent young woman who suggests that the two of them "practice" for their future by experimenting with sex.

Lydia is not only ok with Sam and Maurey's new relationship, but she actually encourages it, going so far as to give them sex tips. Her one rule: the fun stops when Maurey gets her first period. But who would have imagined that Maurey would get pregnant first?

What follows is a book full of Sam and Maurey's ups and downs, the development of their relationship as they come of age, and a number of (often ridiculous) plot twists. The characters are all interesting, in a love them or hate them kind of way. I think I related the most to Sam and his blind devotion to Maurey, even when she was being absolutely awful to him. I would like to be surprised by Lydia's attitude, but I'm not. I'd also like to be surprised by the idea of thirteen-year-olds experimenting with sex, but I'm not. Although this book is set in the early 1960's, it's relevant to today's society of Teen Mom entertainment and parents who couldn't care less that their babies are having babies.

So here's the verdict: Skipped Parts is neither the best or worst book in recent memory. I have no strong feelings one way or the other. I was compelled to keep reading in hopes of a happy ending that I knew I wasn't going to get. Above all, I'm glad to have finally finished a book I started almost four years ago.

I'm glad I accidentally started this trilogy out of order, because as much as I enjoyed "Sorrow Floats" I don't think I would have picked it up had I read "Skipped Parts" first. I thought the characters were fun and memorable, but couldn't get into all the pre-teen sex scenes. I'm no prude, but it just didn't seem necessary. Perhaps handled differently, it would work, but the author seemed to be going more for shock value than anything else, and the way the "adults" handled it made me feel squeamish. Other than that, I didn't dread reading it, I just wouldn't recommend it the way I did with "Sorrow Floats"

I sometimes like to browse the Free Fridays giveaways on the Nook blog. I’ve read a few of the offered books and was surprisingly pleased at how much I enjoyed them, so when I was looking for something to read next, I figured I would give this one a try. In the reviews, many people said it was a great plot, but others were bothered by the inappropriate sexual content and the misrepresentation of Wyoming residents. The prospect of those issues didn’t bother me and the plot intrigued me so I figured I’d give it a shot.

In Skipped Parts, thirteen-year-old Sam Callahan and his mother, Lydia, have been shipped off to live in GroVont, Wyoming, by Sam’s rich, southern grandfather. Unused to the cold weather and different culture in their new state, Sam and Lydia miss their native Greensboro, North Carolina, but have no choice but to cope with their new circumstances. Lydia spends her time sleeping around, drinking and talking to the stuffed moose on the wall while getting by on her rich father’s dime, and Sam befriends local girl, Maurey Peirce. Together, Sam and Maurey explore their sexuality, often with the help of Lydia.

Sam and Maurey share a special and unique relationship. They’re best friends and “friends with benefits” but Maurey is never able to love Sam the way he loves her. They’re both so anxious and curious about sex and, though it’s wildly inappropriate for thirteen year olds to be sexually active, it’s endearing that they have each other to share the experience. Rather than being uncomfortable with the graphic sexual descriptions I was prepared for, I found that the book presented sex in a unique and innocent way that was not at all offensive. Through Sam’s narration and perspective, his naiveté is best understood through his actions and questions about sex and the words he uses to describe it. The fact that Lydia coaches Sam and Maurey through the basics of having sex further establishes not only Sam and Lydia’s dysfunctional lives, but also their close and trusting relationship.

Sam’s obviously not completely thrilled with the way his life is going. He’s begrudgingly taken away from his life in North Carolina and shipped to a faraway state where he knows no one and must remake a life for himself. His absentee mother brings home strange men, while he falls in love with a girl he can’t have. One of the ways Sam copes with this unhappiness is by daydreaming. Sandlin sprinkles Sam’s ambitious daydreams throughout the narration to show his true thoughts, emotions, hopes and dreams. This funny and clever use of narration not only opens Sam’s personality but also makes light of sometimes serious situations.
I was surprised that I actually enjoyed this book and was pleased with the way Sandlin chose to end it. The unusual plot and unique characters have inspired me to read the next two books in the GroVont trilogy – Sorrow Floats and Social Blunders.


Skipped Parts was published in 1992 by Sourcebooks Landmark.

I picked up this book used simply because it had a blurb on the back written by Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth...seemed worth the $3 or $4...and boy was it ever...I cannot count the number of times I laughed out loud in public reading this book...uproarously fun and tantalizingly scandalous...like all the good things in life...having already been a fan of Tom Robbins I was immediately drawn in by Sandlin's rambunctious style and wit...I quickly caught up with everything he had written and continue to eagerly await his next work to this day.

I thought this book was great - full of humor, love, passion, sex, and a satirization of life in a small Wyoming town in 1963. The protagonist of the story is 13-year old Sam Callahan who is forced by his grandfather to move to Wyoming from South Carolina with his more than promiscuous mother. While there, he meets and befriends Maurey in school, a girl who is anxious to find out the mysteries of sex. Well, they find out all right and soon Maurey ends up pregnant! The novel is full of interesting characters, including Sam's mother, Lydia who does not know for sure who Sam's father is. There is also Hank, a local Blackfoot Indian who falls for Lydia, Maurey's mother Annabel who has an affair with the high school coach and ends up in a mental ward, and her father Buddy, who cannot accept Maurey's pregnancy. Overall, a high recommendation for this one if you are not easily offended. It does get pretty graphic. This is the first of a trilogy about GroVant, Wyoming. I will be looking forward to reading the remaining books. There was also a movie made of Skipped Parts that I will be on the lookout for.

I probably would have never purchased this book and only read it because it was a BN Friday free book. It is revolting, somewhat uplifting, but mainly just revolting. As a mother it is horrifying to think about the kids who are raised in circumstances like these. Part of me wanted to believe that the storyline was so far fetched that it couldn't possibly happen. And, then I thought about all the stupid people who have kids and realized that this stuff probably happens every day.

A bittersweet tale of a precocious, wise-beyond-his-years, cynical thirteen-year-old boy who moves with his sharp-tongued, aloof, alcoholic mother to a hick town in Wyoming. As the boy, Sam, tries to come to grips with the problems, confusions, and complexities of his adolescent life, his mother continues her doomed romantic entanglements with a couple of local men.

Narrated in the adolescent vernacular of Sam, the novel is witty, bitingly incisive, cynical, and has some really eye-opening insights into human psychology. Though, revolting at times in its candid descriptions of two young teens trying to discover their sexuality with only a little help from the adults, the book contains some very good writing and a few laugh-out-loud moments contrasting nicely with some tender ones. I would have given this book a higher rating if it didn't seem to lose steam in its last third. I am looking forward to reading more from this talented, funny, and observant author.