recommended by christopher moore, not as funny as CM, but a good writer

I gave this novel a chance after reading the following Christopher Moore Facebook post: "Hey kids, Tim Sandlin's terrific novel, Skipped Parts, free on Kindle for a very limited time. Check it out." I started reading it on my Kindle, but liked it so much I bought a copy to have and share with others. It reminded me of Catcher in the Rye, The Cheese Monkeys, and The World According to Garp.

Let's just say I wouldn't want my kid under the age of 21 reading this book. The premise of a mother strongly encouraging her pubescent child to have sex, aiding and abetting the sexual encounters of children, and the detailed description of the sexual experiences as well as the outcome thereof, is off the charts. This author clearly appeals to some readers--might it be the shock value?-- but not to me. To compare this trashy item to Salinger's Catcher in the Rye is like comparing chewing gum with a fine wine. I am not proud that I actually wasted my valuable time reading this book.

In 1963, Sam is a 13-year-old boy who lives with his mother, Lydia. The two are under the thumb of Lydia’s father, who provides for them financially and has sent them to Nowhere, Wyoming as a form of punishment. The only other intelligent person in Sam’s grade is a girl named Maury, and the two of them set off to academically discover what happens in the “skipped parts” of novels—after the kissing and before the morning after. What is already a complicated situation becomes further complicated as Sam falls in love, Maury gets pregnant, and the whole town tries to hang on to its own secrets.

While I accept that this is real--13-year-olds having sex--I found myself wanting to yell at the adults in this book. What a bunch of winners--a mother teaching her preteen son how to pleasure his prepubescent girlfriend? Expecting him to be responsible enough to just stop experimenting once Maury gets her period? I guess it did get a more emotional reaction from me than most books, so kudos for that. But something about this book just felt so...wrong. Like reading it suggests I'm a pedophile or something.
•tExtreme language, frequent
•tHighly sexual, not recommended for readers under 17
•tExplores some serious issues in a lighthearted way

This book, told from the perspective of a 13 year old boy who has an irresponsible young mother with a drinking problem, was very enjoyable. Although, it is not at all a testament to good parenting, the descriptions of day to day like when banished to Wyoming by his grandfather are pretty entertaining. There were lots of plot twists that kept you guessing as to what in the world would happen next, but I found myself smiling and laughing to myself, especially the discussions between 2 13 year old kids trying to figure out the logistics of sexual intercourse and matching the lingo to the actual acts. Pretty funny stuff!

This book bummed me out for 3 days. And I loved every second of it.

First off, I adored the way it was written. I liked the few flashback stories, and the way MOST of the characters were written.

Sometimes I got upset at the way the mother was portrayed. Or rather, I wanted a little more of her story. Her background. What other mistakes she had made since she had her son. What else she had done to inspire such disdain from her father. I wanted to know why she wasn't an adequate mother-figure, and why she was so carefree.

I was so bummed out starting about halfway through the book though, that I couldn't see how a happy ending was possible. And actually, I would have preferred if there wasn't a happy ending. It would have followed the theme. I think to try and slide in a happy ending in the last 15 pages or so was kind of a cop-out.

But I guess it kind of had to be, since they made a movie and all.

Thankfully it was a free sample as it was quite a frustrating book. I find it amazing that i even managed to finish it. The story starts out extremely slow and the main character is basically doormat from the first page all the way to the last. The story follows a predictable and generic path and sadly ends with me wondering why the book was even written in the first place.

It's basically a tween soap opera on paper. needless to say i think i'll be avoiding this author in the future since people are claiming this is one of his best works. Its not the worst thing i ever read but when you close the book wishing you could jump into the story and slap the main characters around for being so unrelable and fake...thats probably not good.

Great coming of age novel, with equal parts humor and tragedy. Much better than the two follow up books (Sorrow Floats and Social Blunders), both of which have hints of the heights reached in Skipped Parts, but never quite get there.

Skipped Parts refers to the parts that are always skipped in books for teens--mostly, the actual sex. So, our protagonist decides to fill in those skipped parts. Both humor and tragedy ensue. Very well done.

Prequal to Sorrow Floats.

Quote: "One lesson I've learned about life - you can stay awake all night sweating in the sheets and try to figure out what will happen, and what happens is ever, ever, what you expect. So you might as well not worry and get yourself a solid eight hours because sleep is more important than planning." p.273

What a fun read! You will laugh out loud at times, and at others.. you will sigh and say "Poor Sam".
It is a story of coming of age, discovering sex, and understanding those around us, what it means
to be family, even with people you are not related to. Sam and Maury discover "biology". They did and said all of the things most of us only dreamed about and never, ever, spoke about out loud,much less actually DID at 13. (I wouldn't suggest you let your jr high kids read this.. you'll see why!)
Totally entertaining funny, poignant, heartwarming. I had a great time reading this book and will look for others by the author.

I laughed constantly through this hysterical novel. I think I read it about 10 years ago... It is the first of a trilogy. The second and third books weren't quite as funny but still good. This is a little like Running With Scissors but slightly less disturbing (such as no adult/child sexual relationships.

Not my typical book, and I picked it up as a free Nook Friday book. Without spoiling anything, it's a story of a 13 year old boy who has a Mom in her 20s and they're shipped from the South to a small cowboy town in Wyoming. The Boy has questions about sex and well - figures out things along the way with a little help.

The part that drove me bonkers with this book were the random daydreams he had - I kept picturing Ralphie in "A Christmas Story".

Part of me felt sorry for this kid another part of me just wanted to smack him.

At the end of the day, I don't think I'll be adding other books by Tim Sandlin to my list.